With temperatures in the mid to upper 90’s since the beginning of June, I have moved almost all of my cooking operations outside to the grill. While we do love all the traditional grilled foods, like burgers, dogs, ribs, and chicken, it has been my personal challenge to come up with new and different ideas. This has been a very fun exercise for me, opening my mind to endless possibilities, and I have gained a new perspective on grilling. There really is nothing that you can make on the stove or in the oven, that you can’t do on the grill.
The other day, the local market had beautiful blueberries on sale for 1.49/pint. I of course snatched up a few being the berry lover I am. When I got home I began pondering what I was going to do with my newly acquired bounty. I do love to bake, and have been missing not producing some kind of baked goods. I started thinking about what I might like to attempt. After a quick inventory of my larder, I decided to give a cheese cake a try, I mean why not? If I would use a water bath and an indirect heat method, why wouldn’t this work? I figured the worst that could happen was that I might ruin some ingredients, and burn a bit of gas. Anticipating that the cake might pick up a bit of smokey flavor from the grill, I finalized my plan with a savory approach. Fresh rosemary from the garden and lemon, a great combination with blueberries.
This cake surpassed my expectations. The flavor combination was amazing, and to my surprise only took on a very subtle hint of smokiness that worked very well with the rosemary. I would call this one a total success!
- 1/3 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 4 eggs, separated
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 15 ounce cartons of ricotta cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest
- 1 pint fresh blueberries
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon corn starch
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 cinnamon stick
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Oven: Heat to 325°F.
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Grill: Place a pan with about 1 1/2″ of water on one side. Position a baking rack over the pan. Heat the grill on high with lid closed. When ready to bake turn off the burners under the pan of water, and reduce the heat on the other burners to medium low.
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Grease and flour a 9 ” springform pan.
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Cream together butter and sugar. Mix in egg yolks and vanilla. Add ricotta cheese and stir to combine. Do not overwork.
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Sift together flour and baking powder. Add to the ricotta mixture and stir just enough to combine. Mix in rosemary and lemon.
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Using a hand-held mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites gently into ricotta mixture. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
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Oven: Bake for 45 minutes, then turn off the oven. Leave cheesecake in the oven for another 45 minutes.
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Grill: Place cake on wire rack above water and close the lid. I was able to hold a pretty steady 325°F. I checked the cake at 45 minutes, and the center was not quite set, so I went another 15 minutes. Resist the temptation to open the grill other than just a quick check.
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Run a knife around the edges of the pan, and allow to cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.
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Place all ingredients in a sauce pan and simmer for about 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened. Cool before serving over cheesecake.
I baked this cake outdoors on my gas grill, however you can always use your oven.
