My love for cheesecake is matched only by the anxiety of making it. So much can go wrong! But we’re not going to worry about bain-maries or cracks here. Bain-maries are messy! Cracks are rustic! And even if it looks less than perfect, mounds of fresh peaches and blackberries will hide it. Your cake can be as full of fault lines as California and no one will know.
Ripe peaches and blackberries lend beautiful autumn colors to this dessert and make it perfect for Halloween parties, birthdays, or Sunday dinners. It’s decadent without being overwhelming.
A few tips:
- Don’t skip the cornstarch! It makes the syrup glossy.
- Try to avoid opening the oven door; use the oven light instead. Opening the door too often will result in cracks.
- Keep an eye on it—cheesecakes are fragile creatures and ovens vary by as much as 25 degrees. It will still look underdone and jiggly when you pull it out, but it shouldn’t be runny.
- Once it’s cooled for an hour on the counter, you can move it to the fridge. Moving it immediately results in—you guessed it—more cracks.
- Be sure to trim any extra crust away.
It’s a bit time-consuming, but none of the steps are especially complicated, and there’s plenty of down time. Pop on your favorite podcast and get to work!
blackberry-peach cheesecake
serves 8-12
time: 3 hours + 2 hours chill time (5 hours total
ingredients
crust:
1 ½ cups graham crackers, crushed
1 stick butter, melted
3 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt*
*omit if using salted butter
filling:
16 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
topping:
3 ripe peaches, sliced
1 cup ripe blackberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
3 tablespoons butter
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cornstarch
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 and butter a 9” springform pan.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix crushed cracker with butter, sugar, and salt, if using. Press the crust mixture into the buttered pan. I like to use a glass with a flat bottom and straight sides to press the mixture into the bottom and sides of the pan. Be sure to really pack it in—we don’t want loose pieces here.
- Bake the crust for 7-8 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 350.
- In another mixing bowl, use the lowest setting of your mixer to mix the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time and mix until thoroughly combined. Don’t overmix!
- Pour cheesecake mixture into prepared crust and smooth. Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until set, but still jiggly. Cover with foil if the crust starts to brown.
- Cool for 1 hour on the counter.
- To make the fruit, heat it with sugar, butter, cinnamon, corn starch, lemon juice, and water in a skillet. Bring to a boil and then simmer until the fruit is soft, about 10 minutes.
- Arrange fruit on top of cooled cheesecake. Chill for 2-3 hours before serving.