No-bake Blueberry Cheesecake, made with Agar & homemade cream cheese, is an easy yet tricky recipe. But step-by-step recipe along with valuable tips will ensure that you nail it successfully.

I have yet to find someone who doesn't like cheesecake. People may have preferences for cream cakes like chocolate or vanilla or fruit or something else but cream cheesecake is everyone's favorite. This melt-in-mouth cake is really too hard to resist.

What a lovely day to post my beautiful but long yearned Blueberry cheese cake. Yes, as my blog completed 2 years, we celebrated it with this all-time favorite Blueberry Cheesecake.

 My Experience

Some recipes take you on a toll. This no-bake cheesecake is one such recipe. The journey of making this cake has been full of hits and misses. At times, I got it perfect but most of the time it was a disaster. Something or the other went wrong. This was also because I wanted to make this cheesecake with homemade cream cheese, Agar and without any condensed milk or white chocolate. After umpteen failures, I got it perfect this time and that too the way I wanted it.

Making cheesecake has been great learning for me and I have learned many things in this context which I will be sharing here with you all.

After perfecting myself, I also made Mango Cheesecake and is definitely a worth try.

 

Blueberry Cheesecake With Agar

Earlier for many years I couldn't make this cake as I didn't want to use gelatin and using Agar Agar wasn't easy. Why Agar or China grass? As the name goes, it is a vegetarian product. But how to dissolve it? how much to use it? If dissolved, how to add this to cold cream cheese, as it starts setting very fast?

Similarly, the other problem was how to make cream cheese? Locally it is not available and it is not practical to go to far-off markets to buy this. Also, it is very expensive to put a hole in your pocket.

Finally, I have resolved all these issues. I will start these, one by one and hence it's going to be a long post. Read it patiently and I am sure all your doubts will fade away.

 

What is Cream Cheese?

• Cream cheese is basically a mix of cottage cheese and hung curd. Simple... isn't it?
• You can make this cheesecake in 30 minutes to 40 minutes provided you have hung curd and cottage cheese ready with you.
• I made cottage cheese using toned milk only. But I suggest that you go for full cream milk, if possible. And I kept the curd in a strainer rested over a bowl, in the refrigerator for few hours and my hung curd got ready.

 

Tips To Use Agar

• Firstly, I would like to say that Agar is also known as China grass.
• I have used powdered Agar here as this is relatively easy to use. For this, I used 2+1/4 teaspoon of it.
• When it comes to Agar, unlike gelatin, it sets at room temperature.
• But it is necessary to give it at least 3 to 4 boils in order to activate it.
• Another important thing about Agar is that you need to first add hot Agar mixture to some warm thing only. If you pour it over chilled cream cheese or cream then it will start setting even before mixed properly and you will have little globules of Agar coming under your palette while eating cheesecake. So always mix china grass solution with warm fruit puree or warm cream only. 

Before we start, once again, I would like to highlight certain crucial tips regarding cheesecake.

• Always boil Agar solution for a minute or so to activate it.
• Always add hot Agar solution to something warm, either warm fruit puree or warm cream.

 

How To Make

It is a slightly long recipe. I request you to read it patiently at least twice and thereafter go step by step. If you follow the recipe as given here, I assure you, you will be able to get this at one go. Making no-bake blueberry cheesecake involves certain  steps:

• Making cream cheese
• Preparing Agar Mixture
• I have used blueberry crush here as fresh blueberries are not available here so either frozen blueberries or its crush or jam are the only options available.
• For making cheesecake you require a spring foam pan which basically means pan with a loose bottom. This is because, unlike sponge/pound cakes, cheesecake is not inverted.
• And last but not the least, the most important ingredient in making cheesecake is PATIENCE. After pouring the mix in the cake tin, put it in the refrigerator and just forget about it at least for 8 to 10 hours. Your eagerness to check it may cost you a spoilt cheesecake. So, please, please, please do not touch it before 8 hours minimum, though I would recommend overnight.

