I've been slowly working on trying to get this post done for over a week now and I just couldn't seem to get this post completed-- until today when the lovely Zainab at the Blahnik Baker mentioned on her Facebook page that it's National Cheesecake Day! So I buckled down and am getting those post to you all on National Cheesecake Day! I know it's been yet another two months since my last post, but I sure hope that this beautiful and scrumptious makes up for my absence.

I really don't have any excuse as to why I haven't gotten more posts to you all because I'm on break from graduate school for the summer. I do think between work and school that I've been burnt out and I have been enjoying my free time entirely too much (Netflix, books, vacations to MD/VA/DC and camping and the lake and other fun activities and festivities)! It's going to be very hard to go back to school in a couple weeks.

My parents have three fruit trees: apricot, cherry, and plum. I never really cared for apricots growing up, but my mom made the best apricot jam in the world (and still does!) which helped to foster my liking of apricots as an adult. This year, my parents' apricot tree produced hundreds of apricots and I've brought home three or four huge bowls of apricots! So I googled and searched on Pinterest for as many apricot (dessert) recipes that I could find and this recipe was the one that caught my eye the most-- an Apricot Cheesecake with Crumb Topping!

The crumble or crumb on the cheesecake isn't an actual crumb or crumble, but a sweet pastry crust that has been grated so that when it bakes it's golden, light, and buttery on the top! I also love that the cheesecake has a nice layer of apricots, which you just line on top of the filling as you're assembling the cheesecake. The whole process of assembling the cheesecake looks beautiful, which really adds to the experience of making this cheesecake. You feel like you're creating a piece of art the whole time that you're putting it together, which made it really fun.

Making this cheesecake does takes time, but seeing it come together and with a tasty end product makes it all worth it! Adapted from Vinkalinka

For the crust:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. unsalted butter (2 sticks)
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. baking powder

12 apricots, halved and deseeded
16 oz. cream cheese
2 Tbs. all-purpose flour

For the Crust:

In the food processor combine flour, cold butter, sugar and baking powder, pulse until the mixture resembles fine bread crumbs. Add the egg to the mixture, then pulse until just combined and the dough forms into a ball.

Take the dough out of the food processor, it will be soft. Pinch off 1/3 of the pastry, wrap it in a plastic wrap and put in the freezer. Wrap the rest in the plastic wrap as well and put this portion in the fridge for 30 minutes.

When the pastry is finished chilling take it out of the fridge and roll it out to fit an 9″ springform pan lining the bottom and the sides all the way to the top. Chill the pan in the fridge

Cut your apricots in half and pit them. Set aside. (If you didn't do this as part of your prep already)

Combine cream cheese, eggs, sugar, flour, and vanilla in a large bowl using a hand mixer until smooth.

To assemble and bake Cheesecake:

Take the lined springform pan of the fridge and fill it with the cheesecake filling and line the top with the apricots, halved side down.

Grate the the frozen part of the pastry with a vegetable grater and sprinkle it on top of the filling and apricots. (I have a Salad Shooter, which gets this one in like a minute!)

Bake for 50 minutes or until the cheesecake is almost fully set and the crumb topping is a golden color.

Cool cheesecake  for an hour until cool to the touch and then chill it in the refrigerator for at least 2 more hours or overnight to ensure the cheese filling in cooled completely.
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