Cheesecake - NY Style

Ingredients

• 1 crumb crust recipe, at the bottom of the page
  
• 5 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• Finely grated zest of 1 orange
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 5 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

METHOD

Make crumb crust as directed in separate recipe. Preheat oven to 550°F.

Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, and zests with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until puffed. Reduce temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour more.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Crumb crust recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups (5 oz) finely ground graham crackers or cookies such as chocolate or vanilla wafers or gingersnaps
• 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

METHOD

Stir together crust ingredients and press onto bottom and 1 inch up side of a buttered 24-centimeter springform pan. Fill right away or chill up to 2 hours.

• I'll be honest and say that the 550F starting point freaked me out. It led to a slightly charred top - not pretty. I suggest starting it at 450F for the first 10-15 minutes, then down to 200 for about an hour and a half (it may take longer or shorter, keep checking your cheesecake!). After that, turn off the oven and let the cheesecake stay in there for an additional 30 minutes with the door closed. When the 30 mins have passed, crack open the oven door (leaving cheesecake in there) and leave in there for another 30 to 40 minutes. Doing that should result in a cheesecake with no cracks on top. It's ok if there is a crack, though! (these recommendations are for an electric oven...if you have gas, you might want to keep a closer eye and make your own call)
  
• The cheesecake will keep well for 2 weeks if you keep it covered and chilled.

cheesecake - light and fluffy

This cheesecake is very light and fluffy, unlike more traditional cheesecakes, which are creamy and dense.

Bold italics = suggestions/hints/notes

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese (1 1/4 lb), softened
• 1 1/4 sticks (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for pan
• 1 1/2 cups sugar (I would recommend dropping the sugar to 1 cup)
  
• 8 large eggs, separated
• 2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon orange-flower water*
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup cornstarch

Special equipment: parchment paper cut into a 10-inch round and a 32- by 5-inch strip; a 10-inch (26-cm) springform pan.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter bottom and side of springform pan. Line bottom with round of parchment and butter round. Butter 1 side of parchment strip and fit unbuttered side of strip against buttered side of pan. (Strip will extend 2 inches above rim of pan.)

Beat together cream cheese, butter, 3/4 cup sugar, egg yolks, zest, juice, vanilla, orange-flower water, and almond extract in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until creamy, about 2 minutes in a standing mixer or 3 minutes with a handheld. Add cornstarch and mix at low speed until just combined.

Beat egg whites in another large bowl with cleaned beaters at medium speed until whites just hold soft peaks. Add remaining 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating, then increase speed to high and continue beating until meringue holds stiff, glossy peaks, about 2 minutes in standing mixer or 3 minutes with handheld.

Fold one fourth of whites into cream cheese mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

Line outside of springform pan with foil (covering bottom and about 1 inch up side) to waterproof. Pour batter into pan and gently smooth top. Bake in a hot water bath in middle of oven until top is golden but cake trembles slightly when pan is shaken gently, 55 to 65 minutes. (Cheesecake will rise in oven, but then will fall slightly and set as it cools.) Transfer springform pan to a rack to cool completely, then chill, loosely covered, at least 8 hours.

• Hot water bath = To prepare a water bath for baking, put your filled pan in a larger pan and add enough boiling-hot water to reach halfway up the side of the smaller pan. For some, a hot water bath is really stressful for when you take out your item from the oven...the fear of the hot water sloshing and burning you is a real turn off for some. If this is your first time using a hot water bath, DO NOT use a disposable aluminum pan - you'll get burned...literally.
• I recommended dropping the sugar to 1c because it was far too sweet otherwise...and not in a good way.
• Orange flower water can be found (sometimes) in BevMo or a gourmet cooking store. If you can't find orange flower water and need it for a recipe, chop orange peel (I grate mine) and soak for 24 hours in sweet white wine. Strain before using wine.

Cheesecake - Peppermint

Bold italic = suggestions and notes that you might want to take a look at before you start...

Crust

• 1 9-ounce box chocolate wafer cookies
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Ingredients

• 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon peppermint extract (I suggest using peppermint OIL)
  
• 1/3 cup 1-inch-diameter hard red-and-white-striped peppermint candies, crushed

Topping

• 1 1/2 cups sour cream
• 3 tablespoons sugar (can be increased to 1/4 c for extra sugary goodness - highly recommended)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract

METHOD

For crust:
Wrap outside of 9-inch-diameter springform pan with aluminum foil. Finely grind cookies with sugar in processor. Add butter, process to blend. Press mixture onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Refrigerate crust while preparing filling.

For Filling:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition. Beat in half and half, then vanilla and peppermint extracts. Stir in crushed peppermint candies. Pour filling into crust.

Bake cheesecake until filling is set in center and edges are puffed, about 50 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.

For Topping:
Stir sour cream, sugar and extracts in small bowl to blend. Pour mixture over hot cheesecake , covering completely. Return cheesecake to oven and bake until top begins to set, about 8 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool completely. Cover and refrigerate overnight. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.)

Using small knife, cut around sides of pan to loosen cake. Remove pan sides. Garnish cake with peppermint candies.

• Use a 10" springform pan because it may not cook properly or all the way through.
• I suggested using peppermint oil because if you want a bit more of a minty taste, that's the way to go. If not, stick to the original peppermint extract.
• You can also add 1/2 c of mini chocolate chips to the batter as well - some friends suggested I try that...and it rocks.
• It is very important to have your ingredients (cream cheese, eggs, etc) at ROOM TEMP. I cannot stress that enough.
• Do not add the peppermint candies until you are ready to serve, otherwise they will melt.