Cherry cheesecake
A cheesecake infused with the seasons cherries. It has a crisp crust, with a cherry and soft cheese filling, and drizzled with cherry syrup and melted white chocolate on top. A truly summery, fruity dessert.
Ingredients
- 570 gms fresh cherries (pitted; I did mine after cooking)
- 3-4 tbsp honey
Crust
- 250 gms digestive biscuits, crushed into slightly coarse crumbs
- 1 tsp sugar
- 7-8 tbsp melted butter
For the filling
- 600 gms soft cheese (full fat)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 eggs
- cherry puree ( as per recipe)
To serve
- Cherry syrup (as per recipe)
- a few tbsp of melted white chocolate
- a few fresh cherries (optional)
Instructions
Cherry puree and syrup
- In a heatproof pan add the cherries and honey and mix together.
- Place the pan over low to medium heat and stir the mixture.
- Stir continuously for a couple of minutes or until the cherries start to release their juices.
- Reduce heat to low, cover and cook till the juices slightly thicken and the cherries are soft. Keep stirring in between. Also, smash the cherries a little to quicken cooking.
- It is ready when the cherries are soft and the juices are easy flowing but not watery.
- Carefully, separate the smashed cherries from the syrup. I pitted my cherries at this stage.
- Sieve the syrup into a bowl and let it cool completely before storing in the fridge until serving time.
- Puree the softened cherries and cool completely. Keep aside
The crust-
- Pre heat the oven at 200 deg C.
- Grease the bottom and sides of a baking pan. (I used a 10 inch diameter pan which is 1½ inches deep. See notes)
- Mix together all the ingredients for the crust.
- Transfer the mixture to the pan and firmly and evenly press it over the bottom.
- Place the pan in the centre of the oven and bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and place on a rack to cool completely.
The filling and baking the cheesecake-
- Pre heat the oven at 120 deg C.
- In a bowl, beat together the soft cheese and sugar with an electric whisk till smooth.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Add the cherry puree and fold in with a spatula.
- Tip the filling over the crust and smooth the top.
- Place the pan in the centre of the pre heated oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or till the centre of the cheesecake is slightly wobbly when the pan is shaken gently.
- Switch off the oven.
- Leave the cheesecake inside the oven and keep the oven door slightly ajar. Let the cheesecake cool completely.
- Cover the pan with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 6-8 hours or overnight.
To serve-
- Cut a wedge from the cheesecake and place on a plate.
- Drizzle some melted white chocolate followed by the cherry syrup and add some fresh cherries on top (optional).
Notes
- If you are using a narrower, deeper pan reduce the amount of crust a little. Bake the crust for the same period of time. For the rest of the cheesecake, use same quantities and follow the instructions in the recipe. Look for the signs that will tell you when the cheesecake is ready. A deeper pan will probably need a bit more time. But ovens do vary, so do keep an eye on it.