Cheesecakes!

A few years ago I got a recipe card in the mail for New York Style Cheesecake; I worked for the last several years on perfecting my making of this recipe. It always comes out best when I blend it for a long period of time on a very low speed; doing this makes more difference than anything else toward having the best possible texture in the finished cheesecake.

Supposedly, "perfect" cheesecakes don't have cracks in the top; you can help with this by putting a 9 x 13 pan of water on the oven rack below the one on which you bake you cheesecake. However, I am a math teacher by trade, and once I had the top of a cheesecake crack in the shape of the Greek letter pi.


Now if only I could do that again on purpose...


New York Style Cheesecake

Graham Cracker Crust:
1 c graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbs sugar
3 Tbs melted butter or margarine
Mix together and press into bottom of 9" springform pan. Bake at 325 F for 10 min if using a silver pan or 300 F for 10 min if using a dark nonstick pan. (I usually use a 9 1/2 inch, cause that's the size I have, and you may find that it doesn't fit easily into a 9" pan.)

Filling:
4 packages (8 oz) softened cream cheese
1 c sugar
3 Tbs flour
1 Tbs vanilla
1 c sour cream
4 eggs (btw adding eggs slowly as you mix them in helps in getting the smoothest batter possible)
Mix flour, sugar, cream cheese and vanilla; blend in the sour cream. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing on low speed until just blended. Pour over graham cracker crust. In a silver pan, bake at 325 F, or in a dark pan bake at 300 F. Bake 65 to 70 minutes or until center is almost set. Run a knife or a metal spatula around the rim of the pan to loosen the cake; cool before removing the rim of the pan. Refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

-Post by kjh of Klari's Kitchen.