The best vanilla bean cheesecake recipe with a homemade vanilla blueberry compote. Creamy, smooth no bake vanilla cheesecake packed with flavor from a whole vanilla pod.
1vanilla podseeds removed - the reserved pod from making the cheesecake filling
1tablespoonwater
Instructions
Instructions for Crust
Begin by lining the base and sides of your springform pan with parchment paper.
In a mixing bowl, stir together the crushed cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter until you have a moistened crumb mixture.
Pour this into your lined pan and press firmly into the base and up the sides. Place the prepared crust in the freezer while you prepare your filling.
Instructions for Filling
In a mixing bowl, whip your heavy cream and powdered sugar to stiff peaks using a handheld electric mixer. (see note)
In a separate mixing bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, sour cream, sugar and vanilla bean seeds. (see note)
Add the whipped cream to the cheesecake mixture and fold with a spatula to incorporate. Avoid beating out all of the air you've worked into the cream!
Spoon the filling into your prepared crust and spread evenly. Place in the refrigerator to chill and set for at least four hours (better overnight).
Instructions for the Blueberry Compote
While your cheesecake is setting, make the vanilla blueberry compote. Place half of the blueberries (5oz), the sugar, water and scraped vanilla pod in a saucepan. Cook this over a medium heat while stirring occasionally until the mixture starts to boil.
Continue cooking, while stirring constantly (to avoid the sauce sticking to the bottom of the pan) for a further 5 minutes while it bubbles and thickens. Most of the blueberries should burst during this time - you can help them by pressing with your spatula as you stir (but be careful of them popping out!).
After 5 minutes, remove from the heat, carefully remove the vanilla pod and then add the remaining blueberries. Stir these into the sauce to coat.
Pour the sauce into a heatproof bowl to set aside and cool completely.
When ready to serve, top the cheesecake with the blueberry sauce.
Notes
For this recipe, you will want to scrape the seeds from one vanilla bean pod. The seeds will be used in the filling and the pod will be used for infusing the homemade blueberry compote.You can also whip your cream using a stand mixer, but I find this a bit more difficult to control as you approach stiff peaks. Avoid over-whipping or the cheesecake will lose its creamy smooth texture.Scrape the seeds from the pod and add these to the cream cheese mixture. Reserve the pod for use in the blueberry compote (if making) or save the pod for other recipes/infusions.