Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte

Total Time: 3 hrs 10 mins Preparation Time: 2 hrs Cook Time: 1 hr 10 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 8
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled (12 tablespoons)
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup thick jam or 1/3 cup cherry jam
• 9 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 8 ounces cottage cheese, at room temperature
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• ground cinnamon, a pinch
• freshly grated nutmeg, a pinch
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• powdered sugar, for dusting

Recipe

• 1 get ready: butter a 9-inch springform pan, dust the inside with flour and tap out the excess; place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat.
• 2 make the crust: add flour, sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse just to blend.
• 3 toss in the pieces of butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
• 4 in a small bowl, stir the egg yolk and vanilla together with a fork, and, still pulsing the machine, add them and continue to pulse until the dough comes together in clumps and curds—restrain yourself, and don’t allow the dough to form a ball.
• 5 turn the dough out onto a work surface; if you want to roll the dough, gather it into a ball, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 20 minutes before rolling.
• 6 or simply press the dough into the pan; the dough should come about 1 ½ inches up the sides of the springform; refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
• 7 center oven rack; preheat oven to 375°.
• 8 fit a piece of buttered foil against the crust, covering it completely; fill the crust lightly with rice, dried beans, or pie weights and slide the sheet into the oven; bake crust for 20 minutes, then carefully remove the foil and weights and bake for another 5 minutes or so—your don’t want the crust to get too brown; transfer to a rack to cool while you make the filling.
• 9 lower oven temperature to 350°.
• 10 make the filling: stir the jam and spread it over the bottom of the crust—it is ok to do this while the crust is still warm.
• 11 add the cream cheese and cottage cheese into the food processor; process, scraping down the sides of the bowl a few times, for 2 minutes, until you have a smooth satiny mix.
• 12 add in the sugar, salt, and spices; process for another 30 seconds.
• 13 with the machine running, add the eggs and process, scraping down the bowl as needed, for a final minute.
• 14 pour filling over the jam.
• 15 bake for 60-70 minutes, or until the filling is uniformly puffed and no longer jiggly.
• 16 gently transfer the springform pan to a cooling rack and let the torte cool to room temperature, during which time the filling will colapse into a thin, elegant layer.
• 17 run a blunt knife between the crust and the sides of the pan, then open and remove the sides of the springform.
• 18 if the sides of the crust extend above the filling and you don’t like this look, very gently saw off the excess crust using a serrated knife.
• 19 chill the torte slightly or thoroughly before serving and, if you like, dust the top with powdered sugar.