Cheesecake!

[acelightning]

Here's a recipe for a basic simple cheesecake - a lot of my friends have been requesting this lately.
CREAMY CHEESECAKE

Preheat oven to 350° F. Prepare an 8-inch springform pan by wrapping the outside securely in a double layer of heavy-duty foil, making sure there are no leaks. Have ready a pan that is at least two inches bigger in all directions than your springform pan, and deep enough for water to come halfway up the outside of the springform, for the water bath. Generously butter the inside of the pan and make the crust.

Crumb Crust

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
5 tablespoons melted butter.

Blend crumbs, sugar, and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter. Using a piece of plastic wrap to keep your fingers clean, press the mixture firmly against the bottom and sides of the springform pan, going about halfway up the sides. Place the pan inside the larger pan and set aside while you prepare the filling.

Filling

4 8-ounce packages regular cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 "large" eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2/3 cup heavy cream (not sour)

In an electric mixer on low speed, blend the cheese, sugar, and salt, until thoroughly mixed; scrape the beater blade and the sides of the bowl often, with a rubber spatula. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla - keep scraping everything in between additions. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds or so to make sure everything is smoothly blended. Lower the speed back to low and add the cream. Scrape some more. When everything is smoothly blended, pour and scrape it into the prepared springform pan and smooth the top.

Slide the pans, one inside the other, into the oven. Using a container with a spout, pour hot water - the hottest tap water you have - carefully into the outer pan, until it comes halfway up the outside of the springform pan. Close the oven and bake at 350° F. for about an hour, or until the center just barely jiggles when you move the pan. Turn off the oven, leave the door closed, and let the cake sit in the oven for another hour. Remove from oven, remove springform pan from water bath, remove foil from around springform, and set it on a rack to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate several hours, or overnight, before loosening and removing the sides of the springform pan.

Notes:
The secret to creamier cheesecake is not more cream, but more cheese.
I use sweet cream instead of sour cream because I find the cheese is sour enough, but you may use sour cream for a more "New York"-style flavor.
If you try to use a whole cup of cream, it won't all fit in an 8-inch springform pan, but it will if you have a larger pan. Everything else will be the same.
This cheesecake is delicious by itself, but it also takes well to just about any kind of topping, from canned pie filling, to fresh fruit, to chocolate sauce. (I just ate some with a dollop of dulce de leche on it.)

Comments

[zarhooie]

Thanks for posting this recipe! Would you please tag your entry? Ty!

Kat
Mod

[acelightning]

Done!

[travelingmonkey]

Just a wee pointer, but eggs aren't meat, and are perfectly vegetarian. They are unfertilized, no embryo included. They're not vegan, but are veg-friendly. ^^

[acelightning]

Do you mean that I should also add the "vegetarian" tag? (I'm not used to tagging things; I never bother on my own journals.)

[travelingmonkey]

I'm not a mod or anything, and new to the comm, so take what I say with a grain of salt! lol. But if it were me, I'd list it as veg, not omni. But again, I'm not the authority on that here!

[acelightning]

Oh, okay - I get it.
*edit edit edit*