i have made MANY cheesecakes in my day and this is by far my fave! enjoy! :)
Barefoot Contessa’s Cheesecake
This recipe was originally for Raspberry Cheesecake, but the raspberry sauce was gross, so I don’t use that anymore.
THIS IS A DAY-AHEAD RECIPE!
For the crust:
1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs (look for these in the baking section so you don’t have to crush them yourself)
1 T sugar
6 T unsalted butter, melted
For the filling:
2 ½ pounds cream cheese, at room temperature (look for this at Costco – much cheaper!)
1 ½ cups sugar
6 whole eggs, at room temperature
3 egg yolks, at room temperature
¼ cup sour cream
1 T lemon zest (1 large or 2 small lemons)
1 ½ t vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To make crust, combine the graham crackers, sugar and melted butter until moistened.Pour into a 9-inch springform pan.With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides.Bake for 8 minutes.Cool to room temperature.
Raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees.
To make the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.Reduce the speed to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well.Scrape down the bowl and beater, as necessary.With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla.Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.(Mixture will be fairly thin.)
Bake for 15 minutes.Turn the oven down to 225 degrees and bake for another 1 hour 15 minutes.Turn the oven off and open the door wide.The cake will not be completely set in the center.Allow the cake to sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes.Take the cake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2-3 hours, until completely cooled. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.Remove the cake from the springform pan by running a hot knife around the outside of the cake.Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan for serving.
-- Edited by apies on Tuesday 25th of August 2009 02:03:14 PM
