Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a baking sheet and an 8-inch round springform pan with nonstick cooking spray and set a side.
For the crust: In a bowl, stir together flour, walnuts, and salt and set aside. Using a stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream 1/4 cup of softened butter and brown sugar. Add the egg and mix well. Make sure you scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl. Add flour mixture to the bowl and mix until incorporated.
Spread the dough onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and crumble with fork. Return to the oven and bake for 15 more minutes, stirring and breaking any lumps every 5 minutes. The crumbs should be toasty brown color, not burned. Let them cool then pulse in a food processor, until they are the size of a pea.
In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the remaining 9 1/2 tbsp of butter and continue cooking until the butter turns brown and smells caramelized, not burned. Remove from the heat.
Place crumbs in a bowl and add butter to make them hold together. Press mixture so it sticks to the bottom of the prepared springform pan. Chill for at least 40 minutes, before serving.
To make the filling: using a stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, vanilla bean seeds and lemon zest until smooth. Slowly add the cream and mix just until smooth.
Spread the filling over the prepared crust, using a small offset spatula, make sure th top is even and there are no bubbles.
Chill for 4 hours or overnight. Serve with blueberry compote. This cake is very soft!
For the blueberry compote:
In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine all ingredients and cook until the compote thickens and coats the back of a spoon, 20-30 minutes. Let it cool, then transfer to a jar. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Notes
Recipe from the book: The Slanted Door by Charles Phan