Savory Stilton Cheesecake with Rhubarb Compote

This is such a unique recipe. I stumbled across it a few years ago. Using a Stilton bleu cheese gives a deep, incredible flavor and richness that is hard to describe. It’s luscious and creamy. Serve it with a glass of port. Amazing!

Bob Schumacher

Managing Partner

Bob Schumacher

Ingredients

For shortbread crust:

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour (150g)
¼ cup sugar (50g)
7 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½” (2cm) cubes, softened (100g)

For filling:

½ lb Stilton, rind discarded and cheese crumbled (225g)
3 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened (675g)
1 cup sugar (220g)
⅓ cup all-purpose flour (75g)
3 large eggs
1 (8 oz) container sour cream (225g)
2 teaspoons vanilla

For compote:

½ cup port (120 ml)
½ cup sugar (100g)
24 pink peppercorns, coarsely crushed
2 lbs trimmed rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ (1/25cm) cubes (900g) (or substitute 2 pints blueberries)
3 tablespoons sugar for caramel topping (optional)

Directions

Cheesecake directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F (170°C).
Blend flour and sugar with an electric mixer. Add butter and blend until mixture resembles coarse meal (it will not form a dough).
Transfer to a buttered 9” (24cm) springform pan and press evenly onto bottom. Bake in middle of oven until pale golden, about 30 minutes, then cool in pan on a rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 300°F (150°C).
Beat together crumbled Stilton, cream cheese, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed. Beat in flour and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in sour cream and vanilla, then pour filling over cooled crust in pan.
Bake cheesecake in middle of oven until puffed and pale golden around edges, about 1‚hour. Transfer cake in pan to rack and run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool completely, then chill, covered, until cold (at least 4 hours).

Compote directions:

Boil Port, 1/2 cup sugar, and peppercorns in a 12-inch nonstick skillet, stirring until sugar is dissolved, until reduced to about 1/2 cup, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add rhubarb or blueberries and gently stir to coat. Simmer, stirring gently once after 5 minutes, until just tender but not falling apart, about 10 minutes, and transfer to a bowl.
Chill compote, covered, until cold, at least 4 hours.

Optional topping:

Just before serving, sprinkle 3 tablespoons sugar evenly over cheesecake and heat with a blowtorch, moving flame back and forth just over sugar until evenly melted and caramelized.