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Lemon Blueberry Swirl Cheesecake

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Ingredients
  

For the Blueberry Compote:

  • 1-½ cups fresh or frozen blueberries
  • ⅓ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp. slightly rounded corn starch
  • 1 ounce water

For the Cookie Crumb Crust:

  • 1-⅓ cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • ⅓ cup butter, melted

For the Cheesecake Batter:

  • 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • Zest of 2 lemons, very finely minced
  • 1 cup whipping cream

For the Vanilla Whipped Cream:

  • 1 cup whipping cream
  • 3 tsp. rounded confectioners' sugar
  • 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Instructions
 

To prepare the blueberry compote:

  • Prepare the blueberry compote at least an hour ahead of the cheesecake batter so that it has an opportunity to cool.
  • In a medium saucepan, over low heat, slowly simmer the berries and sugar for about 10 minutes.
  • Dissolve the corn starch in the water and slowly pour into the boiling berries, stirring constantly until thickened; cool completely.

To prepare the cookie crumb crust:

  • In a medium bowl, add the graham crumbs, sugar and melted butter; mix well.
  • Press the graham crumbs evenly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
  • Pre-heat the oven to 300°F.

To prepare the cheesecake batter:

  • Using an electric mixer, cream together the cream cheese and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined.
  • Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
  • Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon zest.
  • Finally, blend in the whipping cream well until the batter is very smooth.
  • Using a rubber bowl scraper/spatula, scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl, as well as the electric beaters/paddle; give the batter a final beating for 1 minute on a higher speed; this final step ensures that there are no lumps in the batter and introduces a little air into the cheesecake to make it lighter.
  • Pour into the prepared base and drop teaspoonfuls of the blueberry compote over the surface of the batter.
  • With the handle of a wooden spoon, and being careful not to hit the bottom crust layer, swirl the compote through the cheesecake batter.
  • Place in the pre-heated oven and bake in a bain marie (see notes) for 60 to 70 minutes.
  • It is recommended you not be an compulsive oven door opener; not a good idea to open it at all in the first hour.
  • The cheesecake does not have to brown at all in order to be fully baked; the surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked; it can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point.
  • Remove from the oven and allow the cake to cool to room temperature before moving it to the refrigerator to chill completely.

To prepare the vanilla whipped cream:

  • When ready to serve, using an electric mixer, beat all of the ingredients together until firm peaks form.
  • Pipe the prepared cream around the perimeter of the cheesecake and serve.

Notes

Baking the perfect cheesecake requires the use of a bain marie during baking. A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan to more evenly bake the cheesecake from the sides to the center.
First, wrap the bottom of the pan in plastic wrap.  The temperature doesn't get hot enough to melt it and it doesn't come into contact with the cheesecake anyway. 
Secondly, wrap the bottom and sides of the spring form pan in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil which forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in. Use at least 4 layers of foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of the cheesecake.
The aluminum foil wrapped springform pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from ½ to ⅔ of the way to the top.  Always, pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven as you are less likely to splash water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil.