Last weekend was my little sister’s 29th Birthday! Emma has never been a dessert girl but since I was the one hosting her birthday dinner this year there was no way I was going to miss out on the opportunity to try and convert her to the sweet side. I gave her a call and had a lengthy discussion over what type of desserts she sometimes enjoys and what exactly it is that she dislikes about other desserts. What it came down to was that she doesn’t like plain old cake…she thinks it’s boring. She does like however: crumbles, pies and cheesecakes. I decided I would try to give her a bit of everything she loves in a dessert. This NY Cheesecake has it all, minus a pie crust.

FOR THE CAKE:

FOR THE BLUEBERRY SAUCE:

FOR THE CRUMBLE:

Make this ahead of time

• 1 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 cup old fashioned or quick cooking oats
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 butter, cubed and softened

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl or stand mixer, mix the brown sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, salt and butter with a fork or paddle attachment until crumbly. Spread mixture out on a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 min. Keep an eye on it as the sugar will burn quickly since the crumble is not on top of fruit while it is cooking like crumble normally is. When it is golden remove it from the oven and scrape it into a bowl. Once you have assembled the cheesecake top it off with as much crumble as your heart desires.

*Please note this crumble is quite crunchy, it’s more like a candy topping than a traditional crumble due to the fact that it is baked separately on a baking sheet.