Recipes >
Heavenly Cheesecake
Ingredients
- 19 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup strawberry or raspberry jam
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 6 large eggs, at room temperature, separated
- 1 3/4 cups sugar, divided
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons orange zest
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
Not heavy…heavenly. It will melt in your mouth.
Why Try? Think how proud you’ll be to say you made a cheesecake from scratch. One taste and you’ll agree it was worth it. And it’s really not that hard.
Foodie Byte: This cheesecake also tastes great topped with fresh sliced peaches or nectarines tossed in raspberry jam.
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 325°F and lightly grease bottom and sides of 9-inch spring-form pan.
- To make crust, mix butter and crumbs well; reserve 1/4 cup and press remainder firmly on bottom of pan.
- Beat egg whites until foamy. Gradually add 4 tablespoons sugar; beat until stiff and set aside.
- Beat cheese until smooth; gradually add 1 1/2 cups sugar, flour and salt and beat until well incorporated. Add egg yolks, gradually one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add sour cream, vanilla and orange zest; mix well.
- Fold in egg whites thoroughly and pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle with reserved 1/4 cup crumbs. Bake for 1 1/4 hours, or until firm. Turn off heat, open oven door and leave cake in oven for an additional 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool on cake rack away from drafts. Chill. (Cake will shrink some as it cools.)
- To make raspberry topping, melt jelly in small pan over low heat. Combine raspberries and warm jelly in bowl and toss to blend; arrange berries on top of cake and refrigerate until ready to serve.