Birthday Party

We had a birthday party for one of our close friends. She mentioned one time how she never made a "real" baked cheesecake, so I thought I would attempt one and give her the recipe. This was a complete surprise since we always make each other cakes that we can decorate.

Here is the recipe:

Crust
2 packages (not boxes) graham crackers, crushed (around 15 crackers)
2 T unsalted butter, melted (or use buttermilk as a butter substitute but you'll have to eyeball this--use enough so that the crackers smoosh together when push on them)


Cheese cake
4 8oz packages of cream cheese (room temp)
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 T vanilla extract
1/4 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Grease a 9 inch springform pan. Cut a piece of aluminum foil to fit the bottom of the pan--this will let the crust come off easier (you can skip this step if you want to).

Mix graham cracker crumbs with butter (or buttermilk). Press into bottom of springform pan. Put in the fridge.

Mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk. Mix in eggs one at a time (do not over mix). Mix in sour cream, vanilla, and flour until smooth. Pour filling into the crust.

Bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let the cake sit in the oven for a few hours (2 or more). This helps minimize cracking. Then put in the fridge.

For the topping, heat 1 can of cherry pie filling in a skillet and add flour to thicken. The flour may not dissolve all the way, but once you refrigerate it, the white specks will disappear almost entirely.

I'll post a picture later.
Enjoy!