Love and Olive Oil
Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

This light and silky cheesecake gets its vibrant purple color from roasted blueberries; with a vanilla cookie crust and a delicate crème fraîche glaze, it might be your new favorite cheesecake!

I have finally reached cheesecake nirvana: silky smooth, luxuriously creamy, with a stunningly purple color and a robust roasted blueberry flavor (roasting the berries first makes all the difference!) It’s the perfect balance of tart and sweet.

Roasted Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake Recipe

Taylor is not cheesecake’s biggest fan. He says that even the best cheesecake is only a C+ dessert (whereas even a bad chocolate cake is more enjoyable in his mind). And I’ll admit that I will always turn to the chocolate desserts on restaurant menus over the cheesecake.

But when I got an inkling to make a purple cheesecake, one bursting with blueberry flavor, I wasn’t expecting it to be quite this good.

To say this cheesecake was a labor of love would be an understatement. It took me 3 tries before I finally got it right (and even then I was on the verge of failure). Copious amounts of love, stress, and blueberries went into this recipe.

But, boy, was it worth it in the end, when I finally reached cheesecake nirvana: that moment when your fork slices through the silky smooth cake like butter, each bite stunningly purple, luxuriously creamy, with an underlying rich blueberry flavor; the perfect balance of tartness and sweet.

Roasted Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake Recipe

My first attempt incorporated fresh pureed berries, but they turned the cake itself a sad shade of bluish gray that was less than appetizing. Even with a hearty dose of food coloring, the color (nor the [lack-of] flavor) wasn’t quite what I envisioned.

But as I learned with this roasted blueberry ice cream, the act of roasting the berries greatly intensifies both the color and flavor. It’s the secret to coaxing out the best of this perplexing little berry. So I doubled the amount of berries and roasted them down with a bit of maple syrup until they were bubbling with flavorful juices. The pureed roasted berries are what give this cheesecake its vibrant color: no food coloring necessary.

Bite of Roasted Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

My second cheesecake was perfect in that respect, the base at least, but I decided it needed a glaze. So I topped my perfectly purple cheesecake with a simple powdered sugar glaze (the kind you’d drizzle on cinnamon rolls or spread on sugar cookies), even going so far as to swirl in a bit of blueberry for color, and waited for it to set.

Except it didn’t set. On the surface, maybe, the glaze deceivingly crusting over, but underneath lay a molten mass that no amount of time or patience or hasty refrigeration could fix.

I finally got impatient and sliced into it, hoping for the best. I barely got the slice to the table before it started oozing. And it continued to ooze like the wicked witch of the west, dropping dollops of viscous glaze onto every surface within reach.

I almost gave up, right then and there, but I could still see the potential this cake had, even under all that gooey glaze.

For my third attempt (the reason we had to go back and pick more berries in the first palce, because I refused to give up on this recipe), I made a simple glaze with crème fraîche, sugar, and almond extract, that gets poured onto the almost-done cheesecake and then baked for a final 5 minutes, allowing the glaze to set up and slice cleanly, just as I had envisioned.

It would have been perfect, except I had baked the cheesecake in a regular cake pan instead of a springform. Which is a technique that, granted, produces perfect, crack-free cheesecakes, but also requires you invert the cake to get it out of the darn thing.

Inversion + glaze = potential mess.

Taylor was bracing himself for a third round of failures and a very cranky wife. Luckily the cake came out surprisingly clean with a bit of coaxing, only minor blemishes on top (easily camouflaged by some plump fresh berries).

Needless to say I’d recommend using a high quality cake pan with a removable bottom to keep its pristine layers in tact. I prefer this kind of pan over a springform pan, which are often thin and don’t bake as evenly (and may cause the top to crack).

Vibrant purple blueberry cheesecake, made with roasted blueberries and a creme friache glaze.

The crème fraîche, both in the cheesecake itself and the glaze on top, contributes to its perfectly silky texture and subtle sour sweetness. Crème fraîche being a French cultured cream, I’d call this cheesecake very cultured, indeed.

You can use sour cream if you like, but the crème fraîche has a more milder, refined flavor that perfectly balances the richness of the cream cheese, and it’s worth the cost if you can find it (or, hey, make it yourself!)

