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Blueberry Raspberry Cheesecake by Megan Barnett
Story and Photos by Claudia Arredondo

Megan Barnett, freshman computer science major, enjoys riding her bike around the St. Mary’s campus.

When she’s not writing code or riding her bike, Barnett likes to make dessert.

Although she loves all kinds of desserts, brownies and cheesecake are her top two, with cheesecake taking the place for No. 1.
“Making cheesecake has always been one of my favorite things to do because in 2012, my family and I went to New York City and they had amazing cheesecake there. Now, whenever I make cheesecake I’m transported back to my adventure in the Big Apple,” Barnett says as she laughs.
“A hefty slice of cheesecake in New York was like $11, but it was worth it. Now I can make my own for less than that.”
Since Barnett enjoys both spending time with her friends and baking, she decided to combine the two and bake with her friend.
“It’s funny how this particular cheesecake was made. It happened because my friend and I really wanted to bake a cheesecake but instead of going to the store for one ingredient, we combined two recipes,” Barnett shares.
“Essentially, this cheesecake is a hybrid of two recipes we found online, so a Raspberry Blueberry Cheesecake.”
Barnett’s bubbly personality shows through her baking, she is precise with everything that she does and laughs throughout the whole process.

Barnett demonstrates the proper way to measure ingredients.

She emphasizes the importance of getting the measurements right before getting them near the bowl.

That way extra ingredients don’t accidentally make it into the mixing bowl.
“Sometimes if I have other berries I add those to the cheesecake as well. It’s great to have some extra color, it makes things pretty,” she says.

Blueberry Raspberry Cheesecake:

Ingredients

For the crust
• 2 ⅓ cups Graham Crackers
• ½ cup melted butter
• ¼ cup sugar

For the cheesecake:
• 4 (8oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 16 ounce container sour cream
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 5 large eggs
• ¼ cup all purpose flour
• ¼ cup milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the topping:

• ⅓ cup all-fruit blueberry spread
• 2 6 ounce baskets fresh blueberries

Directions

Make crust:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Wrap outside of 10-inch-diameter spring form pan with heavy-duty foil. Mix until all the crumbs are moistened. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool. Maintain oven temperature.

Make filling:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until will blended. Beat in flour. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Beat in sour cream, milk and vanilla. Pour filling into crust. Place spring form pan in large roasting pan, or bigger pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake cheesecake until just set in center and top is slightly puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour. Turn off oven; keep door closed. Let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from roasting pan with water. Refrigerate until cold, at least 6 hours. Cover; refrigerate overnight.

Make topping:
Run small sharp knife around sides of cake to loosen. Release pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Stir blueberry spread in pan over low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Spoon spread over top of cake, spreading evenly. Add blueberries to decorate, then add raspberries. Additional berries may be added for more color.

Makes 10-12 servings.

Filed under: Class Projects, Desserts, Recipes, Uncategorized | Tagged: cheesecake, Claudia Arredondo, magazine launch, Megan Barnett, Raspberry Blueberry Cheesecake, St. Mary's University, taste of stmu |