cheesecake with cherries

Another serious winner from smitten kitchen.  

Ingredients:

Crust

15 sheets of graham cracker, finely ground

1 stick melted butter

.5 c sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Filling

5 packages (8oz) philadelphia cream cheese, softened

1 3/4c sugar

3 tbsp flour

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp orange zest 

5 eggs

2 yolks

.5 tsp vanilla

Cherry sauce

10 ounces cherries, pitted

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 c sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

.5 c water

Buttered 9.5in springform pan, set in baking pan to catch drips

Crust:

- mix all ingredients together, press into bottom of springform pan, and sides, stopping 1" from top

- freeze while making filling

Filling:

- preheat oven to 550

- beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, zest in mixer until smooth

- add vanilla, then eggs and yolks one at a time, scraping frequently

- pour into pan in baking dish until completely full

- bake 10-12 minutes until puffed, just browning

- lower temp, bake 1 hour+ at 200 degrees (middle will still be vaguely wobbly)

- remove from oven, run knife around cake, cool on rack and then chill in fridge loosely covered for 6 hours 

Sauce:

- mix all ingredients in saucepan, bring to boil

- cook 1-2 min, then cool completely

Cheesecake will keep for up to 2 weeks covered in fridge