A few times a year, I get questions on my cheesecake. I have made it for several wedding receptions as the gift to the bride and groom. It is a variant of the Lindy's New York style cheesecake.
I do warn you that this recipe will make more than one cheesecake. I recommend, personally, to buy the spring form pans which fit inside of one another. (Usually sold in sets of three.) This recipe will make two cheesecakes. I usually make either the medium and the small one for thicker cheesecakes (About an inch thick) or the large and small for thinner cheesecakes (3/4 inch thick)
Cake:
6 large eggs
1 1/2 C sugar
2 lbs. (four 8 ounce packages) cream cheese (Can use nonfat, I don't care about brands personally)
1/2 pint sour cream
1/2 pint heavy cream
Fresh juice from one lemon (If you want more of a citrus flavor, add a little bit of zest to the batter)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 heaping Tablespoons flour
Crust:
1 1/2 C crushed cookies*
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 C sugar
Sour Cream Layer:
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
4 Tablespoons of sugar
A dash of Cardamom or Cinnamon (Optional)
Additional Topping ideas: Raspberries, Strawberries, Kiwi, Pineapple, Cooked apples. (Will post another entry for these recipes.)
Preheat oven to to 425°.
Add eggs, sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and flour to Kitchen-aid type mixer. Beat on medium thoroughly, until completely smooth. This might take as long as 10 minutes. If you have your cream cheese sit on the counter to get to room temperature, this will help with overbeating and lumps. (Some small pea-sized lumps will likely be fine, but you don't want large clumps!)
Do not mix at high speed and don't overmix. I think 5-10 minutes is good and normal. It might have some lumps but that is normal. Scrape sides of bowl (with machine turned off!) to make sure cream cheese is fully incorporated.
While cake mixture is beating, make the crust.
Mix crust ingredients together in small mixing bowl. Pour into spring form pans, pressing into place with your fingers. You do not want the mix to be wet. If it is, add more cookie crumbs. It should be moist enough to stick together without being sticky. Butter the side of the pan not covered by cookie crumbs. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
When crust is cool, and cake is thoroughly mixed, pour batter into the center of the pan. Let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes. You may want to wrap the bottle of the pan with aluminum foil as sometimes the mixture leaks.**
If you are overly concerned with a cracking top, place an aluminum lined pan inside a larger dish with an inch of water. Make sure the aluminum reaches above the water line.
Bake in 425° oven for 15 minutes. Then turn oven down to 275° and bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven. Do not open the oven door for 2 hours! This will help the center of the cake to cook evenly, avoiding cracks, and keep the heat inside. After the 2 hours are up, remove cake*** and refrigerate.
Once cooled, mix the sour cream topping together and cover the top with a thin layer. If there are cracks, this will fill in those cracks nicely. Cover with additional fruit, chocolate, or caramel topping.
*I use either vanilla wafers or graham crackers. However, crushed gingersnaps are very good. If you don't have some already broken, simply place the cookies FLAT inside a plastic bag and roll them with a rolling pin. If the cookies are all mixed up and not flat, you risk breaking the bag and making a mess.
**Cheesecakes often times get cracks which are usually caused by air bubbles. Gently lift the pan and repeatedly tap it on the counter to release the bubbles.
***Before refrigerating, take a knife and loosen the cake from the sides of the pan.
I do warn you that this recipe will make more than one cheesecake. I recommend, personally, to buy the spring form pans which fit inside of one another. (Usually sold in sets of three.) This recipe will make two cheesecakes. I usually make either the medium and the small one for thicker cheesecakes (About an inch thick) or the large and small for thinner cheesecakes (3/4 inch thick)
Cake:
6 large eggs
1 1/2 C sugar
2 lbs. (four 8 ounce packages) cream cheese (Can use nonfat, I don't care about brands personally)
1/2 pint sour cream
1/2 pint heavy cream
Fresh juice from one lemon (If you want more of a citrus flavor, add a little bit of zest to the batter)
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 heaping Tablespoons flour
Crust:
1 1/2 C crushed cookies*
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 C sugar
Sour Cream Layer:
1/2 Cup Sour Cream
4 Tablespoons of sugar
A dash of Cardamom or Cinnamon (Optional)
Additional Topping ideas: Raspberries, Strawberries, Kiwi, Pineapple, Cooked apples. (Will post another entry for these recipes.)
Preheat oven to to 425°.
Add eggs, sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and flour to Kitchen-aid type mixer. Beat on medium thoroughly, until completely smooth. This might take as long as 10 minutes. If you have your cream cheese sit on the counter to get to room temperature, this will help with overbeating and lumps. (Some small pea-sized lumps will likely be fine, but you don't want large clumps!)
Do not mix at high speed and don't overmix. I think 5-10 minutes is good and normal. It might have some lumps but that is normal. Scrape sides of bowl (with machine turned off!) to make sure cream cheese is fully incorporated.
While cake mixture is beating, make the crust.
Mix crust ingredients together in small mixing bowl. Pour into spring form pans, pressing into place with your fingers. You do not want the mix to be wet. If it is, add more cookie crumbs. It should be moist enough to stick together without being sticky. Butter the side of the pan not covered by cookie crumbs. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
When crust is cool, and cake is thoroughly mixed, pour batter into the center of the pan. Let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes. You may want to wrap the bottle of the pan with aluminum foil as sometimes the mixture leaks.**
If you are overly concerned with a cracking top, place an aluminum lined pan inside a larger dish with an inch of water. Make sure the aluminum reaches above the water line.
Bake in 425° oven for 15 minutes. Then turn oven down to 275° and bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven. Do not open the oven door for 2 hours! This will help the center of the cake to cook evenly, avoiding cracks, and keep the heat inside. After the 2 hours are up, remove cake*** and refrigerate.
Once cooled, mix the sour cream topping together and cover the top with a thin layer. If there are cracks, this will fill in those cracks nicely. Cover with additional fruit, chocolate, or caramel topping.
*I use either vanilla wafers or graham crackers. However, crushed gingersnaps are very good. If you don't have some already broken, simply place the cookies FLAT inside a plastic bag and roll them with a rolling pin. If the cookies are all mixed up and not flat, you risk breaking the bag and making a mess.
**Cheesecakes often times get cracks which are usually caused by air bubbles. Gently lift the pan and repeatedly tap it on the counter to release the bubbles.
***Before refrigerating, take a knife and loosen the cake from the sides of the pan.
The cheesecakes I made for my friends' wedding. Daniel and Emma had the choice of homemade cheesecakes which would take me all day to make or a wedding present. You can see which they chose... These were Strawberry, Blueberry and Raspberry (I think!) Making three literally took all day with the prepwork. I used a double recipe and had some leftover for a small cheesecake made in a glass pie pan. Waste not, want not!