Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Parfait

Cheesecake Parfait

Who doesn't love cheesecake? Wait, Who doesn't love a parfait? You get layers and layers of dessert goodness all in a fancy glass. Plus, they're super easy to make and serve,( at least this Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake parfait is.). You don't have to worry about any of the fussiness that comes with a cake and frosting OR, in this case, the spring form pan that's required for most cheesecake recipes. In fact, cheesecake is one of those desserts that seems soooo hard to make (and it CAN be), but by doing it as a parfait, no-bake style you really can't go wrong! The "cheesecake" filing is just cream cheese, vanilla, sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and white Stilton cheese... Yes, white Stilton cheese! (Hang on, it's very different from blue Stilton, but more on that later.). The topping is fresh blueberries, a little sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest. The filling and topping are then layered on crushed graham crackers. Easy as pie......or, cheesecake.

White Stilton

Now, the white Stilton may sound strange because, if you're like us, when you think of Stilton cheese, you think of the blue Stilton that has a creamy texture with a sort of soft "blue cheese" flavor. It's one of our favorite cheeses to enjoy with a martini on Friday nights. In fact, the rich flavors are the perfect complement to a Gin Martini with a lemon twist, some olives, and nuts. It's really the only thing I want to spend my WW points on! That's why we save it for a Friday night, weekend vibes, time to relax drink/snack/happy hour.

One day, while shopping at the West Side Market in Cleveland we stopped by a gourmet cheese shop (you know, to pick up some blue Stilton for our Friday night drinks). While looking at the array of different cheeses, we happened to see a White Stilton with Lemon and a White Stilton with blueberries. Knowing how much we love Blue Stilton, we got some to take home! The White Stilton with Lemon is slightly sweet with the candied lemon rinds and a very soft flavored cheese. It immediately reminds you of a dessert. But not an overly sweet dessert. It has a slightly crumbly texture that is different from its blue Stilton counterpart. There are small pieces of that candied lemon throughout, making this a perfectly delicate cheese.

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Parfait

As delicious as the White Stilton is by itself, we just had to do more with this cheese. We LOVE "The Great British Baking Show" (who doesn't!) and decided to channel our inner Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood to come up with a great dessert. So, we thought, we have cheese... Let's make a cheesecake! We crushed some graham crackers for the base/crust of our parfait. Next, we added equal amounts of whipped cream cheese and White Stilton, blending until smooth. Then adding in non-fat condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla. Everything is blended together and we started on the topping. Blueberries, a small amount of sugar (to keep it tart), more lemon juice, and some zest of lemon is brought to a boil to form a sauce. We added more blueberries after cooking to give two types of textures to the sauce. Let it chill and add it to the cheesecake layer of the parfait. Finally, top with a little more graham cracker and..... Voila! You have a dessert that tastes like summer on a spoon. This Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake is bright, tart, sweet, and creamy! All without heating up the kitchen.

Other Ideas

A Parfait-style dessert could also be constructed out of our delicious, SPICY banana cream pie recipe. Just layer the crust, bananas, and cream in a parfait glass and chill to set.