Sour Cream Topping

• Typically found on New York-style cheesecakes, sour cream topping contains the obvious main ingredient mixed with sugar and sometimes flavor extracts. Thinly layered on top of a freshly baked cheesecake, the topping bakes just a few minutes longer before the cheesecake is removed from the oven and chilled. The short second baking adheres the topping to the cheesecake so that, unlike a traditional cake frosting, it stays put and becomes part of the cake.

Cherry Filling

• Topping a cheesecake with cherry filling can be as easy as opening a can. Many commercially prepared cherry pie fillings line store shelves in both regular and sugar-free varieties. To make cherry filling from scratch, pit a large batch of fresh, ripe cherries. Use approximately three times as many cups of cherries as cups of sugar. Add water and lemon juice or flavor extracts to taste and simmer to the desired consistency. Cool before using as a cheesecake topping.

Topping the Cheesecake

• After baking the cheesecake, spread a thin layer of sour cream topping over the top and return it to the oven for about 10 or 15 minutes. Don't allow the topping to brown. Turn the oven off and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door open before placing it on a wire rack to cool further. Run a paring knife around the edge of the cake and release the spring-form pan. Chill completely on a serving plate in the refrigerator. Add the cherry filling after the cake has chilled several hours or overnight. Spoon room-temperature or colder cherry filling over the sour cream topping in the center and use a rubber scraper to gently distribute it to the edges.

Cautions

• On a no-bake cheesecake, sour cream topping spreads like a cake frosting or whipped cream topping. Because of skipping the baking step, the topping won't adhere to the cheesecake, potentially moving around on the cake. Adding cherry filling to this type of cheesecake with sour cream topping may cause a mixing of the filling and topping, giving it all a pink hue instead of the dramatic red crown of cherries. Place individual cherries as a garnish instead on this type of cheesecake.