Ombré Blue Blueberry No-Bake Cheesecake | Food Network Feature
There’s a moment in every competition when you decide who you are. In Episodes 1 and 2 of Spring Baking Championship, I found myself at the bottom — twice. Bottom 2… then bottom 4. I was frustrated, annoyed, and honestly just over it. I didn’t fly across the country to survive. I came here to bake, to create, and to prove something to myself.
One afternoon between shoots, I was sitting in “the garden” — a little bench in the parking lot where Julian and I would take a breath, talk, and recenter. By this point, we were tight — pushing each other, rooting for each other, and staying locked in. I told him, “I need a win. I’m not landing at the bottom again.” We started tossing around ideas, building a dessert like two musicians writing a hook. I said I wanted to play with blueberries. He reminded me of the natural color I could get from blue spirulina. Then we hit on the flavor — gingersnap crust. Then I said, “And pretzels.” Then I added a white rainbow — a fogbow — instead of the expected bright spring rainbow. Suddenly the whole thing clicked.
From that moment, I knew. I walked into that kitchen ready. No fear. No shrinking. Just focus, flavor, and intention. And when I executed it — the ombré layers, the blueberry-ginger compote, the color-changing coconut, the fogbow topper — I knew I had finally baked from my power, not my panic. They downplayed it in the edit, but it was strong enough that they flashed back to the crust the next episode. I earned that.
This cheesecake became my turning point — my plot twist. I walked into that kitchen ready to stop surviving and start snatching wigs… one ombré layer at a time.
🌈 Ombré Blue Blueberry No-Bake Cheesecake with Gelée, Coconut, and Rainbow Topper — As Seen on Spring Baking Championship (Ep. 3)
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Chill Time: 4–6 hours (or overnight)
Yield: One 8–9” cheesecake
Method: No-bake (crust is baked for stability)
Inspired By: Spring Baking Championship, Episode 3 — The Magic of Spring Colors
⭐ Crust
Ingredients:
1 ¾ cups gingersnap crumbs (175g)
¼ cup finely crushed pretzels (25g)
2 tbsp sugar (optional)
1 tsp blue spirulina powder
½ cup unsalted butter, melted (115g)
Instructions:
Heat oven to 350°F (175°C).
Combine crumbs, pretzels, sugar, spirulina, and melted butter until it feels like wet sand.
Press firmly into a greased springform pan.
Bake 7–10 minutes. Cool completely.
⭐ Blueberry Purée
Ingredients:
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1–2 tbsp sugar (to taste)
1 tsp lemon juice
Instructions:
Cook blueberries, sugar, and lemon juice 5–10 min over medium heat.
Blend until smooth; strain if desired. Cool completely.
⭐ Cheesecake Filling (for Ombré)
Ingredients:
4 blocks cream cheese, softened (908g)
⅓ cup sour cream (79g)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar (120g)
1 tbsp vanilla extract
½ cup heavy whipping cream (120g)
½ cup mascarpone (120g)
5 silver gelatin sheets (10g), bloomed + dissolved
Blueberry purée (from above)
Coconut extract (optional)
Fresh blueberries (a small handful per layer)
Instructions:
Beat cream cheese, sour cream, lemon juice, powdered sugar, and vanilla until smooth.
Whip mascarpone separately. Whip heavy cream to soft peaks. Fold whipped cream into mascarpone, then fold that into the cream cheese base.
Slowly drizzle in dissolved gelatin while mixing on low. Add coconut extract if using.
Divide into 3 bowls. Tint each with dark, medium, and light blueberry purée for ombré.
Layering:
Microwave each portion 10–15 sec to soften for pouring
Fold in a few fresh blueberries right before pouring
Pour the dark layer first → chill 10 min
Add medium → chill 10 min
Add light → chill at least 1 hour or until set
⭐ Blueberry Gelée Disk
1 cup blueberry purée
2 tbsp sugar (optional)
2 gelatin sheets (4g), bloomed + dissolved
Heat purée, melt in gelatin + sugar, pour into shallow mold, chill, and place over cheesecake once set.
⭐ Blueberry Ginger Compote
1 cup blueberries
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp lemon juice
Simmer 10–15 minutes until syrupy. Cool.
⭐ Coconut Topping
½ cup toasted coconut (steep in butterfly pea tea before toasting for a color-changing reveal)
⭐ Fogbow Fondant Topper
Roll thin arcs of white fondant to create a minimalist rainbow. Add before serving.
🍴 Chef Notes
Chill overnight for the cleanest slices
Warm your knife for every cut
Store covered in the fridge up to 4–5 days
If you make this, tag me @kareemyoungblood — and show love to my Episode 3 partner-in-crime Julian at
https://www.julianscafe.com/ https://www.instagram.com/julianspatisserie/
