The Best Homemade Blueberry Delight Dessert Recipe
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I don’t buy cool whip. But I really love a good delight dessert (which is basically a no-bake cheesecake type deal with cream cheese and hydrogenated vegetable oil… ahem.. I mean whipped topping mixed together on top of a graham cracker crust and topped with fruit. I really love to use my home canned pie fillings for this to switch up which fruit I use. Traditionally, you’ll see cherry delight most often, but today it’s blueberry. I love blueberry cheesecake and this easy dessert gives me that without the baking and temperamental attitude of baked cheesecakes give.
My blueberry pie filling recipe is AMAZING if I must say so myself. Alas, it’s a recipe I make every year during blueberry season and we love it, so I shared it. Because it tastes good to me. Soooo many people ask if my recipe is even good… to which I always wonder why they think I’d share a recipe I don’t like. Maybe people do that? I have no clue. But for me, you won’t find me wasting food to share things for attention… that’s dumb. I’m sharing it because YUM and I want you to enjoy it tooooooo.
Other names for this dessert could include: blueberry yum yum, blueberry lush, or no bake blueberry delight. It really depends on which region you’re from, and as you know, people are passionate about what the right name is. I, on the other hand, don’t care as long as this lovely, creamy dessert is on my fork and headed down the hatch. Cream cheese and graham cracker crumbs and my homemade pie filling is a match made in hillbilly culinary heaven for me! And who could be made about a no bake dessert?! (unless you’re like me and prefer to bake the graham cracker crust prior to adding the filling for texture reasons… I give both ways to do it!)
Homemade Whipped Cream
The homemade whipped cream in this dessert makes it far richer than anything you’d buy at the store in a little plastic tub in the freezer section. And with far less poison. Making homemade whipped cream is very simple, and I use store bought or separated cream from my goat milk. You can use cream from whatever dairy animal you have, just be sure you have around 2 cups. I keep my cream raw which I think makes this dessert richer and obviously better for you since I see raw milk as a superfood. You can also use store bought heavy whipping cream, just keep in mind many storebought heavy whipping creams have gums and polysorbate 80 to enhance the texture and creaminess and it whips up REALLY QUICK, so don’t turn you back on it. Fresh cream, or cream sourced without any additives will take a bit longer to come to stiff, fluffy peaks so be patient.
Use whatever you have and do the best you can. There are instances I purchase store bought heavy cream with those additives because it’s the best I can afford and I need it for a special recipe. I don’t like them, but I also just err by the “do my best and forget the rest” adage, because I want to enjoy life and be able to make others happy with my food, versus being a miserable nutbag that obsesses over how poisoned our food supply is.
Let’s get started with this delicious blueberry delight recipe!
Equipment You Might Want:
- 9×13 inch dessert pan with a lid
- Large mixing bowl
- electric hand mixer
- Stand Mixer with whisk attachment
- Sauce pan
Ingredients:
- 8 tablespoons of butter, melted & browned
- 3 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 3/4 cup raw, unrefined sugar
- 2 cups raw cream (goat milk preferred, obviously)
- 1 tablespoon beef gelatin
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 quart + 1 pint blueberry pie filling
Step 1: Prep
Place the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk attachment in the freezer.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F if you are going to bake the graham cracker crust. If you don’t want to bake the crust (whish is possible, I just prefer to bake, you can follow the instructions and place the crust in the freezer for a few hours before adding the filling and it will be fine.) Not baking creates a more cakey graham cracker crust which I cannot stand (I am crazy, I am aware).
Step 2: Make the Crust
Start by melting 8 tablespoons of butter and browning. To brown the butter, bring it to a gently boil and let it simmer, stirring frequently, until it turns an amber color and it stops talking to you. What I mean by that is butter pops and crackles as it browns and once it’s finished, it’s silent and ceases to crack and pop!
Break apart whole graham crackers and process graham cracker pieces in a food processor until pulverized and sand-like. You can also work out some aggression with a ziploc bag and a rolling pin!
Measure out 3 cups graham cracker crumbs and mix in brown sugar. You can use either store bought or homemade.
Pour the browned melted butter into the graham cracker crumb and sugar mixture. Stir to combine well.
To the bottom of a greased 9×13 inch pan, press the graham cracker-butter mixture into the bottom, spreading evenly and then using the bottom of a drinking glass to press it in tightly.
If you are baking the crust, bake for 10 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Set aside to cool while you work on the filling.
Step 3: Make the Filling
In a large bowl, whip together well-softened cream cheese, raw unrefined sugar, vanilla, and lemon extract til fluffy and the sugar has mostly dissolved using an electric hand mixer. Set aside.
