A great cheesecake should be rich and creamy, with a smooth, light texture. Many people tend to overcook cheesecake, which gives an unpleasant granular texture. Do not worry if the cheesecake still looks slightly loose when removed from the oven. It will set up as it cools. We allow at lease eight hours between baking and serving our cheesecakes. 

Mascarpone Cheesecake

Crust 

• 70 vanilla wafers (8 ½  ounces), finely ground in a food processor (2 ⅓  cups)
• 1 ¼  sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1) Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Butter bottom and side of a 9-inch springform pan.

2) Stir together cookie crumbs and butter in a bowl. Reserve ¼ cup crumb mixture for sprinkling over cheesecake, then pat remainder onto bottom and 1 ½ inches up side of springform pan (about 1 inch thick).

3) Put pan in a shallow baking pan and bake until golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a rack, about 25 minutes. Leave oven on. Make filling while crust bakes.

Filling

• 20 ounces cream cheese (2 ½  eight-ounce packages), softened
• 8 ounces mascarpone cheese at room temperature (about 1 cup)
• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• ¼  teaspoon salt

1) Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and mix at low speed until combined.

2) Pour into cooled crust and bake until cake is set and puffed around edge but still trembles slightly when pan is shaken gently, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly in springform pan on rack, about 20 minutes. (Cheesecake will continue to set as it cools.) Leave oven on.

Blueberry Compote

• 3 cups blueberries
• ½ -1 cup sugar (to taste)
• juice of ½  a lemon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

1)  Stir together blueberries and sugar over medium heat, stirring occasionally until it comes to a sauce. Stir in the vanilla and lemon juice. Set aside to cool.

2) Bake cheesecake in a water bath until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edge to help prevent cracking. Sprinkle top with reserved crumbs and cool completely in pan on rack, then chill, loosely covered, at least 8 hours.