Roasted Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

You can top the cake with more fresh berries or even drizzle some extra roasted blueberry goodness on top for an extra dose of blueberry flavor.

And then go back for another slice.

Update August 2020: After making this cheesecake a number of times I’ve realized that not all brands of crème fraîche behave the same way—sometimes, when mixed with the sugar, it gets so thin and fluid that the glaze seems to disappear off the top of the cheesecake. The original was made with Trader Joe’s brand, which seems to be thicker and more stable than other brands I’ve tried. Sour cream, on the other hand, contains additional stabilizers so it is much more reliable in general.

I’ve adjusted the original recipe slightly to account for this variance, including reducing the sugar in the glaze and advising that, if using crème fraîche, the glaze topping should be chilled rather than at room temp (but all ingredients for the filling, crème fraîche included, should still be at room temperature).

Roasted Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

Blueberry Crème Fraîche Cheesecake

This light and silky cheesecake gets its vibrant purple color from roasted blueberries; with a vanilla cookie crust and a delicate crème fraîche glaze, it might be your new favorite cheesecake!
5 stars (3 reviews)

Ingredients

  • 15 ounces / 425 g (about 3 cups) fresh blueberries
  • 3 tablespoons / 36 g brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup

For Crust:

  • 7 ounces / 200 g vanilla wafer cookies, about 1 1/2 cups crumbs
  • ¼ cup / 30 g almond meal or finely ground almonds
  • 2 tablespoons / 24 g brown sugar
  • pinch salt
  • 5 tablespoons / 70 g butter, melted

For Filling:

  • 16 ounces / 454 g full-fat cream cheese, room temperature*
  • cup / 133 g granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 3 tablespoons / 22 g all-purpose flour
  • 4 large eggs, room temperature
  • cup / 150 g crème fraîche** or sour cream, room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¾ teaspoon almond extract

For Glaze:

  • 1 cup / 240 g crème fraîche, chilled or sour cream (room temperature)***
  • ¼ cup / 50 g granulated sugar
  • ½ teaspoon almond extract

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Toss blueberries with brown sugar and maple syrup. Spread onto a rimmed baking sheet (lined with foil for easy cleanup) and roast for 15 minutes or until juicy and bubbly. Remove from oven and let cool for 10 to 15 minutes, then pour, scraping all berries and their juices, into the bowl of a food processor or blender; puree until smooth and set aside. You should have about 1 cup of puree (if you have more than that, feel free to set some aside to drizzle on the top of the cheesecake later).
  • Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Butter a
    9-inch cake pan with removable bottom; line bottom with a round of parchment paper if desired.
  • Crush cookies in a food processor until fine crumbs; pulse to mix in almond meal, sugar, and salt until blended. Add butter and pulse until evenly moistened. Press into bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes or until set, then remove from oven and let cool completely.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
  • In the bowl of a food processor or a stand mixer, pulse room temperature cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Add salt and flour and pulse again. Add eggs, two at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl as necessary to be sure all ingredients are evenly incorporated. Add crème fraîche, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts, and pureed blueberries and pulse until even in color and no white streaks remain (remember to scrape the bowl again!)
  • Pour batter into cooled crust. Place on a baking sheet and place in preheated oven. While cheesecake is baking, whisk together crème fraîche, sugar, and almond extract until smooth. If using crème fraîche, put this mixture back in the fridge until you're ready to glaze.
  • After about 45 to 50 minutes, when center of cheesecake is set but still barely jiggly, remove from oven and let cool for about 10 minutes, then pour glaze on top of cheesecake, spreading into an even layer.
  • Return to oven to bake for another 5 minutes, then remove to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 3 hours or ideally overnight.
  • Before serving, remove edges of springform pan and slice into 16 wedges; serve chilled or at room temperature, topped with fresh blueberries or leftover roasted blueberry puree if desired. Cheesecake will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Video

Notes

  • *It is VERY important that all your refrigerated ingredients be at room temperature, this means your cream cheese, eggs, and crème fraîche. Doing so will ensure a silky smooth filling. I recommend taking your ingredients out of the fridge at least 2 hours before you bake, longer in cooler temperatures.
  • **Crème fraîche is a french cultured cream similar to sour cream, though the flavor is slightly more mild and delicate. You can make your own quite easily, or substitute sour cream if you’re unable to find it.
  • ***For the glaze, I've found it helpful to keep crème fraîche cool. Sour cream should be more room temperature. This ensures the glaze stays thick enough to pour and spread (crème fraîche has a habit of getting too liquidy when mixed with the sugar and will 'flow' off the top of the cheesecake).
All images and text © for Love & Olive Oil.

