Ingredients: |
Ingredients: Graham Cracker Crust:
1 C Graham Cracker Crumbs (8 whole crackers, broken into pieces and processed in a food processor until uniformly fine)
1 Tbs Sugar
5 Tbs Butter, melted, plus additional 1 Tbs butter for greasing pan
Cheesecake Filling:
2 1/2 Lbs Cream Cheese, room temperature, cut into 1 inch chunks
1/8 Tsp Salt
1 1/2 C Sugar
1/3 C Sour Cream
2 Tsp Lemon Juice from 1 Lemon
2 Tsp Vanilla Extract
2 Large Egg Yolks
6 Large Eggs
Topping (Optional)
2 1/4 C Sour Cream
3/8 C Sugar
1 14 Tsp Vanilla
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Directions: |
Directions:1. For the crust: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar in medium bowl; add 5 tablespoons melted butter and toss with fork until evenly moistened. Brush bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan with most of remaining melted butter, making sure to leave enough to brush pan in step 3. Empty crumbs into springform pan and press evenly into pan bottom. Bake until fragrant and beginning to brown around edges, about 13 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling.
2. For the cheesecake filling: Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese at medium-low speed to break up and soften slightly. Scrape beater and bottom and sides of bowl well with rubber spatula; add salt and about half of sugar and beat at medium-low speed until combined. Scrape bowl; beat in remaining sugar until combined. Scrape bowl; add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla, and beat at low speed until combined. Scrape bowl; add yolks and beat at medium-low speed until thoroughly combined. Scrape bowl; add whole eggs two at a time, beating until thoroughly combined, and scraping bowl between additions.
3. Brush sides of springform pan with remaining melted butter. Wrap the outside of the springform pan in heavy duty aluminum foil and set into pan with deep sides. Add water to the deep pan around the springform pan. (The foil keeps the water from seeping into the bottom of the springform pan, and the water keeps the top of the cheesecake from cracking.)
Pour filling into cooled crust and bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. Without opening oven door, reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees and continue to bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of cheesecake registers about 150 degrees, about 1-1/2 hours. Remove from oven.
4. (Optional) Combine the topping ingredients - sour cream, sugar and vanilla - and pour over the top of the cheesecake. Return to oven and bake for 10 minutes. The sour cream topping congeals as the cake cools. Remove from oven.
5. Transfer cake to wire rack and cool 5 minutes; run paring knife between cake and side of springform pan. Cool until barely warm, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours. (Cake can be refrigerated up to 4 days, maybe longer.)
6. To unmold cheesecake, remove sides of pan. Slide thin metal spatula between crust and pan bottom to loosen, then slide cake onto serving plate. Let cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve.
NOTE: When cutting the cake, have a pitcher of hot tap water nearby; dipping the blade of the knife into the water and wiping it clean with a kitchen towel after each cut helps make neat slices. |
This recipe for New York Style Cheesecake is from