Remove the bowl of your stand mixer from the freezer and add in 2 cups of cream (or store bought heavy whipping cream) and begin whipping on high speed with the whisk attachment. Starting with everything really cold helps it to whip up a lot faster.
While it whips, gradually add in 1 tablespoon of plain beef gelatin and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. The beef gelatin “sets” the whipped cream so it doesn’t destabilize or “melt” later on. For best results, don’t skip the gelatin. Plus, it’s super good for you!
Whip the cream into stiff peaks, watch closely so you don’t make butter.
Once at stiff peaks, add in the cream cheese mixture and whip to combine. You could also fold this together gently with a spatula or switch you stand mixer to the paddle attachment, but that’s more dishes so nahhhhh.
Step 4: Assemble
Gently spread the fluffy filling on top of the cooled crust that has completely cooled. If using a chilled crust that you didn’t bake, make sure it’s frozen solid before attempting to spread the next layer on top. Be very gentle and push instead of trying to spread it around.
For the third layer, top with homemade blueberry pie filling. If using store bought, one large can of pie filling should be plenty.
Place your layered dessert in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours before enjoying to allow the layers to chill and the cheesecake layer to set up completely.
Store any leftovers in the fridge in an air tight container and enjoy!
Notes:
You can replace some of the graham crackers with pecans or almonds for a lovely nutty flavor and extra crunch to compliment the browned butter.
I hope you enjoy this easy recipe that wonderful for summer parties or winter birthdays (like we’re having right now)! Enjoy!
Equipment
- 9×13 inch dessert pan with a lid
- electric hand mixer
- Stand Mixer with whisk attachment
- Sauce pan
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons of butter melted & browned
- 3 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon lemon extract
- 3/4 cup raw unrefined sugar
- 2 cups raw cream goat milk preferred, obviously
- 1 tablespoon beef gelatin
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 quart + 1 pint blueberry pie filling
Instructions
- Place the bowl of your stand mixer and whisk attachment in the freezer.
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F if you are going to bake the graham cracker crust. If you don’t want to bake the crust (whish is possible, I just prefer to bake, you can follow the instructions and place the crust in the freezer for a few hours before adding the filling and it will be fine.) Not baking creates a more cakey graham cracker crust.
- Start by melting 8 tablespoons of butter and browning. To brown the butter, bring it to a gently boil and let it simmer, stirring frequently, until it turns an amber color and it stops talking to you. What I mean by that is butter pops and crackles as it browns and once it’s finished, it’s silent and ceases to crack and pop!
- Break apart whole graham crackers and process graham cracker pieces in a food processor until pulverized and sand-like. You can also work out some aggression with a ziploc bag and a rolling pin!
- Measure out 3 cups graham cracker crumbs and mix in brown sugar. You can use either store bought or homemade.
- Pour the browned melted butter into the graham cracker crumb and sugar mixture. Stir to combine well.
- To the bottom of a greased 9×13 inch pan, press the graham cracker-butter mixture into the bottom, spreading evenly and then using the bottom of a drinking glass to press it in tightly.
- If you are baking the crust, bake for 10 minutes, or until it is golden brown. Set aside to cool while you work on the filling. If you aren't baking the crust, place the pan in the freezer until the crust is set, about 2 hours.
- In a large bowl, whip together well-softened cream cheese, raw unrefined sugar, vanilla, and lemon extract til fluffy and the sugar has mostly dissolved using an electric hand mixer. Set aside.
- Remove the bowl of your stand mixer from the freezer and add in 2 cups of cream (or store bought heavy whipping cream) and begin whipping on high speed with the whisk attachment. Starting with everything really cold helps it to whip up a lot faster.
- While it whips, gradually add in 1 tablespoon of plain beef gelatin and 1/4 cup powdered sugar. The beef gelatin “sets” the whipped cream so it doesn’t destabilize or “melt” later on. For best results, don’t skip the gelatin. Plus, it’s super good for you!
- Whip the cream into stiff peaks, watch closely so you don’t make butter.
- Once at stiff peaks, add in the cream cheese mixture and whip to combine. You could also fold this together gently with a spatula or switch you stand mixer to the paddle attachment, but that’s more dishes so nahhhhh.
- Gently spread the fluffy filling on top of the cooled crust that has completely cooled. If using a chilled crust that you didn’t bake, make sure it’s frozen solid before attempting to spread the next layer on top. Be very gentle and push instead of trying to spread it around.
- For the third layer, top with homemade blueberry pie filling. If using store bought, one large can of pie filling should be plenty.
- Place your layered dessert in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours before enjoying to allow the layers to chill and the cheesecake layer to set up completely.
- Store any leftovers in the fridge in an air tight container and enjoy!
Do you bloom the gelatin or simply use the powder?
I use the powder, not sheets, so you just whip it in with the cream and powdered sugar.