Vanilla Bean Cheesecake with Fresh Berries and Honey Drizzle

Make the crust: stir together the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Gently stir in melted butter. (Your fingers will work best.)

Pat into a greased 8″ springform pan (you could also use a 9″ pan), covering the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Bake at 350ºF for 10 minutes. Let cool while you make the filling.

For the filling, beat cream cheese in a large bowl for a few minutes, until creamy. Add the sugar and salt, beat a few more minutes until light. Add in scraped vanilla bean, mix briefly.

Add eggs one at a time, mixing on medium for 1 minute after adding each egg. Add sour cream and mix until combined. Pour into the crust and bake at 325ºF for 1 hour 15 minutes. Let cool on a cooling rack, then finish cooling in the fridge for at least 4 or 5 hours, or overnight.

To serve: Top cheesecake with berries (I used an outer ring of strawberries, and blueberries and raspberries in the middle. Combine jam and honey in a small saucepan just until combined. Drizzle over the berries.