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130 Comments

  1. Made this for my husband’s birthday and it turned out fabulous! Very light, almost mousse like. 

    I am curious, what kind of pan did you use? I, not very happy with my springform pan.

    • I use a thick aluminum cake pan with a removable bottom… so much better than a springform! The link is in the post, but this is the exact one I used: http://amzn.to/1PpHCeM (9-inch for this cake, but I have the 8 and 6 inch versions too).

  2. Wondering if you could use frozen blueberries? Fresh ones are not available around here right now.

  3. This cheesecake is so delicious and beautiful! That color! That flavor! Makes an amazing presentation! I made it three times in two weeks so I could share it with all my neighbors who were equally impressed! Thank you for creating this recipe! This is my favorite dessert! Wish I could give it a thousand stars**********

  4. can there be substitutes for all the almond ingredients, (allergy problems)?

    • Almond extract can easily be left out, replace the almond flour in the crust with another nut flour or just regular flour (same weight).

  5. How come you did not cook this in a water bath. I have always cooked cheesecakes in a water bath to protect the eggs from direct heat?

    • I find if you use a good quality, thick cake pan instead of a springform you do not really need the water bath. If you’re having issues with cracking you can certainly use a water bath if you prefer.

  6. Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?

  7. This looks so good! Could I make with a different kind of berry too?

  8. I have made this cheesecake twice and both times it was both beautiful and delicious! The color is perfect and the taste divine.

  9. I have made this numerous times and WOW it’s a favorite!!!  Everyone who sees it or tries it asks me to forward them your recipe. I absolutely LOVE this. Thank you so much. 

  10. Everyone loved this cheesecake. Made it for family for Christmas. Was wondering if you could substitute strawberries or raspberries instead of blueberries. Has anyone done this? Do you think it would work? Any ideas on this would be greatly appreciated. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Sincerely yours, Karen Silon

    • I tried it with raspberries and was not pleased with the flavor. Blueberries, especially when roasted, are really intense and lovely. Other fruit just doesn’t have the same wow factor.

  11. Can I use strawberries instead of blueberries?

  12. Any replacement for egg in this …plz help.. it’s damn tempting n I want to try but we do t eat eggs

  13. I made this cheesecake a couple of times, and it’s very easy to follow! My family and I love this a lot. :)

  14. Can you make this cheesecake in a 9×13 pan?

    • This is not something I’ve tried personally, so I cannot say. You’d need to scale it for sure (might involve some volume math to decide if you need to double the recipe or just 1.5 times it).

  15. Can you make this with blackberries?

    • I have not tried it personally, though it should work in theory. Your cheesecake might be a bit ‘seedy’ though since blackberry seeds are much larger. You might want to strain all or some of the puree through a sieve first (and subsequently may need to roast more berries to get an equivalent amount of puree). If you try it let me know how it turns out!

  16. Hi! Can I make the cheesecake a few weeks before a party and freeze it? Can I freeze it it the creme fraiche? Or without?
     Thank you

    • The creme friache topping is baked with the cheesecake, so not something that can be added later. I haven’t tried freezing this cheesecake, but it should work in theory!

  17. I have this cooking in my oven right now. I sure hope it turns out as pretty and tasty as yours. Fingers crossed.

  18. I have made this twice now. It is every bit as phenomenal as promised, or more. Color and flavor are amazing. Perfect way to use some of the fresh blueberries from my garden.

  19. I would agree with others above that the creme fraiche layer on top is too liquid, when added, and moreso when removing from the oven after the additional 5 minutes baking. Depending on the pan used, I could definitely imagine it going down the sides.

