Cherry Cheesecake
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I visited my sister’s home Thanksgiving morning to learn how to make this heavenly dessert. She brings this to parties all the time – you may remember it from last year’s thanksgiving photos.
I was surprised at the simplicity of this cheesecake. I was going to write this as Anna’s cheesecake but her husband, Fedor, was very much involved. Fedor, being the perfectionist that he is, was criticizing Anna and I the whole time we were making the bottom dough for this cheesecake and letting us know how ugly we were making it.
Eventually, he took over and finished off the cherries and lattice top. This explains the manlier hands in the photos towards the end. I guess he wanted to make sure it looked good. That’s typical Fedor. Thanks Anna and Fedor for inviting me over to learn the how-to’s of this yummy dessert.
Ingredients for Cherry Cheesecake:
2 (8oz) pkgs refrigerated crescent roll dough (1 for the top and 1 for the base)
2 (8oz) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 large egg
2 (21 oz) cans of Country Cherry Pie Filling
Flour for dusting (maybe 1 Tbsp)
How to make the Cherry Cheesecake:
Preheat the Oven to 350˚ F.
1. Open 1 packages of crescent rolls. Dust a clean surface with a little flour unless you have a very good non-stick surface. Roll out the crescent dough large enough to cover the base and go half-way up the sides of a 13×9 glass pyrex dish.
Use any scraps of dough to patch the dough after it’s in the pyrex dish. This doesn’t have to be perfect, unless your name is Fedor.
2. On medium speed, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg in a medium bowl, just until it is creamy and smooth.
3. Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the crescent in the pyrex dish.
4. Spread cherry filling evenly over the cream cheese mixture.
5. Roll the second package of crescent dough to about the size of the pyrex dish top. Cut strips of dough about 1/2″ wide.
6. Place the strips of dough on the cheesecake the long way. Place 1 strip of dough on each edge of the pyrex and push the edges against the glass to seal the edges of the cheesecake.
7. After all the long strips are on, cut the next set of strips in half and place them the opposite way over the cheesecake to form a lattice. Seal the edges to the pyrex dish and bake for 30-35 minutes until the top is golden brown.
Cherry Cheesecake

Ingredients
- 2 8oz pkgs refrigerated crescent roll dough (1 for the top and 1 for the base)
- 2 8oz packages cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 2 21 oz cans of Country Cherry Pie Filling
- Flour for dusting, maybe 1 tbsp
Instructions
Preheat the Oven to 350°F.
- Open 1 packages of crescent rolls. Dust a clean surface with a little flour unless you have a very good non-stick surface. Roll out the crescent dough large enough to cover the base and go half-way up the sides of a 13x9 glass pyrex dish. Use any scraps of dough to patch the dough after it's in the pyrex dish.
- On medium speed, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and egg in a medium bowl, just until it is creamy and smooth.
- Spread cream cheese mixture evenly over the crescent in the pyrex dish.
- Spread cherry filling evenly over the cream cheese mixture.
- Roll the second package of crescent dough to about the size of the pyrex dish top. Cut strips of dough about 1/2" wide.
- Place the strips of dough on the cheesecake the long way. Place 1 strip of dough on each edge of the pyrex and push the edges against the glass to seal the edges of the cheesecake.
- After all the long strips are on, cut the next set of strips in half and place them the opposite way over the cheesecake to form a lattice. Seal the edges to the pyrex dish and Bbake for 30-35 minute bake until the top is golden brown.
Hey Natasha, would a puff pastry work for this recipe?
Hi Elena, I haven’t tried puff pastry so I can’t say for sure if it would crisp up too quickly on top. If you experiment, please let me know how it goes.
I was referring to The Apple Sharlotka cake…
Thanks for getting back to me Vicky! With any egg-based cake, be sure you beat the eggs and sugar sufficiently. If using a high powered electric hand mixer, add 2 min to beating time in step 2. Keep cake away from outdoor draft to prevent an “eggy” aroma.
Hi Natasha!..I’ve tried so many of your cake recipes …all so far amazing, other than the apple cake ..taste wise not impressed at all very eggy smell no one enjoyed that one…was Tobad and looked so good! ..I look forward to trying other recipes.
Thank you so much Vicky! I’m happy you have enjoyed our recipes! Which apple cake are you referring to?
I already made three times, it is soooooo good. Only thing bothering me… Seems like I am getting uncooked top stripes in middle touching cherries. I tried to bake longer but still not good enough. Bottom is already baked enough but not top.
Hi Luda, are you baking in the center of the oven? The underside of the top strips touching the cherries won’t ever be fully dry since it is touching liquid, just like you would have with a pie but not to worry, it is baked through 🙂
Hi Natasha,
I’m in Australia and never heard of this “crescent roll dough”?
What is it exactly and what would I use instead of this?
