Cheesecake

Cheesecake is one of those recipes that is great for any season. There are a number of things you can do with it, and depending on the season you can top it with just about anything. To me, it's pretty hard to find a good cheesecake recipe. I think the secret to a good cheesecake is that thin layer of sour cream on the top. No one really knows what it is, but knows it tastes great! The other thing that makes a great cheesecake is cooking it in a water bath. This allows the cake to keep moist while cooking and avoid cracking. I made this for family, and decided to go with the over all crowd pleaser cherry cheesecake!

To Make The Crust:

1 1/2 Graham Cracker Crumbs
1/2 t Cinnamon
1/3 Cup Melted Butter

Combine ingredients, and press into a 9 inch spring form pan using the bottom of a rounded glass. Go about 2/3 of the way up the sides.

For The Filling:

4-8 Ounce Packages of Cream Cheese (room temp)
1 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
2 1/2 t Vanilla
5 Eggs

Combine cream cheese, sugar, sour cream and vanilla in an electric mixer. Blend until mixture is smooth and creamy. Whisk eggs in a bowl and gradually add them to cream cheese mixture. Blend just until eggs have been incorporated. Pour filling into crust. Wrap outside of pan with foil to ensure cake will not get wet when placed into water bath.

Heat oven to 475 with a large pan filled with 1/2 inch of water. Pan needs to be big enough to put cheesecake inside of it. Allow pan to sit in oven while it preheats. Once oven is ready place cheesecake inside of large pan and cook for 12 minutes at 475. Turn oven down to 350 and cook an additional 50-60 minutes. You want the top of the cheesecake to be slightly browned.

When cheesecake has cooled take 1/2 cup sour cream and 2 teaspoons of sugar, blend, and spread on top of cheesecake. Cover and chill for several hours before serving.

Once cheesecake has been chilled, pour one can of cherry pie filling over top of cheesecake and garnish with fresh whip cream! Enjoy!