New York Cheesecake

To me, this is the single best cheesecake I have ever had.  I discovered this in Jim Fobel's cookbook about 20 years ago, and it is the one I return to again and again.  It is creamy smooth, lightly sweet, with a touch of lemon.  This cheesecake has become the favorite of family and friends who've had the good fortune to be served this slice of heavenly goodness.

Ordinarily I don't serve a topping because it is so good, but for those of you who like a cheesecake with a little something, I opened up a can of blackberry pie filling and put a nice dollop on the top.  I do this for you.

You may have noticed that this cheesecake does not have any kind of crust, neither bottom or sides. 

You may also have noticed that there are no cracks in the top.  That is because this cheesecake is baked in a bain-marie, a water bath.  This is one of the secrets to a truly creamy cheesecake.

You'll need advance planning to prepare this recipe, but if you do, I believe you will fall in love with this recipe as much as I have.

 

In the comments section, there has been some discussion about the leaky springform pan dilemma.  You have been kind enough to share a number of solutions, but a reader sent me a really good sounding solution that I want to include here. 

 

Brandy G. says:   I too have suffered from water leaks into my crust however I started using crock pot liners instead of foil. The liners accommodate the pans perfectly and withstand the overheat. I just roll the sides down some so they are not over the cake and voila!  It has saved so many cheesecakes...I hope it helps others too!  

 

Now doesn't that sound like a nifty solution!

New York Cheesecake

(Jim Fobel's Old-Fashioned Baking Book)

5 large eggs, room temperature

2 cups (one pint) sour cream, room temperature

4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

8 tablespoons (one stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

Generously butter the inside of a 10-inch springform pan.  Wrap a double layer of heavy-duty aluminum foil tightly around the outside bottom and sides, crimping and pleating the foil to make it conform to the pan.  This will help to prevent water seeping into the pan when you put it into the bain-marie.  Position the baking rack in the center of the oven; preheat the oven to 300* Fahrenheit. 

In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the sour cream until well blended.

In a medium-sized bowl, beat the cream cheese with the butter until smooth and creamy.  Add this to the egg-sour cream mixture and beat until smooth. 

Add the sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and beat thoroughly, about 2 minutes. 

Pour into the prepared springform pan and place in a roasting pan (or other pan) large enough to prevent the sides from touching.  Place in the oven and carefully pour in enough very hot tap water to reach halfway up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake for 2 hours, 15 minutes, or until the cake is very lightly colored and a knife inserted in the center emerges clean.  Remove from the water bath and carefully peel the aluminum foil from around the pan.  Let stand at room temperature until completely cool, about 4 hours.  Refrigerate, covered, until well chilled.  For best flavor and texture, this cheesecake is best chilled overnight.

**My Notes:  I can't stress enough how important it is to let those first 4 ingredients in this recipe come to room temperature.  I've hurried the cream cheese and have had unsightly lumps of it in my batter. 

**I've italicized the mixing instructions to emphasize blending the ingredients to achieve the desired texture.

** Have a platter or other large dish that will hold the hot and drippy springform pan after you remove it from the bain-marie.  When you remove the bain-marie from the oven, the water is very hot, so please exercise extreme caution.

Before removing the roasting pan, have a plan on where you are going to set it so you are not holding the pan, desperately searching for a clear space to set it down.  I find it impossible to remove the cheesecake from the bain-marie while it is in the oven, so I remove the entire set-up from the oven.  I make every effort not to burn my wrists or the back of my hands while removing the springform pan; I haven't been burned yet, but I have soaked the edges of the potholders in the hot water, and it's amazing how fast that steaming water is wicked up to my tender fingers!

**When you first remove the cheesecake from the oven, it looks light and puffy, and there may be some hairline cracks in the top.  Do not despair.  As the cheesecake cools, it will gently deflate and the hairline cracks disappear.

Slow Cooker Sour Cream Cheesecake

This cheesecake was a delicious and delightful surprise. It is creamy, smooth, with a hint of almond. And it's made in a slow cooker; no baking involved! 

It was Ole Sweetie-Pi's birthday this past week and typically I make the Hershey's Chocolate Cake with 7-minute frosting (his birthday cake of choice since he was a boy), but it has been rainy, hot and humid here all week, and the frosting just doesn't work well for me under these conditions. So, Plan B went into effect.  We really enjoy cheesecake, but my favorite recipe makes enough to feed a small nation, much too much for just the two of us.  And then I found this recipe on Food and Wine, made in the slow cooker.  At first I pooh-poohed the idea, thinking that it would never work.  But then....I make my favorite cheesecake in a bain-marie (water bath), plus this recipe had the added bonus of making a much smaller cheesecake.

