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Fourth of July Firecracker Cheesecake

Kitchen Tested
  • Yield 20 servings
  • Prep 20 mins
  • Cook 200 mins

This creamy, not-too-sweet cheesecake is a perfect 4th of July dessert.

puckett-grocery-cheesecake-relish-1
Mark Boughton Photography / styling by Teresa Blackburn

Be sure to cook this cheesecake in a water bath (bain marie) to prevent uneven baking and over heating. You’ll need a stand mixer to beat the cream cheese.

Ingredients

Blueberry Sauce:
1 cup blueberries
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Crust:
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
3 pounds cream cheese
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/3 cup heavy cream
Small strawberries and blueberries for garnish

Instructions

  1. To prepare sauce, combine blueberries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat until blueberries begin to release their juices. Mash some of the blueberries against the side of the pan. Let cool.
  2. Preheat oven to 250F. Wrap the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan with foil.
  3. To prepare crust, combine all ingredients and press into the bottom of pan.
  4. To prepare filling, beat cream cheese with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Add sugar and beat until smooth.
  5. Combine eggs and egg yolks in a small bowl. Beat lightly. Slowly add eggs to cream cheese mixture while beating. Add heavy cream and beat, scraping the sides of bowl occasionally, until smooth.
  6. Pour one-quarter of the batter into another bowl. Stir in blueberry sauce.
  7. Pour half the unflavored batter over crust. Pour fruit-flavored batter on top. Swirl with a spoon or knife. Top with remaining unflavored batter. Swirl again.
  8. Place springform pan in a larger baking pan. Place on the center rack of oven. Pour in hot water to a depth of 1-inch. Bake 3 hours. Remove from oven. Let cool. Refrigerate at least 8 hours before serving. Garnish with strawberries and blueberries.

Variations:

You can flavor this cheesecake with anything you like. Here are some variations we like:

  • 1 cup chocolate mocha sauce
  • 1 cup chopped peaches cooked in 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons sugar.
  • 1/3 cup Grand Marnier or Kalua. (If making a liqueur-flavored cake, mix liqueur into all the batter instead of into one-quarter.)

—Recipe adapted with permission from Puckett’s Grocery, Franklin, Tenn.

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