Gym or cheesecake? I'll take the cheesecake

Lately when faced with a Sunday afternoon choice between hitting the gym and baking some decadent dessert, well, I seem to be opting for dessert more often than not. Yesterday I made a cheesecake topped with berry sauce. It was decadent, yes, but not quite so decadent as a recipe I found at lovemyphilly.blogspot.com (a blog brimming with recipes that call for Philadelphia Cream Cheese -- part of a not-so-stealth marketing campaign, I'm thinking) that called for four whole blocks of cream cheese. (By the way, that Web site features several recipes that call for pre-mixed Philly cheesecake filling, an ingredient I didn't know existed. Nothing is easier than mixing up cheesecake filling. Who's buying this stuff?)

When son Erik was in town some months back, he made a killer cheesecake that also called for four 8-ounce packages of cream cheese. It was tall, it was beautiful, it was enough for 20 people. Here's what I came up with as an alternative (which made plenty, of course, enough that I must hereby resolve to hit the gym, uh, you know, real soon.):

Cheesecake with berry sauce

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup plus four tablespoons sugar
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups sour cream
2 eggs

Heat convection oven to 300 degrees or conventional oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan. Mix crumbs, butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl, press onto bottom of pan. Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup sour cream. Beat 'til smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Beat on low until well blended. Pour filling over crust. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Mix remaining sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Spread evenly over cheesecake. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool in pan, then cover and refrigerate at least four hours. Top slices with berry sauce before serving.

Berry sauce:

In a saucepan, mix 1 cup water with two cups sugar. Bring to boil. Add a 12-to-16-ounce package frozen mixed berries. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain into a bowl, and spoon some of the cooked berries into the syrup. Refrigerate 'til ready to use. Spoon two tablespoons or so over each slice of cheesecake.