Creamy Berry Cheesecake

The holidays are a great time for dessert adventuring. I've slacked a bit the past 6 months on baking, not really experimenting as much with sweets. But for Thanksgiving, I was on my usual pie duty, but the day needed more than pumpkin pie. It needed some cheese.

Although pumpkin cheesecake is a glorious addition, I also had a couple of berries hangin' around that needed some love. This kind of led me down a research path of how to make cheesecake better. After coming across a version cooked in a water bath, similar to flan, I figured that could be the cheesecake that beats out pumpkin pie this year. The idea of a smoother than normal cheesecake had me all excited.

I didn't want a boring ol' graham crust, though. I took it to the next level. Who doesn't love speculoos cookies? Given the popularity of cookie butter, I think we all are familiar with that sweet but spiced cookie flavor. And you know what? They make a fantastic pie crust. I crushed up the cookies, melted a bit of butter, and mashed it all together in the bottom of two springform pans. Because I had smaller pans, I opted to do a lil special thing and make TWO cheesecakes. This story keeps getting better.

The cream filling was mostly cream cheese, though I do love a ricotta cheesecake, but I added some Greek yogurt as well So it wound up being three 8 ounce packages of cream cheese, Greek yogurt, a dash of salt, vanilla, egg, and a bit of heavy cream to add that richness. The big thing though was that I used a real vanilla bean. I love extract, but nothing tops the flavor of real vanilla beans in a dessert.

After beating all the ingredients until they were smooth, I prepped the pants. Being springform pans, I knew I needed keep the water bath from seeping in. I wrapped each pan in two layers of foil so that just in case one leaked, I had a backup. Use three layers if you notice tears, and be gentle to avoid breaks. After filling the cake pans, I placed them into a larger pan and surrounded them with warm water. I filled the pan until the cakes were submerged about 1/2 to 2/3 of the way.

I crushed up some raspberries and blackberries, then swirled them into one of the cheesecakes.

Though much of the fruit sunk in, I did a little swirl action to make it all pretty and left the second as a plain cheesecake.

The baking took longer than normal because of the water bath. But when the cheesecakes were ready, they were perfectly smooth on top.

The final result was a creamy, smooth cheesecake.

And while all cheesecakes tend to be smooth, this was exceptional.

Rather than the raised, lightly golden edges cheesecakes tend to get, this wound up having a completely flat and consistent top. The texture was unbelievably creamy, to a level I've not yet experienced in a cheesecake. The water bath is the way to go if you have the time! This was a fierce competitor to pumpkin pie, but instead of winning, everyone just ate everything. Can't complain about that.

Creamy Berry Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup crushed graham crackers or speculoos cookies

4 tablespoons melted butter

3 packages cream cheese (8 ounces each)

1 cup sugar

1 cup Greek yogurt

1/8 teaspoon salt

Beans from 1 vanilla bean (or 2 teaspoons vanilla extract)

4 eggs

2/3 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup fresh berries

Instructions:

Heat oven to 325 degrees F. In a springform pan or pie dish, mix crushed up graham crackers and butter, then press into the dish. Beat cream cheese and sugar until creamy. Mix in Greek yogurt, salt, and vanilla, then add eggs one at a time, mixing between each addition. Stir in heavy cream. Pour filling into pie dish. In a small bowl, crush berries, then stir into the cream cheese filling. Place pie dish into a larger pan, then fill with warm water until the pie dish is 2/3 submerged, then place in the oven for 1 and a half hours. After baking, allow to cool for one hour, then refrigerate for at least 2 hours prior to serving.

adapted from perfect cheesecake