I don't have the 6-inch by 3-inch springform pan called for in the recipe, but I do have four 4 1/2-inch by 1 1/2 inch pans.  I used three pans with just a dab of batter remaining that I could easily have used now knowing that the batter will not rise and spill over the top of the pans. 

My slow cooker is oval shaped and could only hold two pans at a time, but I refrigerated the third pan and cooked it after the first two were done; had I been thinking, I could have used my round slow cooker for the third pan and they all could have been done at the same time.  Or maybe I'll just buy a 6-inch pan, grins.

Recipe takes some time to put together but it's mostly slow cooker and then cooling times.  Actual preparation time is perhaps 20 or 30 minutes, but then I made my own graham cracker crumbs.  I hope you try this.  It is creamy good and the rewards exceed the effort; my kind of recipe.  I served it with my favorite Blueberry Sauce.  

Slow Cooker Sour Cream Cheesecake

(www.foodandwine.com)

3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar
Pinch of salt (equivalent to about 1/16 of a teaspoon)

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure almond extract **
1 cup sour cream

In a medium bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of the sugar and a pinch of salt. Press the crumbs over the bottom and 1 inch up the side of a 6-inch round x 3-inch deep springform pan.


In a large bowl, combine the cream cheese with the flour,  2/3 cup of sugar and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Beat at medium-high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the eggs and the almond extract. Beat at medium speed until blended. Add the sour cream and beat until smooth. Pour the batter into the springform pan.

Fill a 6- to 7-quart round or oval slow cooker with 1/2 inch of water and position a rack (I used an openwork cast-iron trivet)  in the bottom. Set the cheesecake on the rack. Cover the slow cooker with a triple layer of paper towels  (to capture the steam and prevent it from dripping on the batter) and place the lid. Turn the cooker to high and cook for 2 hours without peeking. Turn off the heat and let stand until the slow cooker has cooled, 1 hour.

Remove the lid and the paper towels and transfer the cheesecake to a rack to cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours.
Heat a sharp, thin-bladed knife under hot water; dry the knife. Carefully run the knife around the edge of the cheesecake. Release the spring and lift the cheesecake out of the mold. Cut into wedges and serve
**For my tastes, the almond flavoring was too strong; I would either reduce it to 1/2 teaspoon, or replace it with either vanilla or lemon.

Pineapple Coconut Squares, Rolo Cookies, Cherry Tartlets and a Dip

When I visit your blogs or recipe sites, it is without fail I find something new, different, delicious, and with each delicious discovery, I promise myself, I am going to make this. My collection grows everyday, but it's the rare opportunity that presents itself where I can have a cookathon. So when my employer announced a department meeting, I immediately seized the opportunity to make several different recipes and offered to bring treats.

On the left, are Rolo Cookies. Love chocolate cookies? Love Rolo candies? Then I encourage you to try these. There's a surprise, melty, chocolately, caramely surprise in the center of each cookie. These were a huge hit with my co-workers.

I was up at 4 o'clock this morning putting together, a sweet discovery, Pineapple Coconut Squares, Yummm...the house smelled like a tropical paradise while these were baking. None of these came home with me. I found this keeper recipe on Trish's blog, The Mad Chemist. All of Trish's recipes are mouth-watering good! She's a diversified and talented cook and a gifted writer as well. When you visit her site, it's as if you've been invited to sit with her in her kitchen.

This little tartlet-cheesecake recipe has been around a long time; I made these back when I was first learning how to cook. They were well received then, and times haven't changed. People who love cheesecake, love these. And boy are they ever easy and quick to make! I used a Paula Deen recipe, but I charge it up by adding a couple of good swipes of fresh lemon with my microplane. Believe me, it makes all the difference. I made these in the tinfoil cupcake holders (the kind that don't need to be put in a muffin cup first) and was able to make 24 little tarts. They are a showstopper.

Now the last thing I made I'm rather embarrassed to mention, but it's so tasty and simple that I want to share it with you. It has to be the simplest fruit dip. Two ingredients. Two 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened, and a jar of marshmallow fluff. Put both ingredients in a bowl, stir until well combined. That's it. Soooo good and so easy. I found a couple of inexpensive red, star-shaped bowls at Wal-Mart. Put the dip in one and my beautiful, ruby red strawberries in the other.

Just a yummy day from beginning to end!