Amanda's Cherry Cheesecake

Seeing as my sister has been baking cakes for years, I guess its time to start giving her a bit of credit.  Amanda has made some really impressive cakes, cookie monster cupcakes, thanksgiving cupcakes and even a casino cake! But she most often makes my favourite - cheesecake!  This recipe came from my mothers' Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cookbook.  Please note that you should use a spring form pan and allow your ingredients to become room temperature before you begin.  Cream cheese should stay out for at least 2 hours before you start mixing.

Combine the crumbs, sugar and margarine and press evenly into the bottom of a 9 inch cake pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.  Keep a close eye on your crumbs; they should not get any darker.

Using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese and sugar until blended.  Add the eggs and the vanilla and mix until they are just incorporated.  DO NOT OVER MIX cheesecake to prevent it from cracking down the middle after baking.

Scoop the batter onto the pre-baked crust and smooth it over using a spatula or large spoon.

Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 250 degrees for 25 minutes.  Our cheesecake was clearly over mixed and it cracked pretty badly.  It's easy to get carried away with the mixing...

Allow your cake to cool completely and then loosen from the rim of the pan using a knife.  Thankfully, the cracks aren't evident after topping with cherry pie filling and a bit of whipped cream!  You can also try blueberry pie filling or any other fruit topping.  Keep your cheesecake refrigerated until served :)