Red, White, and Blue Cheesecake

My younger sister Ashton adores cheesecake.  I am convinced she could eat it every day and not get sick of it. Needless to say, I have made quite a few for her so I have got cheesecake down to an art.  That's why this time when she asked me to bake one for her, I decided to try something a little bit different.  I found this recipe in A Taste of Home magazine and loved the pictures, so I had to try it!  We just cut the cheesecake last night and it is already almost half gone meaning I must have done something right!  This cake would be perfect for any party or get together, especially the approaching 4th of July holiday!

What you will need:

Crust:  1 1/2 c. all purpose flour, 1/2 c. sugar, 1 tsp. grated lemon peel, 3/4 c. cold butter, 2 egg yolks, 1/2 tsp.     vanilla extract

Filling:  5 8oz. cream cheese, softened, 1 c. sugar, 1/4 c. half-and-half, 3 tbsp. all purpose flour, 1/2 tsp. grated lemon peel, 1/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract, 2 eggs, lightly beaten, 1 egg yolk, 1 c. crushed strawberries, 1 c. crushed blueberries, assorted berries for the topping

If you have made cheesecake before, you know it can be a lengthy process.  But, you also know that it is well worth the effort too!  :)

1. Preheat the oven to 400.  Combine flour, sugar, and lemon peel for the crust.  Cut in the butter.  Whisk the eggs together and add to the mixture,  Using your hands, work with the mixture until it forms a dough ball.  Press the dough onto the bottom and sides of a greased springform pan.  Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake the crust for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

2. IN a large bowl, beat the cream cheeses and sugar together until creamy.  Beat in the cream, flour, lemon peel, salt, and vanilla.  Add the eggs and 1 yolk, and continue beating until blended well.  

3. Divide the batter in half and fold in the crushed blueberries and strawberries to one of the halves.  (Hint:  I crushed the strawberries and blueberries in a vegetable chopper, which worked really well) 

4. Pour the half of the batter with the berries in it into the pan first, then add the remaining batter to the top.

5. Place the springform pan back onto the baking sheet and bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  The, decrease the oven temp. to 300 and bake for 60-70 more minutes, until lighlty brown on the edges.  

6.  Let the cake cool on a wire rack for half an hour, then loosen the outer edges of the pan.  Refrigerate overnight. 

7. Top the cake with berries of your choice, serve cold, and enjoy!    

 p.s. I promise I did not make this pie three years ago in 2008--the date/time stamp on my camera was messed up and I didn't realize it until after these photographs  :)

Can you tell we like it!?!!

I hope you will share this recipe with your family and enjoy it as much as my family and I have!