Vanilla Cheesecake with Cherry Sauce

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My family loves cheesecake, especially if I serve it with homemade cherry sauce from cherries from our Evans sour cherry trees. These cherry trees grow and produce prolifically in northern temperate regions, so I am always looking for new ways to include them in our menu.

We have two Evans sour cherry trees in our yard. Last year, we introduced “Juliet” from the “Romance series” of sour cherry trees. This series of northern hardy cherry trees was developed at the University of Saskatchewan and has found its way to Alberta. “Juliet” is covered in blooms now. We are looking forward to seeing how this new variety will thrive as well. One can never bake too many cherry pies!

Today’s Vanilla Cheesecake is a very simple cheesecake to bake. It tastes delicious with a variety of sauces and toppings. This cheesecake is very rich tasting, but surprisingly is lower in calories than many recipes because we use 2% milk and no cream. The crust does have a lot of butter, but do follow the recipe. The butter creates a tender tasty crust. I tried reducing the sugar and the result was a gritty texture – not good!

I use my Evans cherries from the pantry to make the homemade cherry sauce. In a pinch, you could use commercial cherry pie filling, but you won’t have as many cherries.

You will need an 8 ½ inch springform pan. Do set it into a jelly roll pan to bake to catch any butter drips. Preheat oven to 350°F. before you begin.

Crust:

½ cup (4 oz.) melted butter or margarine

1 cup + 4 tablespoons flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

Cheesecake Filling:

2 – 8 oz. packages cream cheese

2 tablespoon flour

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (not the flavoring)

1 ½ cups 2% milk

Preparation:

Preheat oven: 350°F.

Spray 9 inch springform pan with baking spray.

Method:

Crust:

1. Combine all crust ingredients in a small bowl. Use a fork.
2. Spray no-stick baking spray on bottom of cake pan.
3. Spread crust dough evenly over bottom of cake pan and a bit up the sides (no more than an inch). Set aside.

Cheesecake Filling:

1. In beater bowl place all filling ingredients in the order given.
2. Using paddle attachment, beat until filling is smooth and has no lumps. This step can also be done using a good blender.
3. Pour filling onto the base.
4. Set cake pan on jelly roll pan and bake in preheated oven for about 60 minutes, until the top feels firm to the touch.
5. Cool on cooling rack and remove cake sides and bottom and place on pretty cake plate to serve.

Cherry Sauce:

4 cups pitted sour cherries, drained (these can be fresh, frozen or canned)

1 ½ cups cherry juice (or other red tart juice e.g. cranberry)

¼ cup cornstarch

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup white sugar

Flavoring – 1 tablespoon Kirsch OR 1 teaspoon almond extract and 2 teaspoons vanilla

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the cornstarch and sugars.
2. Slowly whisk in the cherry juice.
3. Heat over medium heat until thickened and clear.
4. Immediately add the drained cherries and, stirring constantly, bring cherries back to a boil.
5. Remove from heat (Cherries are a very tender fruit and should not be overcooked).
6. Add flavorings. Pour into a pretty serving bowl to pass around so everyone can help themselves to the sauce.

 

 

Tags: baked cheesecake, cheesecake, cherry sauce, Evans cherries, homemade cherry sauce, plain baked cheesecake, sour cherries, vanilla cheesecake

Category: Cakes & Tortes, Desserts