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Sweetheart Cheesecake

No recipe image available.Rich cheesecake, in a chocolate crumb crust, decorated with easy-to-make cherry sauce-hearts.

Recipe Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/3 cups crushed chocolate wafer cookies
1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 tablespoons granulated sugar

Filling:
4 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Sour Cream Topping:
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 (21-ounce) can cherry pie filling - divided use
3 tablespoons kirsch or orange juice, if desired

Cooking Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C).
  2. For Crust: Stir together all crust ingredients in small bowl. Press onto bottom of ungreased 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Cool.
  3. For Filling: Place egg whites in small mixer bowl. Beat at high speed, scraping bowl often, until soft peaks form (1 to 2 minutes). Set aside.
  4. Combine 1/2 cup butter, cream cheese and egg yolks in large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy (2 to 3 minutes). Add all remaining filling ingredients except egg whites. Continue beating, scraping bowl often, until well mixed (1 to 2 minutes). Gently stir in beaten egg whites by hand.
  5. Spoon filling into prepared pan. Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until center is set and firm to the touch. (Cheesecake surface will be cracked.) Cool 15 minutes; loosen sides of cheesecake from pan by running knife around inside of pan. Cool completely. (Cheesecake center will dip slightly upon cooling.)
  6. For Sour Cream Topping: Stir together sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and vanilla in small bowl. Spread evenly over top of cheesecake.
  7. Spoon out 2 to 3 tablespoons cherry sauce from pie filling; drop by teaspoonfuls onto sour cream topping. Carefully pull knife or spatula through cherry sauce to form hearts. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours.
  8. To Serve: Stir together remaining pie filling and kirsch in medium bowl, serve with individual servings of cheesecake. Store refrigerated.

Makes 12 servings.

Nutritional Information Per Serving (1/12 of recipe): Calories: 490, Fat: 29 g, Cholesterol: 150 mg, Sodium: 310 mg, Carbohydrates: 48 g, Dietary Fiber: 0 g, Protein: 7 g.