The best parts of a blueberry pie, a blueberry cheesecake, and a shortbread cookie bar come together in this easy, fruity, crumbly, buttery Blueberry Cheesecake Tart.
It starts with a quick shortbread crust – no rolling, just a cookie-like dough to press into a tart pan with your fingers. Reserve one quarter of the dough to crumble over the tart to form a buttery, golden-brown, streusel-like topping.
Sandwiched between those layers of shortbread, cinnamon-scented blueberries bake down until thick and jammy. Hidden underneath the blueberries is a thin layer of sweetened cream cheese. Unlike a traditional blueberry cheesecake that has berries spooned on top of the already-baked cheesecake, in this tart the blueberries and cheesecake bake together, so they meld with each other and with the shortbread crust in a delicious creamy/crumbly/fruity combination.
Making this Blueberry Cheesecake Tart ahead and what to do with leftovers:
- Finish baking the Blueberry Cheesecake Tart at least three hours ahead of serving time, to give it time to cool and chill.
- The tart will keep for three or four days in the fridge, so make it ahead or keep leftovers within that timeframe. It doesn’t freeze well.
For another variation on blueberries and cheesecake, try this Cracker Pie (Blueberry-Topped No-Bake Cheesecake).
Blueberry Cheesecake Tart
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups (240 grams) plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, divided, plus additional for preparing the crust
- ½ cup (56 grams) confectioner’s sugar
- ¼ cup plus 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
- Kosher salt
- 3 cups fresh blueberries (1½ pints, about 14 ounces) (do not use frozen)
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 large egg yolk
- ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
Directions
- Step 1 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until it’s smooth and creamy, 1 minute. Add 2 cups of the flour, the confectioner’s sugar, 2 tablespoons of the granulated sugar, and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt if using Diamond Crystal brand (or ¼ teaspoon of Morton’s). Pulse the mixer on low speed to start blending the mixture without spraying the flour out the sides. As the mixture starts to blend, run the mixer constantly on medium low speed, just until the dough comes together in large clumps. Don’t overmix.
- Step 2 Dump about ¾ of the dough into a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Use floured fingers to push the dough out to form a thin, even layer across the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Be patient, it will seem like you don’t have enough dough to fill the pan, but keep pressing it out and you will. When you’ve covered the whole pan with dough, use a dry measuring cup dipped in flour to press the dough against the sides of the pan and make a neat corner all around the inner bottom edge. Freeze the crust for 15 minutes.
- Step 3 Heat the oven to 350 with a rack in the center position. Line a large baking sheet with foil and put it aside.
- Step 4 To the remaining dough in the mixing bowl, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of flour and the baking powder, and pulse the mixer to combine. Transfer the dough to a small bowl and chill it until needed. Wash and dry the mixing bowl and paddle unless you have spares.
- Step 5 Prick the dough all over with a fork to vent it and keep it from puffing up in the oven. Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until it’s set and very light golden brown. Remove the pan to a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and leave the oven on.
- Step 6 While the crust cools, prepare the blueberries. Put the blueberries in a large bowl with 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar, the cornstarch, cinnamon, and a pinch of kosher salt. Toss everything together, then use your hands to squeeze and crush about half of the blueberries to release their juices. Set the blueberries aside while the crust cools.
- Step 7 In the mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, the remaining ¼ cup of granulated sugar, the egg yolk and lemon zest until smooth and completely free of lumps.
- Step 8 Transfer the pan with crust to the foil-lined baking sheet. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the crust and smooth the top. Use a silicone spatula to stir the blueberry mixture, scraping up any sugar and syrupy juices that cling to the bowl, then carefully spoon the blueberry mixture over the cream cheese layer, covering the cream cheese as evenly as you can without disturbing it. Crumble the reserved, chilled dough into small clumps and scatter them over the blueberries, distributing the topping evenly over the top of the tart.
- Step 9 Bake the tart in the upper third of the oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until the blueberries are bubbling and the crumble topping and the exposed edges of the crust are golden brown. Remove the tart to a cooling rack and cool to room temperature, then chill for 2 hours before slicing and serving.
