Berry Cheesecake

Perhaps you are looking for a good cheesecake recipe for the Holidays. If so, you have come to the right place. There are a lot of good cheesecakes out there but this berry cheesecake might just be one of the best. Like most traditional cheesecakes we are making a graham cracker crust, and a delicious fresh berry topping. What really impressed me about this recipe is the nice lemon flavor this cake has. The cheesecake itself gets a lot of its flavor from a full tablespoon of lemon zest. The fresh berry topping is basically strawberries, raspberries and blueberries tossed with warmed jelly. Is this sounding good to you yet? If so, give it a try for the Holidays! Enjoy.



 
Ingredients:
Crust-
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
6 tablespoons butter (melted)
Filling-
2 ½ lbs cream cheese (at room temperature)
1 ½ cups sugar
5 extra large eggs (at room temperature)
2 extra-large egg yolks (at room temperature)
¼ cup sour cream
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
Fresh Berry Topping-
1 cup strawberry jelly
½ pint fresh strawberries (sliced)
½ pint fresh raspberries
½ pint fresh blueberries

Cooking Instructions:


 
Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl combine crushed graham crackers, sugar, and melted butter. Stir with a fork until moistened. Press onto the bottom of a 9 inch spring form pan and about 1 inch up the sides. Place into the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.
 
Step 2: For the filling- in another medium bowl cream the cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and egg yolks 2 at a time while mixing well. Add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract. Mix well and pour the mixture over the cooled crust.
 
Step 3: Place into the oven and bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 225 degrees and bake for an additional 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door opened for 30 minutes to finish setting. Remove from the oven and let it set until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.
 
Step 4: To make the topping- in a small saucepan over low heat melt the jelly until smooth. Toss the berries with the warm jelly until mixed and arrange over the top of the cake.