Cheesecake recipe for darklotus1211...
And No, that is *not* a euphemism...
Geez, you guys...
lol.
Okay, darklotus1211, you wanted a cheesecake recipe, you got one! Oh, and somehow I got this recipe through one of those weird "through the mail recipe books" where they send you teaser recipes in the hopes of enticing you to buy the book. I did not buy the book, but this is now my cheesecake recipe as my Nan's recipe died with her.
So-I'm posting this here- separately, because I don't know if anyone else would like it (after we talked about cheesecake and "cheesecake" on DL's recent post). So... voila!
All measurements are in US measurements (sorry), and...I have to admit that I made this cake a lot with my hand beater, but my KitchenAid stand-mixer has cut the beating time in half (and it means that my arm doesn't feel like it's going to fall off by the time I get all the cream cheese mushed up with the other ingredients). I <3 my pink KitchenAid Mixer. *hugs it*
I have a deep springform pan, but I'm not sure if it's 8 or 9 inches. It's around that size. Oh, and it's non-stick. yay!
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
Filling:
5 (yes! FIVE!) packages (8 oz each) of cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel (I almost always forget to buy a lemon, so I often just add a dash or so (to sniff) of lemon extract (not lemon juice) Or you could go almond extract (I've done that before to switch it up) or just forget it
1 1/2 half teaspoons vanilla extract
Serves 16
1. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add melted butter. Stir
2. Press crumb mixtured into a 9 inch springform pan.
I use a glass or measuring cup to flatten the buttery crumb mixture into a crust. I also make sure to build up the crumb mixture against the walls of the pan, so that the crust would look like an "L" in profile (a very wonky looking L, but you do want at least some to climb the sides. It will help when you need to wrestle the cake out of the pan. And it gives you some extra crumb-crust goodness...). Make sure that there are no holes in the base of your crust. And everything should feel...solid.
Chill 30 minutes (ermm... I'm not so good at the chilling part, so don't fret if you if you forget to stick it in the fridge)
Filling
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium
beat the cream cheese for 2 minutes
add sugar
2. Gradually add flour
mix until combined
On low speed, beat in eggs, one a at time, until just blended
3. Add sour cream, lemon peel, and vanilla
beat until just blended
4.Pour into crust
5. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes
Remove cake from oven
Cool for 15 minutes.
Note: I am a heathen. I don't do a water bath. My cheesecake puffs up (and then with light golden-y goodness which often cracks along the top. I'm okay with that because I... add a TOPPING!)
Deviation from recipe. I didn't like THEIR topping, so I found one that was closer to what my Nan made. My Nan was born and raised in New York City and was first generation Italian-American. I trust her instincts on New York Style cheesecake.
Here's my topping (straight from the 1967 Joy of Cooking cookbook- found at a yardsale), p. 612.
Let your cake cool to room temperature.
Heat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit while you make the topping.
Mix well the following:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
Spread the mix over the top of the cake - you'll note that it will hide any ugliness.
Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes to glaze it (it sort of sets it).
Permit it to cool and then it says refrigerate from 6 to 12 hours before eating. Yeah, right.
The other topping used a sour cream base as well but it folded in an egg white (who can be bothered with that fuss?), and then they also used raspberry and apricot preserves to make a ying-yang symbol on the top. *rolls eyes*
Seriously? Nah. Just do the sour cream topping- simple, decadent and perfect. I suppose if you must put something on the topping, I'd sprinkled some grated dark chocolate across the cooled cake. Voila! Enjoy!
Ah, look, it seems The Boys have had a taste...Now, now...don't be greedy and hog the baked goods, lads, there's enough cheesecake for everyone...
Geez, you guys...
lol.
Okay, darklotus1211, you wanted a cheesecake recipe, you got one! Oh, and somehow I got this recipe through one of those weird "through the mail recipe books" where they send you teaser recipes in the hopes of enticing you to buy the book. I did not buy the book, but this is now my cheesecake recipe as my Nan's recipe died with her.
So-I'm posting this here- separately, because I don't know if anyone else would like it (after we talked about cheesecake and "cheesecake" on DL's recent post). So... voila!
All measurements are in US measurements (sorry), and...I have to admit that I made this cake a lot with my hand beater, but my KitchenAid stand-mixer has cut the beating time in half (and it means that my arm doesn't feel like it's going to fall off by the time I get all the cream cheese mushed up with the other ingredients). I <3 my pink KitchenAid Mixer. *hugs it*
I have a deep springform pan, but I'm not sure if it's 8 or 9 inches. It's around that size. Oh, and it's non-stick. yay!
Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
Filling:
5 (yes! FIVE!) packages (8 oz each) of cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel (I almost always forget to buy a lemon, so I often just add a dash or so (to sniff) of lemon extract (not lemon juice) Or you could go almond extract (I've done that before to switch it up) or just forget it
1 1/2 half teaspoons vanilla extract
Serves 16
1. In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and sugar. Add melted butter. Stir
2. Press crumb mixtured into a 9 inch springform pan.
I use a glass or measuring cup to flatten the buttery crumb mixture into a crust. I also make sure to build up the crumb mixture against the walls of the pan, so that the crust would look like an "L" in profile (a very wonky looking L, but you do want at least some to climb the sides. It will help when you need to wrestle the cake out of the pan. And it gives you some extra crumb-crust goodness...). Make sure that there are no holes in the base of your crust. And everything should feel...solid.
Chill 30 minutes (ermm... I'm not so good at the chilling part, so don't fret if you if you forget to stick it in the fridge)
Filling
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium
beat the cream cheese for 2 minutes
add sugar
2. Gradually add flour
mix until combined
On low speed, beat in eggs, one a at time, until just blended
3. Add sour cream, lemon peel, and vanilla
beat until just blended
4.Pour into crust
5. Bake for one hour and 15 minutes
Remove cake from oven
Cool for 15 minutes.
Note: I am a heathen. I don't do a water bath. My cheesecake puffs up (and then with light golden-y goodness which often cracks along the top. I'm okay with that because I... add a TOPPING!)
Deviation from recipe. I didn't like THEIR topping, so I found one that was closer to what my Nan made. My Nan was born and raised in New York City and was first generation Italian-American. I trust her instincts on New York Style cheesecake.
Here's my topping (straight from the 1967 Joy of Cooking cookbook- found at a yardsale), p. 612.
Let your cake cool to room temperature.
Heat oven to 425 degrees Farenheit while you make the topping.
Mix well the following:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt
Spread the mix over the top of the cake - you'll note that it will hide any ugliness.
Bake in the oven for about 5 minutes to glaze it (it sort of sets it).
Permit it to cool and then it says refrigerate from 6 to 12 hours before eating. Yeah, right.
The other topping used a sour cream base as well but it folded in an egg white (who can be bothered with that fuss?), and then they also used raspberry and apricot preserves to make a ying-yang symbol on the top. *rolls eyes*
Seriously? Nah. Just do the sour cream topping- simple, decadent and perfect. I suppose if you must put something on the topping, I'd sprinkled some grated dark chocolate across the cooled cake. Voila! Enjoy!
Ah, look, it seems The Boys have had a taste...Now, now...don't be greedy and hog the baked goods, lads, there's enough cheesecake for everyone...