Crumble Cheesecake with Berry Sauce

Steps 10

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1. 1

   Two hours before you start, take the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs out of the fridge: they must be truly at room temperature, or the filling turns lumpy. Heat the oven to 350°F with a rack in the middle and a rimmed baking sheet on the rack below to catch butter drips. Line the bottom of a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan with parchment and butter the sides.

2. 2

   For the crumble, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Add the cold butter cubes and rub them in with your fingertips until the mix looks like coarse sand with some pea-size pieces of butter still visible. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and toss with a fork until a handful holds together when squeezed. Chill the bowl for 15 minutes: cold butter is what bakes into crunchy clumps instead of sand.

3. 3

   Tip a little more than half of the crumble into the pan and press it firmly and evenly over the bottom with your fingers or the base of a glass. Bake the base 15–18 minutes, until pale golden; baking it first keeps it crisp under the wet filling. Let it cool 10 minutes and lower the oven to 325°F. Keep the rest of the crumble in the fridge.

4. 4

   For the filling, beat the cream cheese and sugar on low speed until completely smooth, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl twice. Beat in the sour cream, cornstarch, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the eggs one at a time on low, mixing only until each one disappears. Beating fast adds air, and air is what makes a cheesecake puff up and crack.

5. 5

   Pour the filling over the baked base and tap the pan on the counter a few times to pop any big bubbles.

6. 6

   Take the rest of the crumble, squeeze small handfuls into clumps and break them loosely over the filling, right to the edges. Big clumps give the crunchy top; do not press them down. For the crunchiest top, keep 1 cup of the crumble back in the fridge (see the last step).

7. 7

   Bake 75–90 minutes, until the crumble is golden, the edges are set and the center (about the size of a saucer) still wobbles like set jelly when you nudge the pan. An instant-read thermometer in the center should read 150°F. Check the top at 45 minutes: if it is already deep golden, lay a sheet of foil loosely over it. Turn the oven off, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour: a slow cool keeps it from cracking.

8. 8

   Run a thin knife around the edge so the cake can shrink away from the pan as it cools. Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. It slices cleanly only when it is fully cold.

9. 9

   For the berry sauce, simmer the berries, sugar and lemon juice in a small saucepan for 5 minutes, until the berries are soft and juicy. Stir the cornstarch into the cold water, add it to the pan and simmer 1 minute more, until the sauce coats a spoon. Let it cool; it keeps 3 days in the fridge.

10. 10

    Release the ring, dust the top lightly with powdered sugar and cut with a long knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry between cuts. The crumble softens a little in the fridge overnight; if you kept 1 cup back, bake it on a lined sheet at 350°F for 12–15 minutes, let it cool and scatter it over just before serving. Spoon the berry sauce over each slice at the table. Leftovers keep 4 days, covered, in the fridge.