Creamy Cherry Cheesecake Recipe

This Creamy Cherry Cheesecake Recipe uses sour cream and cream cheese for the perfect light, creamy cheesecake taste and texture. The crust is my tried and true buttery graham cracker crust and the bright cherry topping is made with cherries (fresh or frozen), citrus, almond extract (you can use vanilla if preferred) and a touch of cinnamon for the most delicious flavor combination!
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This Creamy Cherry Cheesecake is like a great classic cheesecake, but better! It’s perfectly textured, zero cracks, just the right amount of sweet without being too cloying and you can make it ahead. It’s also jazzed up with some warm spices and bright citrus flavor.

Did I mention it’s easy? It’s also totally fab because you can dress it up or down. Change out the fruit? Go nude, with no fruit? What’s your mood? Like a chameleon this little pretty will adapt.

cherry + cardamom + rye-crust cheesecake | displacedhousewife

Creamy Cherry Cheesecake Tips

  • Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature
  • Mix everything low and slow. If you whip too much air into your cheesecake you run the risk of cracks
  • Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl throughout the mixing process to make sure that everything is evenly mixed as you go along…this will keeps lumps out of your cheesecake
  • Line your springform pan with parchment. It seems like a little thing, but it really helps release the cheesecake when removing it from the pan
  • Do not tap your cheesecake on the counter pre-bake, that will just create air bubbles (which lead to cracks)
  • No sudden temperature changes. Follow the steps for cooling down your cheesecake exactly as written and it will come out perfect!

Favorite Cherry Cheesecake Tools

Springform Pan — I use this for all of my cheesecakes

Fine-Mesh Sieve — I can’t recommend using a sieve enough when making cheesecake. It will get rid of any rogue air bubbles or cream cheese clumps and is the best!

Spatula

KitchenAid Mixer — I prefer my KitchenAid to a handheld for making cheesecake. Most handheld’s low speed isn’t low enough. I would probably use my arms and a spatula to mix the filling if I didn’t have a KitchenAid.

My favorite Scale 

cardamom + rye-crust cheesecake | displacedhousewife

The Easy Graham Cracker Crust

My very favorite graham cracker crust recipe is linked here. It’s buttery, perfectly crumbly and tastes fabulous!

This recipe has a nut option of which I love using finely chopped pecans. But feel free to omit the nuts for whatever reasons (the recipe explains how, it’s simple).

The crust can be made up to three days ahead of time.

Baker’s Timeline

Day 1

If you’d like to really go hard on the make-ahead route, you can make the crust three days ahead of time!

Day 2

Make and bake your cheesecake and cook and chill the cherry topping.

Days 3 or 4

Serve and enjoy!

cherry + cardamom + rye-crust cheesecake | displacedhousewife

More Delicious Cheesecake Recipes

I love a good pumpkin cheesecake and I have two for you to choose from: Hazelnut Pumpkin Cheesecake and Salted Caramel Pumpkin Cheesecake. Don’t miss out on my Cranberry Cheesecake or my Crème Frâiche Cheesecake (so good!).

Enjoy your Creamy Cherry Cheesecake Recipe!

Rebecca Firth

Creamy Cherry Cheesecake Recipe

This Creamy Cherry Cheesecake Recipe uses sour cream and cream cheese for the perfect light, creamy cheesecake taste and texture. The crust is my tried and true buttery graham cracker crust and the bright cherry topping is made with cherries (fresh or frozen), citrus, almond extract (you can use vanilla if preferred) and a touch of cinnamon for the most delicious flavor combination!
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Prep Time: 16 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Chill: 6 hours
Course: Dessert
Keyword: Cherry, Cheesecake, Graham Cracker Crust, Classic, Dessert
Servings: 8 Servings

Ingredients

For the Cheesecake Filling

  • 16 ounces cream cheese (room temperature)
  • 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon (13 g) fresh orange zest
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 large eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 large egg yolk (room temperature)
  • 16 oz (480 g) sour cream (1 pint, room temperature)

For the Cherry Topping

  • 2 ½ cups pitted cherries (fresh (pitted), frozen or canned (in light syrup))
  • 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoon fresh orange juice
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions

For the Crust

  • Grease a 9-inch (23-cm) nonstick springform pan and line with parchment paper.
  • Make the buttery graham cracker crust all the way through baking and cooling using the instructions and how-to photos for my graham cracker crust here. Grease the bare sides of the springform pan (above the crust) and set aside.

