Grampa Makes The Best Cakes...

Hmm... Mad made this declaration tonight about Steve's Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake, that I made with the kids' "help."

It is a tasty recipe, and I used both light sour cream and cream cheese in it with no ill effects, so it's lighter, and still delicious! And, I must admit, I also didn't have enough maraschinos, so I used about 10 oz. of Montmorency cherries (in the jar) from Trader Joes that I had in the fridge - they were great.
Black Forest Cherry Cheesecake (or "Grampa's Cheesecake" according to M, no matter who makes it!)

CRUST (mix in a 9-inch springform pan with hand, and press into bottom - bake 3-4 minutes and cool while mixing up filling) :
1 1/4 c. chocolate cookie crumbs (about 20 Famous Chocolate Wafer cookies)
3 T. melted butter

FILLING (beat first 5 ingredients in Kitchenaid mixer, then add the eggs one at a time - scrape down sides and bottom of bowl often):
4 boxes cream cheese, softened (I used 3 light, and 1 regular)
1 1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 Tbs. cherry brandy
6 eggs

Then remove 1/3 of the batter to another bowl and add:
3/4 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted, to 1/3 of the batter, and
One 10-oz. jar maraschino cherries, drained (reserve juice) and quartered to the other 2/3 of the batter.

Pour half the cherry batter onto crust, then the chocolate batter, then the remaining cherry batter, and marble with a knife. It's ready to bake!

Bake at 350-degrees F for 80 minutes (the last 5 minutes, remove from oven and add the topping, then return to oven to finish baking). Cool completely before chilling overnight in fridge before serving.

TOPPING: 2 c. light sour cream 4 Tbs. sugar 4 Tbs. cherry juice (reserved from draining maraschinos)

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