Cherry Cheesecake

Up close of a slice cheesecake on a plate.

Throw away that processed, overly sweet, canned cherry pie filling and make your very own cherry cheesecake from scratch because it is 1000% better. After you make this velvety smooth, perfectly level, tall cheesecake with a cherry topping you will never have to look for another recipe for cherry cheesecake ever again. It is that good.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword cheesecake with cherry topping, cherry cheesecake, cherry cheesecake recipe, cherry cheesecake topping, cherry topped cheesecake, recipe for cherry cheesecake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1

Chill Time 6

Total Time 7 30

Servings servings

Calories 589kcal

Author Megan

Equipment

Ingredients

Graham Cracker Crust

1 ½ cup (225 g) graham cracker crumbs 15 whole crackers
7 tablespoon (95 g) unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp (30 g) light brown sugar
½ tsp (1 g) cinnamon
½ tsp (1 g) salt

Cheesecake

32 oz (900 g) cream cheese room temperature (four 8 oz packages)
1 ⅓ cup (270 g) granulated sugar
½ cup (125 g) sour cream room temperature
1 tablespoon (10 g) all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs room temperature
2 egg yolk room temperature

Cherry Compote

5 cups 1 1/2 lbs cherries pitted
⅓ cup (70 g) granulated sugar
2 tablespoon (30 g) lemon juice
½ tablespoon (8 g) cornstarch
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon (5 g) vanilla extract

Instructions

Graham Cracker Crust

Prep. Preheat your oven at 350°F or 176°C. Grease the inside of your 9 inch springform cake pan.
Pulverize the graham crackers. Using a food processor, pulverize the graham crackers into crumbs. Alternatively, you can place the graham crackers into a large ziplock bag and crush the crackers with a rolling pin.
Whisk in spices. In a large mixing bowl add the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon. Whisk until combined
Add in melted butter. Melt the butter in the microwave about 15-30 seconds. Pour in the graham cracker mix and thoroughly mix.
Create the crust. Scoop the mix into a greased cake pan. Press firmly for a flat, even layer. Use a flat bottomed glass or measuring cup to make an even flat layer.
Bake. Bake the crust in the center of the oven for about 7 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool.

Cheesecake

Prepare the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F or 163°C. Set a kettle of water to boil. Carefully wrap your springform pan with 4-5 layers of aluminum foil or alternatively use a 10 inch pan to protect the springform pan from getting wet.
Cream the cream cheese. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or beaters, beat the cream cheese on medium speed until smooth and creamy. About 1 minute.
Add sugar. Turn the mixer to low speed. While mixer is beating, slowly add the sugar in three increments until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to evenly combine.
Add sour cream, vanilla, flour and salt. While the mixer is beating on low, add the sour cream, vanilla extract, flour and salt and mix until combined. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
Mix the eggs. In a measuring cup with a spout, lightly whisk the eggs and egg yolks until combined. While the mixer is slowly beating on low speed, add the lightly whisked eggs about one at a time making sure each egg is fully incorporated before adding the next egg. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl to fully combine. The batter should be silky smooth. Do not over mix.
Assemble. Pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth out the top with a spatula. Tap the pan on your work surface a few times to release any air bubbles.
Bake. Place your cake pan into a large roasting pan or large sheet cake pan. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan to come up about 1 inch along the side of the cake pan. Place the cake and water bath in the center rack of your oven. Bake at 325°F for about 1 hour to 1 hour 15 minutes or until the cake has a slight wobble in the center 2-3 inches of the cake. The edges will have likely puffed and turned a very pale golden brown.
Cool. Turn off the oven, and let the cheesecake rest in oven and water bath for 30 minutes with the oven door cracked. Then run a think bladed knife around the edge of the cake to make sure the cake doesn’t stick to the sides of the cake and crack when it cools. Next, remove the cheesecake from the water bath and aluminum foil and set it on a wire rack to cool completely.
Chill. Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight before slicing and serving.

Cherry Topping

Cook down the cherries. In a medium saucepan on medium low heat, add the cherries, sugar, and lemon juice. Stir until combined. Cook the cherries until the cherries begin to release their juices about 5-7 minutes.
Thicken the cherry juice. In a small bowl, mix together the water and cornstarch to make a slurry. Add the cornstarch slurry and vanilla extract until the sauce thickens. Cool completely before spooning over the cheesecake.

Notes

Use room temperature ingredients. Using room temperature cream cheese, sour cream and eggs will allow you to mix a very smooth and creamy batter that has no lumps. It also aids in an even rise when you bake the cheesecake.
Remember to scrape the sides of the bowl. After every step, I recommend scrapping the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula to ensure that all the ingredients are incorporated evenly.
Do not overbeat your eggs. Make sure to lightly scramble the eggs before adding them incrementally to your batter and keep your mixer on LOW speed when adding the eggs. Over mixing the eggs can be the quickest way to ruin a cheesecake and cause it to crack.
Use a lot of aluminum foil to protect the springform pan. This is the one step that may ruin your cheesecake if water seeps into the pan. You have 2 options. 1) use at least 5-6 layers of aluminum foil to protect the base of the springform pan or 2) a 10-inch regular cake pan that is not springform to prevent any water leakage into the cake pan.
Do not open the oven while baking. Do not open the oven door until the cheesecake has been in the oven for a minimum of 60 minutes. Opening the oven door can cause the cheesecake to deflate and shrink.
The cheesecake may seem underdone. The cheesecake will 100% be wobbly in the center and seem underdone. Do not worry! It will firm up when it cools and chills in the refrigerator.
Chill the cheesecake: After you cool the cheesecake on the counter, you MUST chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for a minimum of 6 hours. If you cut the cheesecake immediately after it cools, it may be soft and soupy in the center.

Nutrition