Lavender Honey Cheesecake

CLARISSE’S LAVENDER HONEY CHEESECAKE

(Honey from her bees and lavender from her garden)

Crust

1 cup vanilla wafers

2 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

Filling

8 vanilla wafers, crumbled (1/2 cup)

3 tablespoons plus 2/3 cup honey

2 pounds cream cheese (not low fat)

4 large eggs, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, stemmed

¼ cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons dried lavender (culinary)

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature (do not use

Low-fat or nonfat.)

½ cup Greek style yogurt

Garnish

Mint leaves or whatever you wish

Position oven rack in the middle of the oven, preheat to

350 degrees. Boil a kettle of water (for a bain-marie,

or water bath.) Wrap the outside of a 9 inch springform

pan tightly with aluminum foil to make sure it is waterproof.

The Crust:

Combine the wafer crumbs, sugar and melted butter in a

Medium bowl, then pres into the bottom and 1 inch up

The sides of the springform pan.

The Filling:

Combine the crumbled wafers and 3 tablespoons of the honey in a small bowl. Beat the cream cheese in a bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for several minutes, until it is smooth and creamy. Add the remaining 2/3 cup of honey, the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition and the vanilla extract. Stop often to scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Fold the wafer honey mixture into the batter. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and place it in a larger roasting pan. Place the pan on the middle oven rack, use the boiled water to fill the pan so the water level comes about one-third to halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour until the filling is set but still slightly wobbly in the center.

Topping

While the cake is baking combine the blueberries, water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook stirring for about 5 minutes until the berries are very soft. Add the lavender and remove from heat. Let mixture steep for 15 minutes then transfer to a blender and puree. Strain through a fine mesh strainer pressing o the solids to extract as much liquid as possible. There should be about ¼ cup of lavender syrup, discards the solids.

Beat the cream cheese in the bowl with electric mixer on medium speed for several minutes until it is smooth and creamy. Reduce the sped to low, and then add the yogurt and the lavender syrup if needed use a spatula to make sure the mixture is blended together completely.

Remove the springform pan from the bain-marie and place on a wire rack, let rest for 5 minutes then spread the topping evenly over the cheesecake. Cool completely then cover and refrigerate overnight in the springform pan.

When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and d place the cake on a platter… Enjoy!