Cheesecake with Mixed Berry Sauce

Cool and creamy cheesecake is one of my all time favorite summer desserts. If you want to make it for a get-together, this dessert is for you since you really need to make it a day ahead of time. You can dress it up with sauces or whipped cream (or both like I do), or you can just serve it as is. Plus, once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy.

I did just invest in a new spring form pan that is SEALED. However, I made this for years in a regular spring form pan and it tasted great. The difference is the texture of the cheesecake when you can put it in a water bath and keep it from cracking on the top and it stays nice and fluffy. The ingredients are ones you probably have around….here’s all you need.

for the crust:
- 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 stick of butter, melted
for the filling:
- (3) 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 4 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- (1) 12-16 oz. container sour cream

For the crust – Mix the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar together. Mix in the melted butter until all the crumbs are moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom of an 8″ or 9″ spring form pan. I’ve made this in both sizes, and I like the bigger one better, but use whatever size you have around. Use a measuring cup to press up the sides. Crust is now ready – no need to cook it first.

The filling is pretty straight forward. You can do this with a hand mixer if you don’t have a stand mixer, it’s totally fine and I did it that way for a very long time. Start by creaming the cream cheese and sugar together on medium speed until it’s light and fluffy – about 5 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time. I crack my eggs in a measuring cup and that way you can check them and thern they pour out easy into the mixing bowl. Once the eggs are fully incorporated, add the vanilla and then he sour cream. Make sure the ingredients are fully mixed together.

Pour the filing into the prepared crust. If your spring form pan is not sealed, then wrap the whole thing in a good layer of aluminum foil. I used to skip this step all the time but it does make a difference in the texture of the cheese. Put the cheesecake pan into a roasting pan and fill up the roasting pan with water up to about 1/3 of the way up the size of the cheesecake pan. The easiest way to do this is to put the cheesecake in the roasting pan in the oven and then carefully add the water from a big pitcher. Less chance of splashing water into your cheesecake that way. The idea of this whole water bath thing (a bain-marie is the technical name) is to keep the cheesecake at a gentle temp while it cooks through so that the top of it doesn’t crack. It tastes good cracked too so no worries. I just put a lot of fruit on top and call it a day if it cracks. 🙂

Cook the cheesecake until the center is mostly set, about 45-55 minutes. I start checking about 40 minutes in and just keep an eye on it. You don’t see cheesecake with the top turning golden brown, but things happen in cooking. This is the part that takes some practice. Getting the center done without getting the top brown. The center will still be a little jiggly so pull it out if you see some browning. If it does brown a little that will just let people know it’s home made, right?? Let the cake cool completely, cover with plastic wrap in the pan and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours, or overnight is even better.

For serving: Remove the sides from the cake and carefully side it off the bottom piece onto a cake plate or serving platter. Serve as-is or top with your choice of fruit fillings, chocolate or caramel sauce or just some whipped cream. See below for the mixed berry filling in my picture above. Keep the leftovers – if there are any – covered in the fridge.

This mixed berry sauce can be used for a lot of different dishes. Pancake or waffle toping, pour it over ice cream or pound cake, or just smear it on some plain toast in the morning. All excellent ideas. I made this the first time to put over cheesecake I had made for a dinner party. It was a huge hit!! It’s not too difficult and you can whip it up with fresh or frozen fruit. If you use frozen, let it thaw so make sure the sauce isn’t too watery. This recipe makes about 4 cups. Store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Here’s the scoop on what you need:

One pint each blueberries, raspberries and a regular 1 lb. box of strawberries
1/ 2 cup of granulated sugar
1/4 cup of water
1/2 to 3/4 cup of red raspberry jelly
zest from 1 orange

Start by rinsing all the berries. I core and cut the strawberries in half or quarters just to get them started. Save a few berries off to the side to garnish with later if you’d like. Add the berries to a medium saucepan and stir in the water and the sugar. Let them cook down over medium-low heat for about 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally, until the fruit breaks down, the sugar is well dissolved and the fruit starts to thicken just a little. Add 1/2 cup of the red raspberry preserves (or strawberry, whatever you like best) to the fruit and mix it in. Let that cook down another 8-10 minutes then turn off the heat. Add more preserves if it needs to be a little thicker and cook another minute or two. Use either an immersion or regular blender to blend up the sauce and pulverize all the fruit. Then strain the mixture into a large measuring cup or bowl. Careful this is hot stuff!! Add the orange zest and some of the juice from the orange if the sauce is too thick. You can add some honey at this point too if it needs a little more sweetness. Taste it and adjust sugar and orange juice to your liking.