A homemade graham cracker crust, filled with a creamy, and slightly sweet, cheese filling. Add a hhint of vanilla and fresh squeezed lemon juice before  topping with fresh pitted cherries.

Have you ever had fresh cherries on top of a cheesecake before? We served this dessert at a dinner party with friends, and they were blown away by the freshness the cherries added to the cheesecake. I had never thought about it before, but we too have never had cheesecake topped with fresh fruit. It truly excentuates the freshness. Sure beats canned cherry pie filling! You don’t need the added sugar anyways. The cheesecake and cherries are sweet enough.

Here is what you need:

8 oz cream cheese (softened)

1/2 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup sour cream

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup fresh cherries

2 prepared graham cracker crust or three cups graham cracker crumbs and 1/2 cup melted butter

To make the crust, follow the instructions to prepare graham crackers from my previous post. You can also use an already prepared graham cracker crust or store bought graham crackers to make your own. If you follow my recipe for graham crackers, place the prepared graham crackers in a blender and blend to a powder. Mix the blended graham cracker crumbs, approx 3 cups, with 1/2 cup melted butter. With your fingers, press the crumbs into a 14 inch tart pan and place in the freezer while you prepare your filling.

First place the heavy cream and sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk on high until it produces a whipped cream. Next add the sour cream, cream cheese, vanilla and lemon to the whipped cream and mix until smooth. Pour over prepared crust and place in freezer to set. 

Top with fresh pitted cherries and Enjoy!