New York Cheesecake

*sigh* Bad blogger.  My last post was on September 11.   I had every intention of making a New York Cheesecake that day.  While I was at the store buying my ingredients I got a call that we were going to move again. We had an amazing opportunity for a house that we could not pass up.   While it seems crazy because we just moved in February of this year, we knew it was the right move.

Long story short: We own a house that is nearly an hour outside Atlanta.  Someone approached us to rent our home mid-January and they want to buy it when their house sells.   (Thank you crummy housing market...) Since we had a short amount of time to complete that move, we chose to rent a townhouse near my husbands office since it was new and didn't need any work to move in.

Seven short months in a townhouse proved one thing: townhouse living is not for us.   So when this house found us, we knew it was the best decision for our family.   Moving again was not ideal, but its worth it.   I had 5 days to get things in boxes and make this move happen so our landlord at the townhouse could turn it over to the next tenants, so once again my blog took a back seat.   But we are back and I did not forget my cheesecake.

The morning after we moved, I got up and found my stand mixer and spring form pan and made another trip to Publix.

How could I pass this up? 

We were invited to our neighbors for football and dinner on Sunday.  Did I mention that my neighbors just happen to be my best friend from grade school?  I decided that I HAD to bring this with me. My husband could not understand why I needed to bake the morning after a move.  I just rolled my eyes in insinuation that he "didn't get it".

The recipe I had chosen last week was from The Joy of Baking.  I have a cheesecake recipe I've been using for years, but decided to do a little bit of research to be sure it was authentic.  My cheesecake is good, but I always felt it was ever so slightly on the dry side and it always cracked.  I love the Joy of Baking because they give you a lot of insight into the recipes.  So I decided to try this.  Also, it had a sour cream topping, and my husbands love of sour cream is unmatched.  Given that his favorite "cake" is cheesecake, and this had a sour cream topping, I thought this would be his ultimate favorite dessert ever.  Guess what?  I forgot to do the sour cream topping.   It's ok, though.  It was fantastic.  I macerated some strawberries to put on the top and it was light and delicious.   I loved the slight hint of lemon (and seeing those pretty lemon zest flecks in the cheesecake).   This was far and away my favorite cheesecake that I've ever made.  

I'm posting the recipe as I made it, which except for the topping, was as it was on Joy of Baking.  Perfection.  I WILL make it with the sour cream topping, but it is perfectly delicious without.

New York Cheesecake
courtesy of Joy of Baking
For the Crust:
2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated white sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

For the Filling:
32 ounces or 4 packages of full fate cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Spray a 9" springform pan with cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F with the oven rack in the center of the oven.

For the crust:  In a medium bowl, combine the graham crackers crumbs, sugar and butter.  Press the mixture over the bottom and sides of the spring form pan.  Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For the filling:   In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the cream cheese, sugar and flour.  Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.   Add the eggs one at a time, beating about 30 seconds after each addition.   Add the cream, zest and vanilla extract and beat until just combined.   Do not over-beat.  Too much air in the batter will contribute to cracks in your cheesecake.  Pour the batter into the the prepared graham cracker crust and place on a sheet pan.  

Bake for 15 minutes at 350, then lower the temperature to 250 degrees F and continue to bake for another 60-90 minutes, until the center is a little wet and wobbly.  I baked mine for 75 minutes.  I started it at 60 minutes, then checked it.  I gave it another 10, then checked it.  Then I gave it another 5 minutes.  Be careful, over-baking can also crack the top.   When you feel it is ready, remove it from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.  Then refrigerate for several hours, preferably overnight.  Carefully remove the outer ring from the spring form pan to serve.

I have not tried this, but Joy of Baking suggests you can freeze this cheesecake by freezing it until firm. Wrap in aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag and seal.  Can be frozen for several months.  Thaw uncovered in the refrigerator overnight.