A smooth, delicate, divine dessert is one for the recipe books! The richness of the cream cheese filling, the crunch of the graham cracker crust, topped with salted caramel sauce, is just a what a birthday girl needs!
For my birthday, my husband used to get me cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory. The smooth creamy cheesy goodness is a great way to celebrate my birthday. I have it with strawberries and I close my eyes whenever I bite into the first bite. Total bliss!
For this week’s BIRTHDAY MONTH recipes, I am sharing with you the New York Cheesecake. Cheesecake is one of those recipe that is really versatile. You can make it with chocolate, fruits, cookies (Oreos cheesecake, anyone?), nuts, caramel, so really anything you’re craving for!! A New Yorker might tell you, New York Cheesecake is pure goodness served without any topping. However, I’ve come across this recipe for Salted Caramel Sauce by Sally’s baking addiction, and when I put on the cheesecake, I am on cloud nine!!! SOOOOOOOOOOOO GOOD!!!!
Making cheesecake has 3 steps in it. The first one is the crust. It’s a simple and fun way to make and you could actually ask the kids to help. Put some graham crackers in a bag, grab a kid and a rolling pin, and whack it till it becomes crumbs! Now you’re doing this by yourself, you can just roll up your sleeves, grab a rolling pin or a pot and whack it till it become crumbs! Either way works!
The next step is making the clouds, er I mean, cream cheese filling. 🙂 It’s really a simple thing to do make, where you really need to measure and dump.
I made this recipe just as it is, with a water bath. But I was so sad when I opened it and the crust was so soggy. 🙁
So I made it again with triple the aluminum foil and it was still soggy. Don’t get me wrong, it still tastes really good, but I want the crunchy crust. So I asked my baking club and they suggested a few things :
- Put the springform pan in a larger pan and then put it in a water bath.
- Start with low oven temperature.
- Put it in the oven as is, without the water bath.
I decided to do it without the water bath. It works!!! Only took 3 tries 😛 but it’s worth it!!
The third step is refrigerate. After it cools, you do need to refrigerate this cheesecake. It’s best to refrigerate for several hours but it would be best to refrigerate overnight.
You can serve this as is, with fruits, or as I said above, with salted caramel sauce. You really can’t go wrong!!
Tips for making New York Cheesecake:
- Open all the cream cheese and set it on your countertop before you make the crust. Bringing it to room temperature will make it easier to work with later on.
- Make this the day ahead so it can have some time to really set.
Happy Baking!!
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 60 minutes |
| Passive Time | 1 day |
| Servings |
10 servings
|
- 7 oz graham cracker crumbs
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 tbsp butter, melted
- 2 lb cream cheese, room temperature
- 1 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp flour
- Zest and juice a lemon
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 4 eggs
- 2 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup sour cream
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
Cream Cheese Filling
|
|
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crust, sugar, salt. Add butter and toss until it looks like sand.
- Pour and gently push around the springform pan to make the crust. Make sure it reach the edge of the pan.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes
- Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a stand mixer, mix together the cream cheese and sugar.
- Add flour, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla and salt.
- With the mixer running, add eggs two at a time. Add sour cream and mix until smooth. Pour over the the crust.
- Bake for 60 to 65 minutes until the cake is set but still jiggles when touch.
- Turn off the oven and prop the door open with a wooden spoon and let the cake and oven cool for one hour.
- Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
Adapted from : Big American Cookbook
