Mini Blueberry Cheesecakes

A blueberry lovers delight- these creamy cheesecakes incorporate blueberry purée right into the batter and each cake is topped with a thick layer of tart blueberry curd.

This recipe makes 12 mini cheesecakes or 4 three inch individual cakes.

• 1 1/2 cups blueberries - fresh or frozen
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 3/4 cup cookie crumbs*
• 1/4 cup ground almonds
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice - freshly squeezed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 - 1 1/2 cups homemade blueberry curd

*vanilla wafer or digestive biscuit crumbs make a nice delicate crust, feel free to use graham crackers if you'd prefer.

Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before you start, the cream cheese mixture will never be smooth unless it is very soft before you try and work with it.

In a small saucepan, combine the blueberries and brown sugar and cook over medium heat until the berries release some of their juice and mixture starts to bubble, about 5 minutes or so. Stir the mixture occasionally while it cooks.  Remove from the heat, let cool for 10 minutes and then puree.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375F.

To make the crust, crush the cookies in a food processor fitted with a steel blade until finely ground. Add the ground almonds and brown sugar and pulse until thoroughly blended. Pour in the butter and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like wet sand and the butter has been incorporated.

Press into the bottom of four x 3 inch springform pans (or 12 small muffin tins). Bake crusts for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool before filling.

Reduce oven to 325F.

In a large mixing bowl (or your stand mixer)  beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add flour and mix to incorporate. Then, add the eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula a few times to ensure even mixing.

Add sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and blueberry puree and mix until no white streaks remain.

Pour, or ladle the batter into the prepared crusts. Bake the cheesecakes for 30-40 minutes for 3 inch pans or 15-18 minutes for mini cheesecakes baked in muffin tins. The center should still be a little jiggly when you take them out of the oven. 

Let the cheesecakes cool before removing them from the baking pans. Top each cheesecake with a generous dollop ofBlueberry Curd.

To decorate the cheesecakes, mix 1/4 cup sour cream with 2 tablespoons icing sugar and pipe circles and dots onto the surface of the blueberry curd. Using a bamboo skewer, run the tip through the sour cream to create hearts and flowers.