For the Cheesecake Filling

  • Preheat your oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a heat-safe skillet or Dutch oven on the bottom oven rack. Boil 4 cups (1 L) water and set aside while you prepare your cheesecake filling. 
  • Place the cream cheese, granulated sugar, orange zest, almond extract, cinnamon and salt in the bowl of an electric-stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on low for about 2 minutes or until smooth. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything is combined and use the back of a spatula to smash out any lumps.
  • In a small bowl whisk the eggs plus egg yolk together and then slowly stream them in with mixer on low for about 2 minutes or until combined. Add in the sour cream; making sure each ingredient is well blended before adding in the next. Mix for an additional 2 minutes on low and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into the cooled crust.
  • Place in the center of the oven and pour the warm water into the skillet on the bottom rack and immediately close the door. Bake the cheesecake for 15 minutes and then reduce the heat 250°F (121°C) for an additional 45 minutes. When done the center will jiggle a bit and the sides will be set. Turn off the oven and let the cheesecake sit in it for 30 minutes with the door open. After 30 minutes, set the cheesecake on the counter and let it sit at room temperature for at least an hour. When cool, wrap tightly in the springform and set in the fridge to chill and set overnight.
  • Pour your boiling water in the pan being careful not to get any water in the springform pan. Fill to about 1 cm up the side of the cheesecake pan. Should be about 3 to 4 cups of water.

For the Cherry Topping

  • To a medium saucepan set over medium-high heat add the cherries, brown sugar, sugar, orange juice, almond extract and cinnamon. After several minutes, your mixture will boil and start to thicken. Pour into a heat-safe bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve.

To Serve

  • When ready to serve, take the side of the springform pan off…you may need a knife to gently run along the side. Periodically clean the knife with a damp cloth to keep everything as clean and smooth as possible. Follow this same advice when cutting slices. Pour the cooled cherries over the cheesecake and serve.

Notes

Cream Cheese

Use the blocks of cream cheese rather than cream cheese spread that comes in the tub. Philadelphia is my favorite brand for cheesecakes.
Make absolutely sure that your cream cheese is at room temperature before starting for the creamiest cheesecake.

Make Ahead Notes

This cheesecake is best made ahead and I personally like to do it over several days. I might make the crust one day and then fill it with the cheesecake filling the next day and then serve on the third day after an overnight chill. This all makes it especially perfect for Thanksgiving (or any holiday/event where you’ll have lots more to cook). I recently made it with toasted meringue  — try it!

Freezing Your Cheesecake

You can wrap the cheesecake tightly in the springform pan and freeze it for 1 to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, in the fridge overnight.
Thanks for baking with me! Please rate + comment this recipe and tag me on social @displacedhousewife #displacedhousewife so I can see your beautiful treats! xo
{ on my mind }

Comments

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I love your comments, reviews and questions! If you love this recipe, please rate it when you leave a comment. Star ratings 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 help people discover my recipes. Your support means a lot, I look forward to chatting with you!

Rebecca xox

Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  • Jennifer March 17, 2016 at 4:34 PM

    Can I make this cheesecake dark chocolate? How would I do that? And if I cannot find Rye Crisps….? It looks AMAZING. This recipe looks challenging too, so I hope I’m worthy!! Thank you for your response!
    Jennifer

    Reply
    • DisplacedHousewife March 17, 2016 at 5:31 PM

      Hi Jennifer! There are lots of tips in here…it’s a pretty straightforward cheesecake. I think you’ll do great! As for the dark chocolate…I’m not totally sure how you would incorporate that into this recipe. Perhaps some chopped chocolate in the cheesecake batter? I’m not sure…if you want a dark chocolate cheesecake I might look for a different recipe? Good luck! xoxo

      Reply
  • DisplacedHousewife May 26, 2015 at 12:00 AM

    Thanks Jessica!!! Try these tips–they should totally help!! I’ve had some major crevasses in my day. Hope I spelled that correctly?!! Happy Memorial Day!! xoxo

    Reply
  • Jessica | A Happy Food Dance May 25, 2015 at 11:55 PM

    This cheesecake looks amazing – I have never in my life made a cheesecake that doesn’t have at least one crack running down it (sometimes there’s even a mini Grand Canyon running through the top). I love your tips, I think my issue is mixing everything too quickly! Who would’ve thought?!?
    BEAUTIFUL!

    Reply