 

Step By Step Photos

A. Making The Base

• Crush digestive biscuits and mix butter in it. Mix it nicely. It should look like wet sand. You can crush biscuits in a food processor or using a rolling pin.

• Put this biscuit mix in a 6" loose bottom cake tin and press it nicely from everywhere.

• Keep this in the refrigerator to set and now you work on your cheesecake filling.

 

B. Filling

• Make Hung Curd:
  • Put curd in a strainer and leave it for 2 to 3 hours.
  • When all the water is drained then take the hung curd in a container and keep it in the refrigerator till use.

• Make Cottage Cheese:
  • Boil 1-litre milk. After 5 minutes, curdle it using vinegar or lemon juice or curd.
  • When milk solids are separated then put it in the strainer and wait for at least half an hour till all the water drains out.
  • Use it immediately or keep in the refrigerator till use.

• Take chilled heavy whipping cream in a big bowl and whip it till it forms soft peaks. As to how to whip cream, you may check here.
• Keep this in the refrigerator till you work on your cream cheese.

• Take cottage cheese, hung curd, and powdered sugar in a blender and blend until completely smooth. It should not be grainy at all.

 

• Take this out in a big bowl and fold the whipped cream in it in 2 batches. Work using very light hands.

• Return this to the refrigerator until you work on china grass.
• Prepare Agar solution:
  • Take 3/4 cup water and mix china grass/agar powder in it.

• • Heat it on medium flame and give it at least 3 to 4 boils.

• Simultaneously, heat 4 tablespoon blueberry crush in a pan.
• Once the Agar mix has boiled nicely add it, through a sieve, to the warm blueberry crush. It is necessary to pass it through a sieve as it has microparticles which may ruin your cheesecake.

• Mix the two nicely and heat for 30 seconds or so. Switch off the flame.
• Wait for just 4 to 5 minutes, till it gets lukewarm, and pour this liquid over the cream cheese mix quickly and gently fold it so that everything incorporates well.

• Transfer this mix to the biscuit base.
• Tap gently and return to the refrigerator.

Tip: Since it is a loose-bottomed tin, my suggestion is that you hold it from the sides and better to keep it in a plate. This is because inadvertently if you hold it from the bottom then it is gone.

 

C. Topping

• After about 10 minutes, dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of Agar powder in 1/4 cup water and give it 2-3 boils.
• Simultaneously, heat 2 to 3 tablespoon blueberry crush and mix in it boiled china grass solution, again passing through a sieve.
• Let it get lukewarm.
• Take out the cake tin and pour this mix over it. Before pouring just ensure by touching that the cream cheese layer has set partially.
• You can put Blueberry crush as it is also, that is without adding Agar. But warm it slightly so that it sticks to the cream cheese mix.

• Return this to the refrigerator and forget about it for at least for 8 hours. Overnight is better. That's it. Now you wait patiently. I know this is the toughest part but no choice. Your impatience may cost you an unset cheesecake.
• In the morning, push the bottom of the tin carefully, and your gorgeous-looking Cheesecake is there for you.

FAQs

Q) Can't I make this cake without a loose-bottomed pan or a springform pan?

Of course, you can! In my Mango Cheesecake recipe, I have shown how to make it in a regular cake pan. Pl check that.

Q) Which Agar is to be used?

Agar comes in strands as well as in powder form. I have used powdered Agar in this recipe.

 

Some More related recipes:

• Vanilla Pannacotta With Strawberry Sauce
• Eggless Chocolate Pudding
• Chocolate Self Saucing Pudding
• Mango Parfait
• How To Whip Heavy Cream

 

Let's Connect!

I am sure you will surely try this recipe of tempting Blueberry cheesecake. Please do take out little time to comment below in the comments section as your feedback fuels my enthusiasm to post more good content. And if you like it then do share it with your dear ones also on your favourite social media sites. If you wish to stay updated with the latest recipes then follow me on my Facebook page.