Little Sean’s Jalapeño Goat Cheesecake with Blueberry Compote | From the Kitchen of…Fuse Aiken

Sean Butler, AKA Little Sean, has been a core member of Fuse since just before we opened here in Aiken.

After his interview, we realized we had a lot in common — thinking outside of the box and making sure that our ingredients were as fresh and locally sourced as possible. His position at Fuse is extremely important, as he is responsible for the first and last bites most tables will have. The kid is crazy, and that comes through in the best way in his dishes.

You Will Need

7” spring form pan

mixing bowl

cookie sheet

Filling

12 oz goat cheese (Trail Ridge has the best here in Aiken)

8 oz cream cheese

8 oz sour cream

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp honey

zest of 2 lemons

2 eggs

Crumble Crust

2 seeded and minced Jalapeños

2 cups crumbled graham cracker

1/3 cup melted butter

Blueberry Compote

1 1/2 cups blueberries

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups water

juice of 3 lemons

Make the Crust

Preheat oven to 350°. On low heat, simmer the jalapeños and butter until the butter takes on the color of the jalapeño. Combine the jalapeño butter and graham cracker mix. Butter up the spring form pan. Press the mix firmly and evenly into the bottom of the spring form pan.

Bake the Cake

Mix goat cheese, cream cheese, and sour cream. Fold in honey, vanilla, lemon zest, and eggs. Allow mix to chill for 20 minutes, then spoon into the spring form pan, smoothing over with a spoon. Place the spring form pan in the cookie sheet, adding a little water to the sheet pan to create a water bath. This will help the cake cook more evenly. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes, then turn the oven off and allow the cake to set for 1 hour inside oven. Remove cake and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Mix the Compote

In a saucepan add the water, sugar, lemon juice, and blueberries. Bring to a boil and then reduce to simmer. Remove from heat and chill for 10 minutes. Finally remove the cake from the pan and drizzle compote on top.

Enjoy!

Picture of Palmetto Bella Staff

Palmetto Bella Staff

Staff writer for Palmetto Bella Magazine
Picture of Palmetto Bella Staff

Palmetto Bella Staff

Staff writer for Palmetto Bella Magazine

In the know

Related Stories

The Beautiful People Gala | Palmetto Bella

The Beautiful People Gala

In December of 1969, Melanie Safka released her song “Beautiful People” in recognition of the homeless population in the United States. The opening line of the song says it all: Beautiful people You live in the same world as I do But somehow I never noticed You before today I’m ashamed to say Homelessness is defined as lacking stable and appropriate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are living on the streets (primary homelessness); moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends and family and emergency accommodation (secondary homelessness); or living in private boarding houses without a private bathroom or security of tenure (tertiary homelessness). The legal

Read More »
Red Snapper | Lux Libations | Palmetto Bella

Red Snapper | Lux Libations

My dad, born and raised in Pennsylvania, attended Mercer in Macon and graduated with a degree in education and a love for southern food, especially fried chicken — I’ve never seen someone get so excited over a Bojangles. My first experience with true southern cuisine happened on a road trip with him — we were following my sister’s softball team all over Georgia. I was 15. Okra, collard greens, and real BBQ were all foreign to me. I think I had seen My Cousin Vinny by that time, so I may have known about grits but had never tried them. I tried all the foods my father enjoyed, but the

Read More »
Pimento Cheese | From the Kitchen of... Fuse Aiken | Palmetto Bella

Pimento Cheese | From the Kitchen of… Fuse Aiken

Interview with Corie Allison, Sous-Chef at Fuse Corie, what is your background? I’ve worked management in many different corporate restaurants and pretty much hated every second of it. I dreaded going to work every day, but it gave me some good experience. I was looking to leave the restaurant business for good until the day I caught wind of a new place opening in downtown Augusta that was offering something very different. I went in, had an impromptu interview with the chef when construction was nearing the end, and fell in love. Since then, Fuse has been my home, my family, and my source of inspiration to be better every

Read More »
Beer, Bella: The Beer Making Process | Palmetto Bella

Beer, Bella: The Beer Making Process

It is spring. The weather is getting warmer and people are spending more time outdoors. What might you find in someone’s hand on the golf course, tailgating at a sporting event, or standing by the grill cooking up dinner? A cold glass or can of beer. Ever wonder how this liquid gold came to be resting in your glass with bubbles of perfection rising to the surface and just the right amount of head retention? Me neither. Quite frankly, I took it for granted until I embarked on my beer journey. Believe it or not, the beer goes from grain to glass in six simple steps; malting, mashing, fermentation, filtration,

Read More »