Recipe: Blueberries and Cream Cake

Spring is in the air!  ...okay ... so maybe we wish Spring is were in the air... this winter just will not end in most parts of the country... but there's no reason why you can't pretend... after all... it is officially spring.

This cake is perfect for a spring pick me up.....  It's not quite a cheesecake... not quite a creamy cake.. it's in-between... I thought I'd give it a try.. and we decided it was definitely a do-over aka we'll do it again.. and again.

It is ... what I would call a "slight cheesecake"  only 1 package of cream cheese.... and plenty of sour cream... a really nice combination.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe from King Arthur Flour.

TIPS

First I must tell you... the recipe clearly says to cool or refrigerate until ready to serve.  So... we took the emphasis on the word or and ran with it... so we waited until it "cooled"... barely... basically we waited until it wouldn't burn our tonsils.... it was ... honestly not ready.... it was a bit soupy... definitely creamy... and DEFINITELY delicious!

So... why am I telling you this?.... follow the instructions... in fact.. I would say... let it cool completely.. AND refrigerate it.. it's best at that time....  it does firm up nicely after refrigeration.

The original recipe used 1 quart of mixed berries... for various reasons... among them availability... I used only blueberries.

The original directions puts all of the berries on the crust and then just pours the filling batter over them... I reserved some for the top... either way.. I think it's delicious...

I highly recommend using a cake board... a cardboard that pops into the springform pan ... so when the cake is done... you can slide it off the metal bottom of the springform pan.  They come wax coated or plain...  either will work... except if you get the one without the waxing finish.. you will need to cut a piece of parchment paper to fit over it.. so the grease from the crust doesn't soak into the cardboard and make a mess of it.

You don't grease the cardboard or the parchment paper.. just grease the sides of the pan.  I used a small amount of Crisco.

Just an FYI side note.. I have the ones without the wax... and I cut the parchment paper... next time I need to replenish my stock.. I will be getting the waxed ones..  it will save a little time when baking.

The original listed butter for the crust.. but didn't specify softened or melted... so I melted it... it didn't end up stiff like the recipe talks about.. so my guess is that it was supposed to be softened.... with that said... it worked fine using melted butter and I had no trouble spreading it in my pan.. so I will stick with using melted butter.

I always beat the cream cheese and the sugar together until it's really creamy.. then start adding the wet ingredients (egg, sour cream etc) .... that way you don't get little lumps of cream cheese that take forever to beat out.

For tips to soften the cream cheese quickly... see my post.

I know the ingredients look like it has a lot of vanilla.. it does... but the resulting flavor is not overwhelmingly vanilla.. so my advice... resist cutting it back...

I wet knife cuts this best.

My baking time took exactly an hour.

This was very quick to put together and very very tasty indeed... I hope you try it!

Recipe:  Blueberries and Cream Cake

All you need:

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, melted

For the filling:

1 quart blueberries

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 cups (16 oz) sour cream

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

All you have to do:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a 10 inch springform pan... lightly grease it or use a cake board and lightly grease only the sides (see TIPS).

To make the crust:

In a mixing bowl, use a wire whisk to combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt.  In a small bowl, lightly beat the egg and vanilla.  Add the egg mixture and melted butter to the dry ingredients and beat on low until well combined.  Spread it in the bottom of the prepared springform pan.  Spread the blueberries over the crust. 

Optional:  Reserve some blueberries for the top.

To make the filling:

Beat the cream cheese and the sugar until very smooth.  Add egg and continue beating until well incorporated.  Add the vanilla and continue beating.  Add the sour cream and mix well. 

Pour the filling over the blueberries in the pan.  If you reserved any berries for the top.. sprinkle them on top.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour or until the edges are lightly browned.  Remove cake from the oven and cool completely in the pan.  Refrigerate until serving (see TIPS).