Lemon Cheesecake with Fresh Summer Berries

First of all, hello from Austin! I know I've fallen off the posting train as of late but trust me, I've got a lot of fun stuff queued up, which will hopefully all be out in the next few weeks. It's not like Peter and I weren't cooking. Quite the opposite. This first recipe is one of my favorites and is ideal for a brunch or lunch party; this particular instance I used it as a fresh, lemony, berry-filled treat for a 4th of July barbecue. Hence the overwhelming patriotism of the berry arrangement.

As much as I love cheesecake, I feel that in order to really kick it up a notch you've got to give it a little zest (ha ha). In this case, a healthy dose of lemon that mingles well with the sweet tang of the cream cheese and sour cream. With a crispy buttered graham cracker crust and the topping of sweet berries, it's pretty much as close to perfection as you can get.

This recipe works equally as well with the berries arranged in ones or twos atop each square as it does with a larger pattern as I've done here. You could also garnish each square with a mint leaf, if you like.

Lemon Cheesecake with Fresh Summer Berries (Adapted from Bon Appetit)

9 graham crackers
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 8-oz package cream cheese, room temperature
1/3 cup sugar 
1 large egg 
3 tablespoons sour cream 
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 
Fresh berries and/or mint leaves, for decoration

For crust:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Fold 16-inch-long piece of parchment paper to 8x16-inch strip; place in 8x8x2-inch metal baking pan, leaving overhang on 2 sides. Repeat with another sheet of parchment in opposite direction, lining pan completely. Butter paper.

Place graham crackers in heavy-duty plastic bag. Using rolling pin or mallet, crush crackers finely. Melt butter in medium skillet over low heat. Remove from heat; add crumbs and toss to coat. Press crumbs evenly onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake crust until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Cool crust while preparing filling.

Filling: 

Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until smooth. Beat in egg and sour cream, then lemon juice, lemon peel, and vanilla. Spread batter over crust.

 

Bake cheesecake until slightly puffed and set in center, about 30 minutes; cool completely in pan on rack. Chill cheesecake until cold, at least 2 hours. Serve chilled and watch the cheesecake disappear!

And, just in case you had any doubts about how this cheesecake tends to go over, this photo was taken about ten minutes after the cake was put out...