Today is National Cheesecake Day!
I love cheesecake. Growing up I would go blackberry picking in my neighborhood. There was always some area with overgrown blackberry bushes. Picking up my childhood sandbox bucket I would set myself to the task of bringing home a bucketful of blackberries. Not many would make it home and the evidence would be all over my face.
INGREDIENTS
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40 Crushed Vanilla Wafers
6 Tablespoons Melted Butter
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16 Ounces Softened Cream Cheese
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 Tablespoons Unbleached Flour
2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Creamed Cottage Cheese
1/4 Cup Cherry Brandy
3 Eggs
4 Cups Fresh Blackberries
Preheat your oven to 375° F. In a medium size bowl stir together crushed vanilla wafers and butter. Press the mixture into the bottom and up the sides of an 8 inch spring form pan and set aside. In a large bowl stir together cream cheese, 3/4 cup sugar, flour and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer on low until smooth and set aside. Place the cottage cheese in a food processor and blend until smooth. Incorporate into the cream cheese mixture. Next, stir in the 1/4 cup cherry brandy. Beat in the eggs on low speed until combined. Don’t over mix as you don’t want to incorporate too much air into the batter. Pour half of the cheese cake mixture into the crust lined pan. Spread 1 cup of the blackberries on top. Top with the remaining cheese cake mixture and 1/2 cup of the blackberries. Place in a shallow baking pan in the preheated oven. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until center appears almost set. Remove from the oven. Cool on a wire rack for 20 minutes. Loosen the sides and cool completely. Cover and chill for 2 hours. To serve cut the cheesecake into wedges and top each with the blackberries. Serve with additional blackberry sauce if you like. Serves 10
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