Blueberry Mascarpone Cheesecake with Amaretti Crust plus 1 more

Blueberry Mascarpone Cheesecake with Amaretti Crust

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 11:32 PM PDT

One of my favourite treats in the summer is a cool and creamy no bake cheesecake which is particularly nice because you do not have to turn the oven on to enjoy it. This no bake cheesecake is made by mixing cream cheese and whipped cream and placing it on a buttery nutty crust that is simply pressed into the bottom of the pan. The cheesecake is then chilled in the fridge until it 'sets' when you can pull it out and top it with some fresh summer fruit and or berries.

Not too long ago I came across a variation of the no bake cheesecake, the blueberry and mascarpone cheesecake with amaretti crust on Gourmantine that used Italian mascarpone instead of cream cheese. This cheesecake also used an amaretti crust and I know just how good the blueberry and almond flavour combo is! In fact I have used it many times like in this blueberry amaretti crisp. The coup de gras of this cheesecake is the layer of blueberry caramel sauce between the crust and the cheesecake and there was absolutely no question that I would have to make it!

The mascarpone cheesecake is almost as easy to make as my regular no bake cheesecake though you do have to briefly bake the crust for this one. With minimal effort I had two individual sized cheesecakes chilling out in my fridge while I impatiently waited for them to set. When I pulled them out of the fridge I noticed that they did not set quite as solidly as the cream cheese ones do but that was ok, they were just a bit messier, but certainly worth it! (I have already modified the recipe to go lighter on the whipped cream so that the next batch is a firmer.) I topped the entire surface of these cheesecakes with fresh blueberries and dug into them! I have to say that they were absolutely amazing! The almond flavours in the crust from the amaretti cookies really paired well with both the ooey gooey blueberry caramel sauce and the fresh blueberries. The cool and creamy 'cheesecake' filling was the perfect foil for all of the flavours and the juicy fresh blueberries help keeping things from getting too creamy. I will definitely be making these again!

Blueberry Mascarpone Cheesecake with Amaretti Crust

A cool and creamy cheesecake treat that is perfect on hot summer days. The blueberries and almond flavoured crust perfectly compliment each other and a hint of lemon brightens everything up.

Servings: makes 2 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1/4 cup amaretti cookie crumbs
1/4 cup graham cracker or digestive cookie crumbs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
6 tablespoons heavy cream, cold
1 (8 ounce) package of mascarpone, room temperature
1/4 cup sugar
1 lemon, zest
1/4 cup blueberry caramel sauce
1 cup blueberries

Directions

Mix the amaretti cookie crumbs, graham cracker crumbs and butter and press them into the bottom of two 4 inch spring form pans.
Bake in a preheated 350F oven until golden brown on the edges, about 8-12 minutes and let cool completely.
Whip the cream until it forms soft peaks.
Beat the sugar and lemon zest into the mascarpone and then gently fold in the whipped cream.
Divide the blueberry caramel sauce between the 2 spring form pans and top with the cream mixture.
Chill in the fridge for several hours to over night, top with blueberries and enjoy.

Blueberry Caramel Sauce

Posted: 01 Sep 2011 04:56 PM PDT

A few weeks ago when I was making a batch of blueberry syrup I idly thought that the basic ingredients of the syrup were a lot like a caramel sauce with the sugar and water and got me to wondering what a blueberry caramel sauce would be like. I mean if water, sugar and blueberries are good then how cold adding more flavour by caramelizing the sugar first not make things better? Alas, I got distracted by something before I could write the idea down and I promptly forgot about it.

Recently I came across a recipe that called for a blueberry caramel sauce and I knew that I just had to make it! Over the holidays I made a cranberry caramel sauce for the cranberry turtle bars that I made. For the cranberry caramel sauce I just threw the full cranberries into the caramelized sugar and waited for them to burst in the heat and then I left them in the sauce. For the blueberry sauce however I wanted to have a smooth texture so I decided to puree the blueberries before adding them and after letting everything simmer for a while, I strained the large solid bits from the caramel sauce before returning it to the heat to thicken a bit.

The blueberry caramel sauce turned out unbelievably well! After it cooled down it thickened up nicely and it had the most amazing aroma of blueberries. After just one taste I was hooked and found it difficult to not finish it all right then and there! The deep amber caramelized sugar adds a real depth of flavour that makes this sauce truly special. It would certainly be great to serve this straight up over vanilla ice cream or vanilla yogurt but I had something else in mind for it entirely.

Blueberry Caramel Sauce

A sticky and sweet caramel sauce infused with the fresh and summery flavour of blueberries.

Servings: makes 1 cup

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup blueberries (I used wild)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Place the blueberries in a food processor and puree them.
Mix the sugar and water in a sauce pan, heat over medium heat and simmer until the sugar has melted and it has turned an deep amber colour, about 8-10 minutes.
Remove from heat and carefully mix in the blueberry puree.
Return to heat, simmer for 5 minutes, strain the solids with a fine mesh sieve, return to heat and simmer until it starts to thicken, about 10 minutes.
Remove from heat, mix in the lemon juice and let cool to room temperature.