Red, White & Blue Cheesecake
Submitted by linda2
Red, White and Blue Cheesecake with a chocolate wafer crust, orange and lemon zest filling, topped with fresh raspberries and blueberries. The showstopper 4th of July dessert that chills overnight.
YIELD
1 cakePREP
60 minCOOK
70 minREADY
2 hrsA chocolate wafer crust pressed into a springform pan, a silky cream cheese filling brightened with both orange and lemon zest, and a top blanketed in raspberries and blueberries arranged in a star pattern. This is the July 4th cheesecake people ask you to bring every year.
Four pounds of cream cheese and five eggs make a dense, creamy filling. A small amount of flour keeps it from cracking during the long bake. The key to a smooth top is letting the cheesecake cool slowly in the turned-off oven with the door cracked open, then chilling it overnight before unmolding. Rushing either of those steps is how cheesecakes crack.
Baker’s Tips
- The cake will look underset when you turn the oven off. That’s correct. It firms completely as it chills
- Press the crust firmly up the sides of the pan so it doesn’t crumble when sliced
- Pat the berries dry before arranging so the juice doesn’t bleed into the top
Ingredients
Directions
For the crust: In a bowl stir together the cookie crumbs and the butter until the mixture is combined well, and pat the mixture onto the bottom and ½ inch up the side of a 9½ inch springform pan.
Chill the crust for 30 minutes.
For the Filling: Preheat the oven to 325℉ (160℃).
In a bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese until it is light and fluffy.
Add the sugar gradually, beating, and beat until the mixture is combined well.
Beat in the flour, add the eggs, 1 at a time and beating after each addition, and beat in the sour cream, the zests, salt and vanilla, beating the filling until it is combined well.
Pour the filling into the crust and bake the cheesecake in a foil lined shallow baking pan in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes.
The cake will not be completely set; it will set as it cools.
Turn the oven off and let the cake stand in the oven with the oven door propped open about 6 inches until it is cooled completely.
Chill the cheesecake, covered, overnight.
Remove the sides of the pan.
Arrange the raspberries in a star shape on the top of the cake, and arrange the blueberries around them to cover the rest of the cake.
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