Berry Cheesecake

Bake this reliable cheesecake recipe with blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, cherries, or a mixture of any of them. No water bath required!

Course Desserts

Cuisine American, Canadian

Diet Gluten Free

Keyword gluten-free berry cheesecake

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 10

Cooling Time 6

Total Time 7 40

Servings slices

Calories 403kcal

Author Cathy

Equipment

Ingredients

Crust

2 cups gluten-free Graham-type crackers (2 X 5.3 oz pkg. Schar Honeygrams)
4 ounces butter (1 stick)

Sauce

3 cups fresh or frozen berries, divided (Don't thaw if frozen.)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup raw sugar
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons tapioca flour (or cornstarch)

Filling

32 ounces firm cream cheese (block style), at room temperature
1 cup sour cream (8 oz)
1 cup raw sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
5 large eggs

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Crust

Line a 9-inch springform pan with parchment paper and wrap the outside with foil. (Some springform pans come with a leakproof pan protector, which eliminates the need for the foil.)
Melt the butter over low heat.
4 ounces butter
Process Graham-style crackers in a food processor until they form crumbs. With the machine running on low, slowly pour in the melted butter.
2 cups gluten-free Graham-type crackers
Press the crumb mixture firmly over the bottom of the prepared springform pan and up the sides as far as you can. Set this into the fridge to chill while you prepare the sauce and filling.

Sauce

In a medium saucepan, toss 1 cup of berries with the lemon juice and sugar. Heat, stirring occasionally, over low heat for the berries to warm and break down. You can turn the heat up a little as more liquid develops.
2 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ cup raw sugar, 3 cups fresh or frozen berries, divided
Meanwhile, stir the tapioca starch with 2 tablespoons of water to form a smooth paste. When the berries are warm, stir the tapioca-water paste into the berry mixture and cook over medium-high heat, stirring while it thickens and takes on a clearish, gel-like appearance. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the remaining berries. These berries should retain their shape pretty well. Set this sauce aside to cool.
2 tablespoons water, 2 tablespoons tapioca flour

Filling

Preheat the oven to 325℉ (163℃).
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese at a medium-low speed until smooth. Beat in the sour cream, sugar, vanilla, salt, and the eggs, one by one.
1 cup sour cream, 1 cup raw sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt, 5 large eggs, 32 ounces firm cream cheese

Assembly

Pour half of the filling into the chilled crumb crust. Pour half of the sauce over it. Then pour on the remaining filling. (Reserve the other half of the sauce for after baking.)
You can smooth out each layer with a spatula as you add it. This will cause them to mix a little, and that's fine. In fact, if you want to swirl them together a little more, go ahead and do it! Just don't get it overly mixed and messy.
Carefully place the foil-wrapped pan of cheesecake onto the center rack of the preheated oven. (If you use the pan that I have linked to, you won't need the foil.)
Bake it for about 70 to 80 minutes. The top should be slightly puffed, golden brown, and just a little jiggly in the middle, but not runny.
Leave the cake in the oven to cool with the door partly open, for 2 more hours.
Spread the remaining sauce over the cheesecake and refrigerate it for 4 hours or overnight. Remove the springform pan from the cheesecake. Keep the cake refrigerated until you are ready to serve it.

Video

Notes

Avoid overmixing the filling, as that may lead to a cracked cheesecake.
You may prefer to keep the second half of the berry sauce aside to spoon over individual servings, as you plate them.

Nutrition