several more times to explore a new site (to me) when I stumbled across the following. A mere 5 days after printing this recipe, a catering client called and asked me to make her a large cheesecake with cherry topping. Eureka, this fit the bill! It baked up beautifully.
**Click on link to see photo.
Foolproof Cheesecake
A PureWow Original Recipe
•Makes one 9-inch cake*
• Start to Finish: 5 hours (includes cooling time)
Ingredients
Crust
2½ cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake
3 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup heavy cream
1¾ cup sugar
5 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Cherry preserves, for topping (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325°.
2. Make the crust: In a large bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and melted butter to combine. Press the mixture evenly into the base of an 9-inch springform pan. Bake until set, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.
3. Make the cheesecake batter: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream and sugar until well combined. Scrape well after mixing. Add the eggs one at a time, pulsing and scraping well after each addition. Add the zest, vanilla and salt, and pulse to combine.
4. Pour the batter over the cooled crust and transfer to the oven. Once the cheesecake is in the oven, reduce the temperature to 300°. Bake until the cheesecake is set but still slightly jiggly in the center, about 1 to 1½ hours.
5. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and refrigerate until fully cooled, about 2 hours.
6. Run a knife around the edge of the cooled cheesecake, then release it from the springform pan. Top with cherry preserves, if using. Slice and serve.
NOTES from Wigs aka Caryn:
*1) No way this will fit in anything smaller than a 10-inch cheesecake or springform pan! My 10" pan was the perfect size.
2) I made the crust out of a mixture of vanilla wafers & lemon thin cookies--crushed together along with melted butter, but no sugar.
3) I used my KA stand mixer to combine the above batter ingredients + I added 1 Tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
4) I wrapped the outside of my pan first with a turkey-sized plastic baking bag and then with 2 large squares of heavy-duty foil and baked the cheesecake in a bain marie in a 325-degree preheated oven until the center of the cheesecake registered 145 to 150 degrees on my instant- read thermometer. Mine hit 146 degrees at 1 hour and 25 minutes of baking time. Removed the cake from the oven and then let it sit on a cake rack on the counterfor 45 minutes while STILL IN THE bain marie. Removed cheesecake from the water bath and let it cool several hours to reach room temperature before refrigerating overnight. The cake released easily The small dab I tasted that stuck to the side of the springform pan was delicious.
**Click on link to see photo.
Foolproof Cheesecake
A PureWow Original Recipe
•Makes one 9-inch cake*
• Start to Finish: 5 hours (includes cooling time)
Ingredients
Crust
2½ cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons butter, melted
Cheesecake
3 pounds cream cheese, softened
1 cup sour cream
¼ cup heavy cream
1¾ cup sugar
5 eggs
2 tablespoons lemon zest
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
Cherry preserves, for topping (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 325°.
2. Make the crust: In a large bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs with the sugar and melted butter to combine. Press the mixture evenly into the base of an 9-inch springform pan. Bake until set, 15 to 20 minutes. Cool.
3. Make the cheesecake batter: In the bowl of a food processor, pulse the cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream and sugar until well combined. Scrape well after mixing. Add the eggs one at a time, pulsing and scraping well after each addition. Add the zest, vanilla and salt, and pulse to combine.
4. Pour the batter over the cooled crust and transfer to the oven. Once the cheesecake is in the oven, reduce the temperature to 300°. Bake until the cheesecake is set but still slightly jiggly in the center, about 1 to 1½ hours.
5. Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and refrigerate until fully cooled, about 2 hours.
6. Run a knife around the edge of the cooled cheesecake, then release it from the springform pan. Top with cherry preserves, if using. Slice and serve.
NOTES from Wigs aka Caryn:
*1) No way this will fit in anything smaller than a 10-inch cheesecake or springform pan! My 10" pan was the perfect size.
2) I made the crust out of a mixture of vanilla wafers & lemon thin cookies--crushed together along with melted butter, but no sugar.
3) I used my KA stand mixer to combine the above batter ingredients + I added 1 Tbsp of freshly squeezed lemon juice.
4) I wrapped the outside of my pan first with a turkey-sized plastic baking bag and then with 2 large squares of heavy-duty foil and baked the cheesecake in a bain marie in a 325-degree preheated oven until the center of the cheesecake registered 145 to 150 degrees on my instant- read thermometer. Mine hit 146 degrees at 1 hour and 25 minutes of baking time. Removed the cake from the oven and then let it sit on a cake rack on the counterfor 45 minutes while STILL IN THE bain marie. Removed cheesecake from the water bath and let it cool several hours to reach room temperature before refrigerating overnight. The cake released easily The small dab I tasted that stuck to the side of the springform pan was delicious.