I really love cheesecake but I almost always feel that the crust-to-cheese ratio is a pretty cheese-heavy. Ergo, what follows is my version of extra-crusty cheesecake. I find that if you grind the graham crackers in a food processor very finely before adding the melted butter, the crust comes out more like a shortbread and tastes extra good.



I made this cheesecake for Mother’s Day because I am one of the only female non-mothers in my family so I thought it fair for me to volunteer for dessert duty. But, I haven’t been feeling too well this week and I wanted to make something pretty easy and good that I could make the night before, and cheesecake fits the bill on both accounts.

People go to great lengths to prevent the top of the cheesecake from cracking, and in fact, I tried baking my cheesecake in a water bath for just this reason. As soon as I had done this I almost immediately regretted it because I KNEW that somehow, despite my best efforts, water would seep into the springform. So when I pulled it out I was pretty sure that water had breached my aluminum foil barrier and ruined the crust. At this point the cheesecake wasn't quite done so I took it out of the water bath and lowered the oven temp to 300 and cooked it another 15 minutes or so, hoping that while finishing baking I would also dry out some of the water. Well, it worked and everything was fine. Of course, once I said goodbye to the water bath the top of the cheesecake cracked, but who cares? I knew I was going to cover it with berries and no one would be the wiser. It was delicious. And I think the extra crust was just what it needed to put it over the line from good to great.


Extra-Crusty Cheesecake with Fresh Berries
I used a combination of golden and red raspberries on top, but just choose whatever looks the most delicious and fresh in the market.

Ingredients:

• 1 regular-sized box (14.4 oz) honey graham crackers
• 1 cup butter, melted
• 1 pound cream cheese
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 cups sour cream (you can use light, but I don’t recommend nonfat)
• zest of 1 orange
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

• Preheat oven to 325 and put a kettle of water on to boil.
• Spray a springform pan with non-stick spray.
• Crush graham crackers very finely, preferably in a food processor (you may have to do that in batches.) Combine with melted butter and press into the bottom of the pan with your fingers. Put in refrigerator while making the filling.
• Beat cream cheese in a mixer until soft and creamy, about 2 minutes.
• Add eggs 1 at a time, mixing thoroughly after each egg.
• Add sugar, sour cream, zest, and vanilla and beat until smooth and combined, about 1 minute.
• Pour into pan on top of crust.
• Put pan on top of aluminum foil and wrap around pan. Put pan into a roasting pan and fill halfway up the sides with boiling water. (The aluminum foil will prevent water from seeping into the springform. Maybe.)
• Bake about 45 minutes to an hour. It should still be a bit jiggly because it will firm up completely after chilling, but not too jiggly.
• Let cool in pan about 30 minutes, then chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, covered,  before removing from pan.
• Unmold and transfer to plate. Top with fresh seasonal berries and serve.