Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

I love making my own birthday cake. It's an excuse to try new recipes, experiment in the kitchen, and then share the results with my friends! This year I decided to tackle a Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake (inspired by my one-year old birthday cake, sans the lemon). I've made a lot of cheesecakes through the years. Sometimes I place fruit on top, or chocolate, but I've never added frosting to a cheesecake. I can't say where the idea came from, but it works so well, adding a fourth texture to this delightfully complex dessert.

Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake

(Adapted from Baker by Nature)

For the Crust:

2 cups Graham Crackers, smashed into crumbs

6 tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted

For the Lemon Cheesecake Filling:

3 (8 oz) packages Full-Fat Cream Cheese, very soft

1 cup Full-Fat Sour Cream, at room temperature

1 1/4 cups white Sugar

2 tsp. Vanilla

3 large Eggs + 1 Egg Yolk, at room temperature

2 Tbsp. All-purpose Flour

3/4 cup Fresh Lemon Juice

2 tsp. Fresh Lemon Zest

3/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Frosting:

1/2 cup of cream cheese mixture (from above)

3 Tbsp. Butter, softened

1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

Zest of one Lemon

3 drops of Yellow Food Coloring

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F).
2. For the Crust: Crush graham crackers in a food processor, or by placing crackers in a bag and pounding with a meat mallet. Add melted butter; stir well to combine. Press down into a lightly greased 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
3. For the Lemon Cheesecake Filling: In a large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and sour cream until smooth.
4. Remove 1/2 cup of cream cheese mixture (pre-eggs), set aside in refrigerator for frosting.
5. Return to the large bowl, add sugar and vanilla; beat until smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Then add in the eggs and yolks; beat until smooth. Stir in the flour, mixing just until combined.
6. Quickly stir in the lemon juice and zest, mixing just until it's incorporated in the batter.
7. Pour filling into prepared crust. Drop in blueberries, evenly.
8. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit, undisturbed, for 45 minutes inside the oven, with the door shut. The cheesecake should be still slightly wiggly.
9. Remove the cheesecake from the oven, run a knife very gently around the edge of the cake, and let it sit in the pan for another 15 minutes before covering loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerating for at least 6 hours.
10. For the frosting: In a small bowl with a hand-held mixer, combine cream cheese mixture with softened butter. Once smooth, add powdered sugar, lemon zest, and yellow food coloring.