    But more, I’m not sure how it can become the very thick nearly fondant seen in the pictures here. I would imagine it would need some egg white to “set” during the 5 minute bake. Being only creme and sugar, there doesn’t seem to be anything to set. I guess I would recommend, and would try if repeating the recipe, adding one half egg white to the top layer when whisking it. Could be something else could work even better, perhaps like starch or gelatin.

  20. Can it be made without the maple syrup?

    • Yes, you could leave that out though I think it adds a lovely flavor to the roasted blueberries. You could also use honey or agave as well.

  21. After they introduced me to the cheesecake I made this into my favorite cake. Can it be called a cake? It’s too tasty. I loved your recipe.

  22. I made this last weekend and it turned out exactly like the picture. Loved the light texture and taste. I will definitely make again!

  23. Phenomenal! Thank you so much for creating this recipe!!
    I made this over the weekend for a family get together and it’s one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever made, or tasted. So fresh and light! Perfect for blueberry season.
    It was a big hit.

    I made no modifications except using graham crackers instead of the vanilla wafers. Next time I’ll defijitely line the pan with parchment, so the cake can be moved to a nice plate.

  24. Can it be baked as mini cheesecakes in lined muffin tins?

  25. Instead of purée I just smashed the blueberries after they roasted. I thought little chunks of berry would be a nice touch.We shall see!! It is cooking now…..

  26. Hi, this looks delicious. I’d love to try it! I don’t have any pure maple syrup, could I use honey or something else instead? Thanks!

    • Sure, honey or agave should work or even just a sprinkle of brown sugar. Just to give the berries a little head start with their juices. :)

  27. Hi – I will be making this cheesecake for my birthday in a couple weeks. I really like a dense New York style cheesecake. I’m worried this will be too light and fluffy. What would happen if I added an extra package of cream cheese (3 eight oz. packages instead of 2)?

  28. I’ve made this cheesecake three times in two weeks and just can’t seem to get enough of it!!! It’s really that good!!! I’ve been sharing it with family and friends and they all think it’s really good, too!!! It’s amazing!!! I’ve been using sour cream instead of the creme fraiche and a whole bag of the vanilla wafers mixed with the ground almonds and butter, etc. – no waste. I leave some of the roasted blueberries whole and puree the rest. I actually used 7 cups of fresh blueberries and roasted them all so I would have enough for each serving!!! It’s so pretty that way!!! What a cheesecake!!! It’s beautiful and light and delicious!!! Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!! I just love it!!! God Bless you!!! :)

  29. I made this!!! Renee WOW!!! Superb!!! SO delicious!!! What a recipe!!! What a cheesecake!!! Bravo!!! ? ? ? THANK YOU!!!??????Hubby loves it, too!!!??

  30. I don’t have a 9″ springform pan but I have 4-1/2″ ones. How long should I bake the cake for?

    • I haven’t tried personally so I can’t say for sure. I might start with 15 or 20 minutes and keep an eye on it after that. The cheesecake is done when the center is just barely still jiggly.

  31. I made this cheesecake today, using blueberries from our garden. Phenomenal!! My first visit to your web site. Gorgeous and fabulously yummy.

  32. What a fabulous cheesecake. Absolutely delicious!! I skipped the glaze all together, and just served it with a dollop of whipped cream.

  33. It would have been nice to know the size of the pan you used. Mine was evidently too small. I wound up baking for over 20 minutes longer than you said and it was still not done in the middle….jiggily. :( A lot of waisted work. sad

  34. Just made this and it’s nice except the recipe for the glaze doesn’t yield enough to cover the cheesecake nicely. I’d make at least 50% more next time. Such a shame that it looks so thinly spread on the top for mine :( hopefully it will taste nice, though! The purple really showed through :) Thanks for the recipe !!

  35. Just put this in the frig to keep ready till I serve it later tonight. I used Fage Greek yogurt instead of sour cream or creme fraiche. It tasted pretty good before baking. LOL My husband loves blueberries, so he is looking forward to another blueberry dessert from me.

  36. I just found my new favorite food site — I can’t wait to make the blueberry-creme-friache-cheesecake. I browsed the recipes, and found so many look just plain awesome. Thank you for this unique site. (this is the first one that I actually “saved”, and I am a 77 year old that loves to cook).

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