Cheesecake was not served at the Glen-Mor Restaurant and won’t be included in the current cookbook project, but this dish came out so well I wanted to share. I used leftover fresh cherries after the recent Cherry Pie. I baked this cheesecake for a function at work, following Dorrie Greenspan’s recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours with additional tips from Elise Bauer’s cooking blog Simply Recipes. Note this recipe is best made the day before serving.
Servings: 12
Fresh
2 lbs. cream cheese
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream, divided
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 cups (1 lb.) pitted cherries
Pantry
1-2/3 cups crushed graham cracker crumbs
2 cups granulated sugar, divided
2-1/2 Tbsp. Confectioners’ sugar
2-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract, divided
2 quarts plus 4 Tbsp. water, divided, additional as needed
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
Prepare crust
Preheat oven to 350 degrees-F. In a small mixing bowl, combine crushed graham cracker crumbs and 2 Tbsp. granulated sugar. Melt butter and let cool slightly. Add melted butter to crumbs and mix with hands until an even consistency. Spray a 9-inch spring-form pan with cooking spray. Pour crumb mixture into the pan and press down firmly with hands to spread crumbs evenly forming the crust. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.
Prepare filling
While crust is baking, mix cream cheese on medium with the paddle attachment in a stand mixer for 3 to 4 minutes. Add 1-1/3 cup granulated sugar and mix for another 3 to 4 minutes. Add vanilla and one egg, mix for 1 minute. Add remaining eggs one at a time, mixing after each egg. Add sour cream and mix until incorporated. Add heavy cream and mix for 1 to 2 minutes. Scrap sides of bowl and mix until all ingredients are well incorporated.
Bake cheesecake
Once crust is done baking, reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees-F. Enclose the bottom and sides of the spring-form pan in several sheets of aluminum foil to prevent water entry during baking in a water bath. Pour cream cheese mixture into baked crust. Place foil-covered spring-form pan in a large roasting pan. Boil 2 quarts of water in a tea kettle and pour hot water into roasting pan, careful not to get any water on the cheesecake. Add additional hot water as needed to create a bath approximately 1 inch deep in the roasting pan. Carefully place roasting pan in the bottom one-third of the oven and bake for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Prepare sour cream topping
In a small mixing bowl, combine remaining 1/3 cup of sour cream with remaining 1/2 tsp. of vanilla and 2-1/2 Tbsp. Confectioners’ sugar. Mix until incorporated and transfer to the refrigerator to chill until ready to serve.
Prepare cherry topping
In a small pot on the stove, combine remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar and cherries over medium heat. In a separate small dish, mix cornstarch and remaining 4 Tbsp. of water until cornstarch is dissolved. Add water and cornstarch mixture to the cherries. Bring cherries to a boil and cook until sauce is thickened. Remove from heat and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
Cool and chill cheesecake
When the cheesecake is done, turn the oven off and crack the door. Allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven for 1 hour or so. Remove from oven, discard aluminum foil wrapping, cover top of spring-form pan with a clean piece of foil, and transfer to the refrigerator to chill overnight.
Serve
When ready to serve, spread the sour cream topping over the chilled cheesecake and served with the cherries on top or on the side.
Cheesecake recipe adapted from Dorrie Greenspan’s recipe in Baking: From My Home to Yours.
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