Black Cherry Cheesecake

This is the first year at this house that we were able to get some cherries off of our cherry tree. AND to our pleasant surprise we figured out they were black cherries! The tricky thing was getting them off before the birds ate them all and before the black cherry aphids destroyed it.

But we did get 1,500 lady bugs to help us out with the aphid situation. They did a great job!

In the end we were able to get about 5 gallons of cherries. Which was turned into delicious cherry syrup (which we've tried on and in everything we can think of!) and was used for this amazing cheesecake recipe.

A very special thanks to my neighbor for letting me use her cherry pitter, which made for quick work at getting a gallon of those cherries pitted!

If you don't happen to have a cherry tree in your backyard or can't get your hands on some fresh cherries, you could always use cherry pie filling on top, or any other delicious fruit topping you prefer! Enjoy! :o)

Ingredients:

• For the crust:
• 12 whole graham cracker rectangles
• 5 Tbsp butter, melted
• For the filling:
• 2 lbs cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• For the cherry topping:
• 1/2 cup cherry syrup (recipe below)
• about 2 cups cherries, pitted

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat or spray a 9 or 10 inch spring-form pan with butter or oil. (Optional: wrap the bottom of the pan with two strips of foil, if planning on doing the water-bath method).
Make the crust: using your food processor, crush the graham crackers until they form fine crumbs. Slowly add melted butter until fully incorporated and graham cracker crumb resembles wet sand. Transfer to your prepared pan and press evenly onto the bottom. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until fragrant. Let cool.
Make the filling: beat cream cheese until smooth. Scrape down sides. Add sugar, corn starch and sour cream. Mix until incorporated, scraping down the sides after. Add eggs, lemon and vanilla. Beat until fully incorporated. Pour over cooled crust.
If doing the water bath method (this will result in a prettier, less cracked cheesecake): find a roasting pan or casserole dish larger than the cheesecake. Place the cheesecake (with the foil wrapped around the edges) in the center and pour 1-2 cups of boiling water around the cheesecake in the roasting pan (the foil should help keep the water from seeping into the cheesecake while baking). Fill to about an inch or so that it's just below the foil.
Bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes on the middle rack of your oven. Cheesecake is done when the edges are set and golden brown but the center is still a little jiggly.
Remove from oven and let cool (Optional: let cool in oven with oven turned off and door slightly opened).
Chill cheesecake for at least 8 hours (overnight preferred) before topping.

Cherry Syrup: (makes 1 cup of syrup)
3 cups cherries (1 pound) can leave pits in.
3/4 cup sugar
In a medium saucepan over medium heat mix the cherries and sugar with a rubber spatula. As it starts to warm up mash with a potato masher. Let simmer on low for about 15 minutes, mashing a few more times. Remove from heat and using a strainer, strain syrup into a bowl, pushing down with a spoon to get all the juices out. Discard pulp and store syrup in an airtight container in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

S'more Cupcakes

These are the perfect summer treat, and bonus, you get to use a torch.

• Graham Cracker Layer:
• 1 ½ cups crushed graham crackers
• ⅓ cup butter, melted
• 3 Tablespoons sugar
• Chocolate Cupcake layer:
• 2 ½ cups flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ cup boiling water
• Toasted Marshmallow topping:
• 8 egg whites
• 2 cups sugar
• ½ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Hershey Chocolate pieces 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin tin with 2 dozen liners. Pulse graham crackers in your food processor, add butter and sugar and mix until well mixed. Press 1 full Tablespoon onto the bottom of each liner. Put to the side. Make the batter: in your stand up mixer add all the dry ingredients and whisk well. In a separate bowl mix together the eggs, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix just until incorporated. Slowly add in the hot water. Mix just until incorporated, do not overmix. Scoop unto graham cracker layer until about ⅔ full. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until cooked through and bounce back when lightly touched. Place one bar of hershey chocolate in the middle of each hot cupcake. Let melt and spread around chocolate. Place cupcakes to the side and finish cooling. Make the marshmallow topping: put the egg whites, sugar and cream of tartar in the heat proof bowl of your mixer. Place the bowl over a saucepan with boiling water. Whisk constantly until sugar dissolves and is warm to touch. Do not let it get hot. Place bowl back on your stand up mixer and using the whisk attachment, whisk, starting on low and then gradually going up to high. Mix for 8-10 minutes. Or until it forms stiff peaks. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated. Place marshmallow frosting into your bag fitted with a 1M tip and pipe onto your cooled cupcakes. Torch and place a hershey chocolate piece into each cupcake. 

Makes about 2 dozen cupcakes.

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