I love cheesecake, but rather than go the traditional, predictable Springform pan route, I sometimes like to bake them in a rectangular pan and cut them into squares. It’s easier to cut and easier to serve, which means it’s easier to eat, which is always a plus in my book. It also makes these perfect for a potluck dinner, or any place you need to take a portable dessert!
Here’s how I made the little delights.
First, make a simple crust! Throw some graham crackers (or, as I used when I made these on my cooking show, vanilla wafers—either one is delicious) into the bowl of a food processor…
Then add some pecans or walnuts (or leave them out if anyone you’ll be serving this to is allergic to nuts)…
And pulse the 15 to 20 times, until they’re fine crumbs.
To moisten them up, melt a stick of butter…
And drizzle it into the crumbs, pulsing as you go.
Then, to make them extra delicious, pulse in a little vanilla.
Heaven! And it is at this moment that I’ll confess that graham cracker (or vanilla wafer) crust, before it’s pressed into a pan and actually becomes a crust, is one of my real weaknesses. You want to see something embarrassing? Put this bowl of crumbs in front of me and hand me a spoon.
Zero control. None.
In fact, before I made this crust, I asked Marlboro Man and the kids to take all the spoons in our house and hide them so I couldn’t eat any.
In fact, before I made this crust, I asked Marlboro Man and the kids to melt all the spoons down in a raging fire so I wouldn’t be tempted.
That’s how weak I am around graham cracker crust crumbs crust crumbs.
In case you needed an illustration.
Now you don’t have to do this, but I do it because it makes the squares easier to slice later: Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with foil. I just use two pieces, wrap them sideways around the pan, and use my hands to smooth the foil in the surface of the pan.
Pour in the crumbs…
And press them flat.
It’s good that the crumbs are so nice and neat at this stage, because it deters me from sticking a spoon—which is nonexistent, of course, because they’ve all been hidden or melted down at this stage—in the pan and taking a bite. If I were to do that when they’re all nice and neat like this, there’s be evidence.
Set this aside and start working on the filling!
Grab 3 packages of softened cream cheese.
Then put it in the bowl of a mixer and beat it to make sure it’s nice and smooth.
Add sugar…
And vanilla…
And mix it again until it’s all combined. Scrape the sides as you go! It’s important for everything to be nice and mixed together.
Next, crack in 4 eggs, beating after each addition…
Then grab some sour cream…
And add some in.
Mix it until it’s all combined and smooth, and my gosh: What a heavenly concoction.
Now, pour the mixture onto the crust…
And smooth the surface.
Now, cracks on cheesecakes are very common, and when they happen to me, I don’t let them ruin my life. But one thing that helps is to put a pan of hot water into the preheated (350) oven about 10 minutes before you stick the cheesecake in. Put it on the bottom rack and let the water make the oven environment a little humid, then stick in the cheesecake in the oven (on a separate rack) for 45 minutes.
AFTER 45 minutes, turn the oven off, but do not open the oven door for another 10 minutes.
AFTER 10 minutes with the oven off and the door closed, open the door halfway and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for another 10-15 minutes.
Then you can take it out of the oven and let it cool gradually! If it’s golden brown on top, groovy…if there are some small cracks in the surface, fine. What you want to avoid is a big, honkin’ fault line down the middle of the cheesecake, and both the pan of water and leaving it in the turned-off oven helps this.
While the cheesecake is cooling, start making the blackberry topping since it needs to cool, too! Add 4 cups of blackberries (or strawberries, or blueberries) into a saucepan…
Then add sugar…
And a little water…
Then cook it over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes, or until the berries have started to break apart and the juice starts to slightly thicken.
Now, you want the topping to be really thick so it will stay on top of the cheesecake and not run all over the place. So add some cornstarch to a small bowl…
Along with some water…
And whisk it together with a fork.
Pour it into the pan…
And continue to let it bubble up for a couple of minutes until the mixture is very, very thick. Then set it aside and let it cool until lukewarm or room temperature. (I sped this along by setting the pan in a big bowl of ice water for 15 minutes or so. I was chasing daylight!)
When both the topping and the cheesecake are pretty cool, spoon the former over a latter…
And use an offset spatula…
To spread it evenly over the surface.
And now comes the hard part: You’ve got to stick this in the fridge to chill it! I know, I know. Torture. But the cheesecake needs to chill (and so does the topping), so at least a couple of hours in the fridge is necessary! I wrapped the pan carefully in plastic wrap—carefully, because if the wrap sinks down and hits the topping, it sticks to it and causes chaos. So start with the long piece of wrap stuck to the bottom of the pan, then stretch it taut over the top.
I had to wait until this morning to snap these photos. Conveniently, it happened to be time for breakfast!
The whole thing easily lifts out of the pan: Just grip the foil, then lift up. Set it on a cutting board and carefully peel off the foil.
Then use a long, serrated knife to slice it into large strips, then into squares. To keep things from getting too messy, I have a damp washcloth handy and wipe the knife clean after each cut.
Glorious!
Heavenly!
Breakfast?
Yes. Breakfast.
You’ll love these. A cool, creamy, dreamy summer treat!
Here’s the handy dandy printable.
