The lovely thing about this summer dessert was that it was a completely no-bake one. I used the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the butter for the crust and spent five minutes introducing the blueberries to the thyme on the stove top but did not crank the oven once. For a dessert that looked so finished and polished, this was a pretty good result.
I made mine in a rectangular pan and encased the whole thing in the crust to make it look fancier but spreading the crust on the bottom of a springform pan and topping it with the cheesecake filling will taste equally delicious and demand even less effort.
This dessert served 8.
For the crust:
1 1/2 cups Graham cracker or ginger cookie crumbs
7 tsps melted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
For the filling:
16 oz container full fat sour cream
16 oz package of full fat cream cheese
8 oz creamy plain goat's cheese
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest and juice from 2 oranges
1 tsp orange extract or orange liqueur
For the topping:
2 punnets blueberries
Zest and juice from 2 oranges
1 bunch thyme, tied for easy removal at the end
1/4 cup sugar
Make the topping first so that it has time to cool while you make the rest of your dessert. All you have to do is place all of the topping ingredients in a pan over medium heat and cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring from time to time, until the sugar is melted, the blueberries have lost their shape and the sauce looks jammy. Set aside to cool while you make the rest of the dessert.
Make the crust by mixing the crust ingredients together in a bowl. I find that using a fork to combine them yields the best result. Pour the mixture into whatever pan you are using and press down well to help it set. I find that the bottom of a glass works well.
Using a stand mixer or a hand blender, blend all of the filling ingredients together to form a smooth mixture. Taste and adjust for sugar; you may want more than I used.
You can make all of the separate components the day before but I suggest not assembling them more than 4 hours in advance so that the crust does not get soggy. Assembling is easy: just pour half of he filling into the pan which holds your prepared crust. Pour over half of the blueberry topping, from which you have removed the bunch of thyme, and smooth out to the edges of the dessert. Add the remaining filling and use a knife to smooth the top. Either finish by topping with the remaining half of the blueberry topping or serve as is and serve the remaining blueberry topping on the side so people can serve themselves.
Inspiration recipe, here.
