This berry cheesecake is great for shavuot or any occasion. Using cream cheese, cottage cheese, cherry brandy and fresh berries we have a delicious cheesecake.
When using fresh blackberries in a kosher diet, do not forget to clean and inspect your berries for bugs.
I found this recipe while looking for a dessert to enter in our company's annual blackberry contest featuring many entries of delectable blackberry treats and blind-judged by several different "higher-ups" in the company. This recipe was very easy to make in steps. I was able to whip this up while I also cooking dinner, caring for our demanding toddler, etc. Made crust first, put in the fridge. Then, the next time I had a breather, I whipped up the filling. Filling sat for a bit before I could put it all together and throw in the oven. I made a mistake on the crust and melted 8 tbsp (a whole cube) of butter instead of 6. I had already added the crushed wafers to the butter, so I just crushed up and added more wafers until the consistency was right. I ended up using a total of 53 wafers. It turned out very well. I used small-curd cottage cheese and it blended smooth easily. I substituted orange juice for the brandy. I also used frozen blackberries, which I would not recommend. It was a lot of extra work to get them dry enough to use. Plus, they were sour and not as big and juicy and sweet as the fresh ones I could have picked on our hill (I should have sent the kids out to pick them!). I used the 8" springform pan - but next time I would use the 9", because the cake did not get as done as I wanted it to in the center. I baked it at 375 deg. for 57 minutes! I'm pleased to say that this cheesecake was awarded the second place prize in the contest! Enjoy! - 22 Aug 2005 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
I have made this recipe at least a couple dozen times. It is my standby when bringing a dessert to a gathering, and is so popular with family and friends that it is requested often. The texture is amazingly silky and light! The flavor is lovely whether I use cherry brandy or kirsh. My favorite fruit choices for this are sour cherries or blackberries, and I often put a sour cream and sugar layer over the top just before the fruit topping, which tastes as great as it looks. I sometimes make it with a graham cracker crust just for variety. Fabulous! - 08 Jan 2007 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)
Great recipe. I put the berries in a blender with some sugar then swirled it into the filling. Came out wonderful! - 12 Dec 2001 (Review from Allrecipes USA and Canada)