Pairs perfectly with my Prime Rib Roast on chilly, winter nights. Family favorite.
Ingredients
Crust:
- 300g Flour
- 1 Lemon
- 2 cups of ‘cookie’ (vanilla or graham) crushed into crumbs
- ¼ plus 1 Tbls sugar (I like less sugar but feel free to go up to 1/3 cup)
- ¼ tsp salt
- 7 – 8 Tbls melted butter to wet crumbs but not make them mushy
Cheesecake:
- 3 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese, soft at room temperature
- 1 cup of plain Greek yogurt (I use yogurt but you can go classic and use sour cream. I think yogurt gives it ever so slightly a tang and creamy)
- ¼ cup sour cream
- 1 ¼ cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 large eggs plus 2 egg yokes, room temperature
- 3 Tbls all purpose flour
- ½ cup heavy cream
Flavorings/ Sauce:
- A little lemon – zest of one lemon, juice of ½ lemon added to batter
- Strawberry, Cherry (I love), Chocolate with hazelnut topping
Directions
- Preheat oven 425
- Crust: lightly grease a 9” springform pan or spray with non-stick cooking spray
- Crush graham or cookie crumbs or use food processor, mix in sugar and salt and blend til fine crumbs. Add melted butter and stir til well combine. Press mixture down firmly into prepared pan and set aside.
- Cheesecake: In mixer beat soften cream cheese to break it up and smooth, add yogurt and sour cream and continue to beat until smooth and creamy
- Add sugar and vanilla and beat til smooth, scarping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed
- Add eggs and egg yolks and beat til mixed in and smooth.
- Add in flour til just combined
- Stir in cream and mix til incorporated into the batter
- Pour filling into prepared crust and spread evenly. Slight tap springform pan on counter to pop any air bubbles that may have occurred.
- Wrap the bottom and up the sides slightly with foil (best if one large piece of foil can be used so not to leak any water in bottom of pan and wet the crust) and may need to use several pieces of foil to make sure bottom of pan is completely wrapped.
- Place cheesecake pan into a large baking pan with sides. Fill the pan up with warm-hot water til it comes up the sides slightly. This is a water bath and will help prevent having ‘cracks’ in the cheesecake.
- Place pan in the 425 degrees oven and bake cheesecake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 degrees and continue to bake cheesecake for 1 hour undisturbed. Turn oven off and let rest in oven for another 30 minutes. Test with a toothpick to see if cheesecake is done and not wet. The cheesecake will continue to cook and slowly cool down.
- Remove cheesecake from oven and let rest on the counter until cooled down, 30 minutes. Run a knife around the edge to loosen cake. Remove springform pan ring and cover cake with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.
- Top cheesecake, if desired, to your preference: Strawberry or Cherry sauce, Chocolate with crushed hazelnuts or simply plain. The cheesecake will be delicious serve in any way.
Enjoy!
