Huckleberry Season

When I was a child one of my favorite things to do in the summer was to head up to the mountains and pick huckleberries. So last week, I drove five and half hours up to Northern Idaho to pick these berries. Huckleberries are truly special, they are a seasonal berry that is only available for a couple weeks mid-summer. They grow at higher altitudes, in limited places, and often in bear country. Their flavor offers a perfect blend of sweet and tart!

Antelope Lake (near my favorite berry spot)

This trip I spent about five hours handpicking these berries and was only able to harvest about a gallon. (This years berry is smaller than usual and the mosquitos were unbearable)

Besides eating these berries raw, I love to use them in various recipes, like; huckleberry pancakes, and muffins, I add them to my morning smoothies, make homemade jams, but my favorite is to make a huckleberry topping for my favorite cheesecake recipe.

This cheesecake recipe is the best one that I have found, I have made some minor adjustments to make it just the way I like it! It is rich in flavor but light in texture. The berry topping is sweet and tart with a touch of cinnamon.

Getting started:

Ingredients for crust-
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter

Ingredients for cheesecake-
2 pounds cream cheese, room temp
1 1/4 cups sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 large eggs, room temp
1 1/4 sour cream
Zest of lemon

Ingredients for topping-
1 cup huckleberries
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch & equal parts water

Supplies needed:
Mixing bowl
Mixer
Measuring utensils
9 by 3 inch springform pan
Large roasting pan

To make the crust, (preheat oven to 350 degrees) butter springform pan and wrap bottom in tin foil. Mix together crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Pour over melted butter and stir until all ingredients are evenly mixed. Press mixture into bottom of cheesecake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

To make cheesecake, (turn oven down to 325 degrees) in mixing bowl beat cream cheese at low/medium speed until soft and creamy. Add sugar and salt, mix several minutes until cream cheese is light. Beat in vanilla. Add eggs one by one, mixing each time. Lastly, add sour cream and lemon zest, mix on low speed. Batter should be light and well- aerated.

Place springform pan in roasting pan that is large enough to hold pan and allow space for water around pan. (I used a glass 9 by 12 pan)

Add batter to springform pan, batter will fill pan all the way to top. Add an inch of hot water to roasting pan. Bake for a hour and a half, cake will be browned on top.

Turn off oven and prop open oven door with wooden spoon, allow cheesecake to rest and cool slowly for an hour.

Place cheesecake in fridge for at least 4 hours before serving. (It is important not to rush cooling process)

To make huckleberry topping, put berries, water, lemon juice, sugar, salt and cinnamon into a small sauce pan. Bring mixture to a slow boil until berries are popping. In a seperate bowl mix together 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and equal parts water to create a slurry. Add slurry to huckleberries to thicken. Remove from heat and set aside topping until cheesecake is cooled.

To serve cake, gently run knife around the top edge of pan, remove side of springform, spoon huckleberry topping onto cake and smooth out toward edges.

I hope you enjoyed my favorite huckleberry cheesecake recipe! If you have any questions or huckleberry ideas, please share!