New York Cheesecake

New York Cheesecake… Ivory? Indeed. Plain? Never. Classy? Always. Sexy? You bet! Pearls and a classic cheesecake have much in common.

New York Cheesecake

Makes one 10-inch cheesecake (or six 4-inch pans).

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Graham Cracker Crust

• 18 whole graham crackers
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

Crush graham crackers in a food processor. Add sugar, salt, and melted butter. Process until similar to wet sand texture.

Spray a 10-inch springform pan with baking spray (or coat with butter) and press the graham cracker mixture into the bottom of the pan tightly. Bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes then remove and set aside to cool.

Cheesecake

• 2 1/2 pounds cream cheese, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• Zest of one lemon

Cream together cream cheese and sugar. Add remaining ingredients and mix until well-combined batter.

Heat some water with a tea kettle. Bring it to a boil. Have it ready to go.

Pour cheesecake batter on top of the baked graham cracker crust in the springform pan. Place the cheesecake pan into about an 11-inch pan. Most recipes say to use foil to protect your cheesecake from the water bath but I’ve never, ever, ever had luck with foil. It inevitably leaks every time. So, I place the 10-inch springform cheesecake pan into about an 11-inch cake pan.

Then place the 11-inch pan into about a 14-inch pan. Place your trio of pans in the oven.

Carefully pour the boiling hot water into the largest pan. Pour as high as you can but not so high it will boil over or leak into the middle pan.

Bake for about an hour and a half or, more importantly, until the cheesecake reaches 150°F in the middle and then remove it from the oven.  Discard the protective pan and water bath pan. Allow the cheesecake to sit in the springform pan for a couple of hours until it’s cool enough to refrigerate. It will continue baking for awhile while it rests on the counter.

Lightly cover with plastic wrap and place the cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight or several hours until it has chilled. Run a knife around the cheesecake edges to loosen it from the pan. Remove sides from pan carefully. Run a knife under cheesecake to make sure crust also comes off the pan easily then place on serving plate. If you’d rather not risk the transfer from the springform bottom pan to a platter, you can leave it on the springform bottom pan and decorate it with a whipped cream border to hide the pan for a nice gathering. Honestly, though, no one is going to care what you serve your glorious cheesecake on. Top with fresh berries, cherry pie filling, and/or sour cream topping (recipe below).

Sour Cream Topping

• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Stir all ingredients together then spread over chilled cheesecake.

But, pearls will last, and cheesecake shall not.