I was looking at all the berries in our fridge and trying to decide what all I should make with them when I saw the vanilla beans in the pantry. I have been wanting to make a cheesecake recipe that was as easy to prepare as it is delicious and attractive. I hate fussy recipes when they don’t seem to do that much. So I made an experiment, and was totally amazed by how good it turned out! This is by far the easiest and best cheesecake I have ever made or had, I hope you’ll agree! And I thought the colors are perfect for a 4th of July spread too.
VANILLA BEAN CHEESECAKE, WITH FRESH BERRIES AND HONEY DRIZZLE
Crust:
Crust:
1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 T sugar
pinch salt
4 T unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake:
3 (8 oz) boxes cream cheese (I use neufatchel)
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
3 eggs
1 cup sour cream
To serve:
assorted fresh berries of choice
1/4 cup raspberry jam
2 T honey
Make Crust: stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
Gently stir in melted butter. (Your fingers will work best)
Pat into a greased 8″ springform pan (you could also use a 9″ pan), cover bottom of pan and about halfway up the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool while you make filling.
Make cheesecake: Beat cream cheese in a large bowl for a few minutes, until creamy.
Add sugar and salt, beat a few more minutes until light.
Add in scraped vanilla bean, mix briefly.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing on medium for 1 minute after adding each egg.
Add sour cream and mix until combined. Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack, then finish cooling in the fridge for at least 4 or 5 hours, or overnight.
To serve: Top cheesecake with berries (I used an outer ring of strawberries, and blueberries and raspberries in the middle. Combine jam and honey in a small saucepan just until combined. Drizzle over berries.
Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with fresh berries and honey drizzle
June 28, 2011
Category
Desserts
Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
1 hour, 25 minutes
Total Time
1 hour, 40 minutes
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 3 T sugar
- pinch salt
- 4 T unsalted butter, melted
Cheesecake:
- 3 (8 oz) boxes cream cheese (I use neufatchel)
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 vanilla bean, scraped (or 2 tsp vanilla extract)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
To serve:
- assorted fresh berries of choice
- 1/4 cup raspberry jam
- 2 T honey
Instructions
Make Crust:
- stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Gently stir in melted butter. (Your fingers will work best)
- Pat into a greased 8″ springform pan (you could also use a 9″ pan), cover bottom of pan and about halfway up the sides. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Let cool while you make filling.
Make cheesecake:
- Beat cream cheese in a large bowl for a few minutes, until creamy.
- Add sugar and salt, beat a few more minutes until light.
- Add in scraped vanilla bean, mix briefly.
- Add eggs one at a time, mixing on medium for 1 minute after adding each egg.
- Add sour cream and mix until combined. Pour into crust and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack, then finish cooling in the fridge for at least 4 or 5 hours, or overnight.
To serve: Top cheesecake with berries (I used an outer ring of strawberries, and blueberries and raspberries in the middle. Combine jam and honey in a small saucepan just until combined. Drizzle over berries.
[…] one tastes like summer in a glass. Honey and strawberries go so well together, it reminds me of this amazing cheesecake. It’s super fast, and while I haven’t made it with frozen berries yet they should […]