Plain Cheesecake

I didn't take pictures of the full cheesecake because I wasn't expecting to blog about it.  But this cheesecake turned out so delectable and perfect... well, the story must be told.  And the recipe shared.  

I found this recipe here.  Thank you, http://whatscookingamerica.net.

Not only did it have a recipe, but step by step instructions with pictures helping me to achieve cheesecake perfection.  It's really useful for your first round.  Here is the simplified version for easy recipe keeping.

Plain Cheesecake Recipe

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter (1 stick) melted and cooled

Cheesecake:
3 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese softened (room temperature)
3 eggs (room temperature)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon fresh-squeezed lemon juice
1 cup heavy cream (room temperature)

To get cream cheese, eggs and cream at room temperature let them sit on the counter for an hour or so.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the bottom of an 8-inch Springform Pan with two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. Set aside another oven-proof pan that this can sit into. You will use these as a water bath when cooking your cheesecake, so make sure the aluminum foil come up high enough to keep water out of your cheesecake.

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, two tablespoons of sugar, and the cooled butter in the bottom of the springform pan.  Once it begins to cling together, use a flat object and firmly press the cookie crumb mixture onto the bottom of the pan. Place this pan into the larger ovenproof pan and set aside.

Beat the cream cheese for a minimum of 3 minutes; add the remaining 1 cup sugar and beat this mixture until it is light and creamy. Keep scraping bowl to keep it all mixed together.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating at medium speed after each one is added. Increase the speed of the mixer to high and let this mix.  Add lemon juice, vanilla and cream. Mix on medium speed until mixture is smooth.

Pour the mixture into the prepared springform pan.  Place the two (2) pans into the oven on the middle rack, and fill the larger, outside pan with hot water until it is about half way up the sides of your cheesecake pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until golden brown and the edges are firm.

Turn off the oven, crack the door open.  Leave the cheesecake in the two pans inside the oven until they are cool enough to touch. During this time, the remaining part of the cheesecake will firm up so that it does not “jiggle” when the pan is moved. DO NOT CHECK FOR DONENESS BY INSERTING ANYTHING IN YOUR CHEESECAKE.

There should be no wet spots or liquid areas in the center of the cheesecake. Remember that a cheesecake continues to cook when it is removed from the oven.

Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack before attempting to remove from the springform pan. To remove from pan, simply release the sides and slide the cheesecake up and out of the pan.  Put it in the refrigerator and cool ALL the way down.  Warm cheesecake is like melted ice-cream, all the same flavors but missing some vital part of itself.

Top with something.  We used homemade cherry pie-filling, which made the whole experience blissful.

When we removed the cheesecake from it's aluminum foil wrap, some of the water had leaked through the aluminum foil and made the crust wet.  It dried out as it cooled in the fridge, but I wonder if I can perfect my aluminum wrapping technique to make this work better.  The water bath was awesome and made the whole thing cook evenly with a perfect golden top even though our oven has hot spots.