Cheesecake with Apricot Sauce Topping
This cheesecake is a huge hit every time. The recipe is “fail-safe’, it is easy to make, and so delicious, you’ll wonder why you hadn’t made it before. It is smooth, light and creamy. You may also wish to change the topping to strawberry, peach or apricot. The photograph shown here is with apricot sauce. I serve a slice of this heavenly cheesecake to friends with a glass of port or sherry at room temperature.
CRUST INGREDIENTS
1½ cups graham cracker crumbs ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon ⅓ cup unsalted butter
FILLING INGREDIENTS
4 (8 oz.) Philadelphia cream cheese softened 1¼ cups sugar ½ cup sour cream 2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 tablespoon Grand Marnier (liqueur) 5 large eggs at room temperature
TOPPING INGREDIENTS
1 15 oz can apricot halves in syrup 2 tablespoon cornstarch 3 tablespoon sugar
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 475F. Fill a large pan with ½ inch water and place in oven.
To make crust: Mix together graham cracker crumbs ( I mixed whole graham crackers in my KitchenAid mixer), cinnamon, and butter. Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper. Press mixture onto bottom and ⅔ of the way up the pan. Wrap a large piece of foil paper around the bottom of the pan and refrigerate -- 15-20 minutes.
To make the filling: Place cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, vanilla and Grand Marnier in a large bowl. Blend until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the side of the bowl. Whisk eggs in a separate bowl. Add egg mixture to cream cheese and blend well.
Remove crust from freezer and pour in filling. Carefully and gently place cheesecake into preheated water bath. Bake for 10 minutes then reduce oven to 350F. Bake for an hour or until the top of the cheesecake is golden. Remove from oven and cool completely.
For topping: Place contents of can in small saucepan. Mash apricots and juice to a pulpy consistency. Bring to boil over medium heat. Blend sugar and cornstarch with enough water to form a runny paste. Add to saucepan stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Cool and pour over cheesecake.
Pro Tip: Allow to set in refrigerator until ready to serve.
Served on a simple white MIKASA plate as pictured.