It is a pre-made product sold in grocery stores. I haven’t really tested any substitutes but I did find some homemade recipes for them online. P.S. I haven’t tested this recipe but it appears well reviewed: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/7000/golden-crescent-rolls/
Thank you Natasha for your amazing recipes 🙂
I always use this site .Supper
I’m so glad you are enjoying the site. Thank you so much for your great feedback 🙂
This recipe is great. The last time we tried it, we baked the bottom layer of rolls for about 1/3 the recommended time for regular rolls before adding the creme cheese/cherries. It helped the dough set-up. The very first time we made this, we didn’t and the whole thing was a little wierd-tasting!
I’ve never had to bake it separately that way and haven’t had any issues. Did it seem under-cooked on the bottom, or what do you mean by “weird”?
Hi Natasha,
Enjoying the posts on making farmers cheese/tvareg. My friend (born in Poland) makes a delicious version using Trader Joe’s sour cream instead of the buttermilk. (Although I’m allergic to milk I seem to be able to eat a bit of this delicious cheese.) Do you have a recipe for sernik or cheesecake made with farmer’s cheese?
Best Regards,
Susanna
I do actually 🙂 https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/10/26/farmers-cheese-chocolate-cake/ I love it when that happens!
Thank u Natasha for creating such a helpful website.May God bless u !u really help such young wives as I am to learn how to cook delicious ,nice looking food.i use ur recipes a lot and not planning to stop;))thank u!
Awww, Tina that’s fantastic! I’m so happy you find my blog helpful 🙂
Hello Natasha!
Do you serve this desert warm or cold?
Warm but it’s also good as it cools to room temp.
another question, do you have a recipe for pigs in the blanket? which dough would you use for it?
My sister has made them before and she used crescent dough. I don’t have a homemade version YET, but I do love those little piggy’s 😉
I’m making a cheese cake in my deep dish glass.so how much more do I need to double it.
Hi Natasha, which brand of crescent dough do you use?
Thank you!
I don’t have one in the fridge, but I think it’s Pillsbury
Do you know where you can get crescent dough?
Any grocery store should carry it. I buy it at Winco and I believe Walmart has it 🙂
We made it yesterday for the party, and it was all gone :). Thank you.
Great, I’m glad you love the recipe :).
Hi Natasha,
Thank you so much for putting up your recipies. I tried making the piroshki and it turned out perfect.
Last night for our dinner party I tried the Cherry Cheesecake and it looked ok but when the guests cut in, we saw that the bottom layer of crossiant was not cooked (kinda embarrassing). So I’m wondering if you can tell us the oven temperature you usually put in and exactly how long.
Thanks.
I’m sorry for the late reply Mary. Was the baking pan at the center of the oven? I just cook it at the center of the oven at 350°F for 30-35 min.
Yes it was in the centre, but I think I put it around 300 °F. Next time I’ll try 350°F.
Thank you!
Try putting the bottom crust in the oven for 5 minutes before adding cream cheese mixture. This way you avoid the gooey dough syndrome
Do you put the cream cheese onto a warm crust? I pre-baked it but then let it cool before adding cream cheese.
I always use gram crackers for the crust and it calls for 1pkge of crème cheese 1can of eagle brand milk 1/3c.lemon juice1tea.vanilla extract.do I just double the ingredients.
HI Ginger, are you referring to another cheesecake recipe? Since baking is so much a science, without trying it, I cant really advise you on what to do.
I make this same recipe, the only diference is that on top instead of strips of dought, I do a whole layer just like on the bottom and then sprinkle powder sugar on top . It’s delicious. 🙂
I made this last night.. Super easy and delicious! My hubby loved it!
You are welcome Valentina :). I’m glad you enjoy the recipe!
Hi, Natasha. Could I use puff pastry dough instead of crescent dough?
I haven’t tried it so I can’t really recommend it.
Made this one yesterday…tastes really yummy. Instead of cherries, I made it with raspberry filling…very good 😉
Thank you
So glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know 🙂
Hi Natasha,
one quastion.. Do I have to grease the glass dish before rollin out the crescent dough?
No grease required. There is plenty of butter in the dough so it doesnt stick
wow!! it just so happens that my husbands name is Fedor also, and he is a perfectionist too, always critisizing me.. great recipe, by the way.
that’s too funny. I bet they would be great friends!
Very nice, will make this soon 🙂
Oh wow! This looks great. My mom makes her cheesecake so similar to this, I can’t believe it. She used pirozhok dough not the crescent dough. I need to post it on my blog. You’ll see the similarities. I need to make this!
Oh pirozhok dough sounds interesting. Do you mean like for baked stuffed piroshki?
This looks simple and yummie! Thanx
It is exactly how you described it. Simple and super yummy!! 🙂
You are amazing Natasha! Love all your recipes & look forward to many more great ones! 🙂
Thank you Mila, you are so sweet 🙂