Mainely Vacation: Day Two - Blueberry Cheesecake

Day two was a busy day.  I had to travel to Portland Maine to pick up my tuxedo.  Then I headed to Cumberland Maine to help cook for Jonny's wedding.  I was in charge of making vegan desserts.  I made whoppie pies and a blueberry cheesecake.  Jonny, and a few of his other friends were working on the rest.  There were about 6 people who made all the food for the entire wedding.

The cooking (and reception) was taking place at his wife's parents house.  They have some amazing gardens and even a few blueberry bushes.  I picked all the blueberries for the cheesecake in their backyard.

Blueberry Cheesecake

5 vegan graham crackers
1 1/2 pint of blueberries
3 tubs of vegan cream cheese
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of powdered sugar
1/4 cup of maple syrup
3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of vegetable shortening
1 tablespoon of brown sugar
2 teaspoon of vanilla
1 teaspoon of cinnamon


Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a bowl, crush the graham crackers into a course powder.  Fold in melted shortening, brown sugar and cinnamon.  After a few minutes of folding, it will begin to form peas-sized balls.  Pour the graham mixture into a pie pan and gently spread and push the graham to cover the bottom and edges.  Bake in the oven for about 5-8 minutes or until the graham begins to brown.

Set aside 1 tablespoon of blueberries.  Add remaining blueberries to a sauce pan with the powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of vanilla.  Use a masher to get the blueberry juice flowing.  Heat on a low stetting and do not allow to simmer.  Stir often.

In the meantime, in a food processor, add the vegan cream cheese, maple syrup, lemon juice, and vanilla and puree until smooth.  This may require an occasional scraping of the sides.  Once the cream cheese mixture is smooth, add the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time and puree until smooth.  Once the blueberry mixture is complete, add 3/4 of a cup to the cheese cake mix puree for a few seconds until the mixture has gently combined with the blueberries.

At this point, there should be the cheese cake batter, some blueberry mixture, a graham cracker crust and a few whole blueberries on the side.  Add the cheese cake batter to the graham cracker crust and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes.  The middle should be starting to firm up and the edges may be starting to pull away for crack.

Allow the cheesecake to cool for about 3 hours.  Fold the remaining whole blueberries into the blueberry mixture and pour over the top of the cooled cheesecake.  Chill for at least another hour before serving.

After completing my desserts, I helped cut potatoes for a potato salad (not vegan), I tied off corn for grilling (some vegan), taste testing for a vegan greek pasta salad, and helped with other odds and ends that needed to be completed.  Then it was off to the wedding rehearsal.  I was a groomsmen.  This was only the fourth wedding I have been to and the first I was in the wedding party.

We all had some pasta after the rehearsal and I headed back to my mum's house shortly after.