In her cookbook, Ripe Figs: Recipes and Stories from Turkey, Greece, and Cyprus, author Yasmin Khan celebrates the sharp, tangy cherry—a prized fruit in Turkey—by pairing it with a cake of baked yogurt and cream cheese. She uses frozen sour cherries for this recipe (they’re pitted, which saves time), but you can use fresh ones when they’re in season. To avoid a cracked cheesecake, don’t overwork the cream cheese mixture; be sure to line the baking pan; bake it slowly (if you know your oven runs hot, you can drop the temperature 25 degrees); and let the cheesecake cool gradually.
Recipe information
Yield
8 - 10 Servings
Ingredients
Cheesecake
1½
7
1
⅔
3
1
1
1
1
1
Cherries and assembly
14
½
1
special equipment
Preparation
Cheesecake
Step 1
Lightly coat pan with nonstick spray and line bottom with a parchment paper round. Pulse graham crackers in a food processor until finely ground. (Or crush in a resealable plastic bag with a rolling pin.) Drizzle in butter; pulse to combine. Press into bottom of prepared pan, packing with a measuring cup. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Step 2
Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 325°. Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and yogurt in a large bowl until smooth. Add eggs, sugar, flour, and salt and beat until just combined. Mix in vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice.
Step 3
Pour filling into pan and gently tap on counter to evenly distribute; set on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake cheesecake until filling is set but still wobbly in the center, 55–65 minutes. Turn off oven and prop door open. Let sit in oven 10 minutes. Remove from oven; let cool completely, 1–1½ hours. Chill until cold, 1–2 hours.
Do ahead: Cheesecake can be made 3 days ahead. Keep chilled.
Cherries and assembly
Step 4
Bring cherries and sugar to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium heat, stirring often, until cherries are thawed if frozen. Add more sugar if needed. Sprinkle cornstarch over and stir in. Simmer until thickened slightly, about 5 minutes.
Step 5
Spoon cherries and juices over cheesecake just before serving.
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Reviews (9)
Back to TopThis is a very lemony flavored cheesecake--perhaps due to my Meyer lemons? In my oven, it was already firmly baked and set at 55 minutes, no wobbly middle at all. It didn't crack at all, but the flavor was disappointing. Were I to make this recipe again, I'd put a bit of sugar in the graham cracker crust recipe, turn the heat down, use no lemon zest, and add some vanilla to the cherry topping. 3 stars only, not 5.
Anonymous
Lawrence Kansas
5/15/2021
I really liked this recipe. It was easy to make and the cheesecake turned out really creamy and light tasting. I made it exactly as instructed in the recipe and did not think it was overly lemony. My only two issues: My cheese cake cracked. I tried not to over work the cream cheese, but I guess I must've. Didn't affect the flavor, so no big deal. The second was with the cherry sauce. Something needs to be tweaked with the corn starch. When I added it, it immediately clumped up and was hard to stir in. I ended up picking the clumps out with a strainer. I'll try again and make it into a slurry before adding it. This was a great recipe for using up some of my sour cherry harvest. My family loved this recipe too and they are pretty particular about their cheesecake. I will definitely be making this recipe again!
AngelaS
Minneapolis, MN
7/5/2022
I love Cherry Cheesecake (cherry anything actually) and this recipe is no exception. A couple of tips - To avoid cracking I let it cool for an hour in the oven with the door ajar and no cracking. For success with the cherries, I have always made a slurry with the cherry juice. If the cherries are frozen they would have to be completely thawed and drained using the resulting juice. Cherries are also good with Brandy, Amaretto, and Kirsch (of course) so any one of those spirits could be used to make a slurry as well.
Steven S
Novato CA
6/30/2023
This is 100% the greatest cheesecake recipe of all time. My family requests it for birthdays every year. It is delicious and flexible. I normally use dried Montmorency cherries for the sauce and plump them in some hot water and port (or cranberry juice if I have that handy). I use whatever cookies are handy for the crust (ginger snaps are the favorite) and I add pecans when I blitz them. I don’t care about cracks- you cover it with sauce anyway and the flavor is outstanding and so is the texture. 5 stars!!
AlisonOra
Charleston, SC
8/6/2023