blueberry cheesecake pie, #26 of 52!

26 of 52 pies completed, 26 more to go.  that puts me at the halfway point.  from here, the number of pies left to bake will be smaller than the number of pies already baked.  so, the question is, will i make it to the goal?  i'm keeping my fingers crossed and hoping for the best.

this last "catch-up" pie was baked while my mother was still visiting-she came for the graduation and spent nearly 2 weeks with us.  it was fun, i never realize how much i miss hanging out with my mom until she arrives for a visit.  we spend lots of time wandering through antique shops and thrift stores and chattering about everything.  when it was time to bake this last pie, we chose blueberries as a theme and took mom (and our daughter and her boyfriend) to the demo garden(where we work as master gardeners) to pick some fresh blueberries.  we only ended up with about 2 cups of rather tart berries so making a pie with them was out of the question.  but i remembered my mothers love of cheesecake and decided to improvise.

a thinner more liquid cheesecake custard is garnished with a swirl of blueberry coulis before baking.   be sure to use a small spoon and pour in the coulis slowly (to prevent it from sinking) into the pie in random lines.  use a bamboo skewer to swirl the coulis around the top of the pie.  one hint, skip the fancy name brand cream cheese (you know the one named after the city of brotherly love) because it makes a custard that is runny like water!

after baking in a slow(300 degrees) oven, the pie is thoroughly chilled before serving.  use a knife that has been dipped in hot water to get clean cuts and be sure to wipe it off between slices.  the blueberry coulis can easily be doubled and the remaining coulis can be used as a sauce for the plate.

blueberry cheesecake pie

1 (9") pie that serves 8-10

coulis

don't forget, if you want extra sauce, double the coulis recipe but use only half of it to marbleize the top of the pie.

3/4 cup blueberries

1/3 cup sugar

crush the blueberries breaking all of them.  place them into a small saucepot with the sugar and over low heat, bring the mixture to a boil.  continue to boil for 5-10 minutes.  strain the sauce into a heat proof bowl and chill until no longer warm but do not let it get too cold-it will become gelatinous and hard to work with.

crust

purchase or make a cookie crumb crust in a 9" pie pan using the recipe in pie #16.  place the pie pan on a  sturdy baking sheet that will not warp in the oven.

cheesecake custard

12 ounces cream cheese-not the fat free stuff!

3/4 cup sugar

2 tablespoons flour

1/4 of a vanilla bean

zest of 1 lemon

3 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

preheat the oven to 300.  this is mixed quickest in a food processor-fast and smooth.  place the cheese, sugar, flour, vanilla bean and lemon zest in the bowl of the processor and pulse to combine.  With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, and scrape the bowl thoroughly.  add the sour cream and pulse to mix, scrape the bowl and pulse a few times more.  pour the filling into the pie dish and bake until it is almost firm in the middle, about 40 minutes.  turn the oven off, prop the door open slightly and leave the pie in there for another 15 minutes.  remove the pie from the oven and chill completely before serving, about 4 hours.

and once again, if you bake one, send me a photo and i will post it here.  bakinbabe116@aol.com