CAMILLE AUBRAY'S CHEERFUL CHERRY CHEESECAKE

I love to make this cheesecake at any time of year, but especially in the springtime. The cherry and orange flavors really perk you up and evoke the newly returned sunshine.

All of the ingredients except the brandy are organic, which Iis usually tastier and sweeter so you don’t have to use too much sugar. If you don't have any cherries or cherry jam, you can use apricot or peach jam, or orange marmalade. But please do NOT use "low-fat" cheeses here, they only add water, and the texture won't be as creamy.

Ingredients:

16 oz of full-fat cream cheese

8 oz of full-fat sour cream

1/3 cup fine sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla

1 teaspoon of orange brandy or plain cognac

3 tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice

2 tablespoons of flour

sweet (unsalted) butter to coat the pan

graham crackers to coat the pan

fruit jam, preferably cherry, apricot or orange

Make the cake:

Unwrap your cream cheese, cut into chunks and put them in your mixing bowl, then leave out on the counter to warm and soften a little.

Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Place a cookie sheet on the middle shelf.

Place the graham crackers between 2 sheets of waxed paper (preferably unbleached paper) and use a rolling pin or the back of a skillet to crush the crackers into crumbs.

Generously grease your pan with the butter, making sure to get into the corners. I like to use a spring-form pan for this, but you can use any cake pan, or individual ramekins.

Then shake out your graham cracker crumbs and spread evenly, gently pressing them into the butter.

Into your mixing bowl where the cream cheese is, add the sugar, orange juice, and vanilla, and, using a paddle if you have it, beat at medium speed and blend so that the sugar is no longer gritty, but do no over-beat this.

Then add the eggs, orange brandy and the sour cream, and beat again until blended.

Add the flour, and beat again for about a minute to blend.

Pour the batter into the buttered-crumb-lined pan and use a spatula to spread the top evenly.

Place your cake pan onto the cookie sheet in the oven. Bake the cake for an hour, or until it gets a golden brown hue on the top, and the edges start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Use a cake tester in the center of the cake; it should come out dry, not gooey.

Take the cake out and let it sit for about twenty minutes or until the spring on your spring-form cake pan is cool enough to touch and open. Don't worry if the cake sinks a bit like a soufflé, that’s normal. Remove the sides of the pan and let the cake sit longer until completely cooked. (If you are using a regular cake pan, just let it sit until cool.)

Slice the cake onto pretty plates and spoon some jam and/or orange marmalade around it (but not on top of it). When fresh cherries are available, I make my my own cherry sauce: wash, halve and pit the cherries, then heat some sweet butter in a saucepan and when it foams add the cherries, followed by a splash of water and a bit of brandy or white wine. Let the cherries soften and thicken on the heat until they are jammy but still retain their shape, and spoon onto the plate.

Serve with coffee or tea or a glass of armagnac, and enjoy!

Camille Aubray is the author of THE GODMOTHERS https://www.amazon.com/Godmothers-Novel-Camille-Aubray/dp/0062983695 and COOKING FOR PICASSO https://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Picasso-Novel-Camille-Aubray/dp/0399177663 .