GF Chocolate Cherry Cheesecake

Hey friends! Today I'm sharing another delicious gluten free recipe. And, seriously, I mean delicious. It was for another birthday at work and the birthday boy loves cheesecake, chocolate, and cherry pie. Sooo...I decided to put them all together into one fabulous dessert!

Doesn't that look heavenly? It consists of a brownie crust, creamy cheesecake, cherry pie filling, and a milk chocolate drizzle. Now, a fellow co-worker and myself are both eating gluten free so I wanted to make sure that we could partake. I turned to my new favorite baking mix company - Pamela's - and used the Chocolate  Brownie Mix for the crust.

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I followed the regular brownie recipe on the package and poured it into a springform pan. 

For the cheesecake I followed a fabulous Ina Garten recipe, only using the part for the filling...

Cheesecake (adapted from here)

• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 whole extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Pour over unbaked brownie batter.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven temperature down to 225 degrees F and bake for another 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2 to 3 hours, until completely cooled. Remember, cake will NOT be completely set in the center at this point. It WILL set up in the refrigerator. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Remove the cake from the springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving. Top with your favorite GF cherry pie filling ( I used Lucky Leaf ) and drizzle with melted milk chocolate.

Yes, this cheesecake IS as good as it looks. And, GF-ers, feel free to indulge without any repercussions. Well, at least, gluten-related repercussions. I can't account for your scale reading changing or clothes not fitting quite right. I'm not a miracle worker after all! :) Enjoy!

Until next time, happy reading and more importantly, happy cupcake-ing!!