Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Cake

February. The shortest month, which in Duluth feels like the longest because by now you've been in winter for four months and the novelty is gone and the beauty is gone and what's left is gray sky, gray ice, gray everything. February is the month when Duluthians question their choices. March is when they remember why they stay. I'm between those two things this week — questioning and remembering. The house feels small. The shifts at the hospital feel long. The dark feels heavy. I'm fifty-three and I know this is seasonal — the Scandinavian in me practically has a genetic predisposition for winter depression — but knowing it's seasonal doesn't make February shorter. Paul feels it too. He's quieter in February. His walks are shorter and his reading is longer and he comes home from school with the tired eyes of a man who's been teaching American history to sophomores who'd rather be anywhere else. We orbit each other in the house like two planets that share a gravity — close, companionable, not always speaking. I called Karin in Stockholm. It was evening there, eight PM, and she was making dinner — lamb stew with root vegetables, she said. I told her about February in Duluth and she said, "February in Stockholm is worse. At least you have Lake Superior." She's right. Stockholm has water too, but it's not the same water. Lake Superior is the biggest freshwater lake in the world and it sits outside my window like a god — enormous, indifferent, permanent. You can't be nihilistic about February when Lake Superior is right there, doing February the same way it's been doing February for ten thousand years. I made comfort food all week because February demands it. Macaroni and cheese on Monday. Chicken pot pie on Wednesday. And on Saturday, I made something I haven't made in years: ostkaka — Swedish cheesecake, which is nothing like American cheesecake. It's made with curdled milk (you add rennet to warm milk and let it set), mixed with cream and eggs and almonds, baked until it's barely set, and served warm with cloudberry jam. Or lingonberry jam if you can't get cloudberry, which in Duluth you can't, so lingonberry it is. The ostkaka was Mamma's grandmother's recipe — from the farm outside Uppsala, passed down through women whose names I only partly know. Mamma made it for special occasions and sometimes for no occasion at all, and the taste of it is so specific to my childhood that eating it now is like opening a door to a room I forgot existed. Paul had a slice and said, "What is this?" I said, "Swedish cheesecake." He said, "This is not cheesecake." I said, "Not everything has to be American, Paul." He had a second slice. His critique was withdrawn. The sun set at five-fifteen today. That's ten minutes later than last week. Ten minutes. It doesn't sound like much. It's everything.

The ostkaka reminded me that some recipes don’t belong to a season — they belong to a feeling, and the feeling was worth chasing. This Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Cake isn’t ostkaka in the strict sense, but it carries the same spirit: a creamy, barely-sweet cheesecake center, bright lemon cutting through February gray, and blueberries standing in for the lingonberries and cloudberries of my childhood. Paul, who had opinions about what cheesecake is and isn’t, had two slices of this too. Some things transcend category.

Prep Time: 45 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 5 hours (includes chilling) | Servings: 12

Ingredients

Lemon Cake Layers

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 tbsp fresh lemon zest
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole milk, room temperature

Cheesecake Layer

16 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream

Blueberry Compote

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp cornstarch dissolved in 1 tbsp cold water

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz full-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp fresh lemon zest
Pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare the cheesecake layer. Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a 9-inch round springform pan with parchment and lightly grease the sides. Beat cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed until completely smooth, about 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low after each addition. Beat in lemon zest, vanilla, and sour cream until just combined. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 40–45 minutes, until the center is set with only a slight jiggle. Cool completely on a wire rack, then refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.
Make the lemon cake layers. Increase oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans and line with parchment. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl; set aside. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on medium-high until pale and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in lemon zest, lemon juice, and vanilla. Add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the milk, beginning and ending with flour. Divide batter evenly between pans and bake 28–32 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.
Make the blueberry compote. Combine blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to burst and release their juices, about 6–8 minutes. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and cook 1–2 minutes more until the compote thickens slightly. Remove from heat and cool completely before using.
Make the frosting. Beat cream cheese and butter together on medium-high until smooth and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to low and gradually add powdered sugar, then beat in lemon juice, lemon zest, and salt. Increase speed to medium and beat until light and spreadable, 2 minutes more. If frosting is too soft, refrigerate 15 minutes before using.
Assemble the cake. Place one lemon cake layer on a serving plate or cake board. Spread a thin layer of frosting over the top. Carefully remove the chilled cheesecake from the springform pan and peel away the parchment; set it directly on top of the frosted cake layer. Spread another thin layer of frosting over the cheesecake. Place the second lemon cake layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the entire cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting.
Finish with blueberry compote. Spoon the cooled blueberry compote over the top of the cake, allowing it to drape naturally over the edges. Refrigerate the assembled cake at least 30 minutes before slicing to allow the layers to set. Serve cold or at cool room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Cake — The Taste of a Room I Forgot Existed