New York Cheesecake

Have you ever made a dessert for the first time and it turned out so perfect that you decided that it would become your signature dish - until you made it the second time and it was the worst thing you had ever made? How aggravating to get it right, I mean nail it, only to create disaster the next time. This is what happened with my New York Cheesecake several years ago.

It was not the recipe's fault. It was the cooks fault. Cream cheese can be so fickle when you bake with it. The one thing you need to keep in mind, you MUST beat it in to submission if you want it to be creamy and not lumpy.

My first time baking the recipe created a divine masterpiece. The second time, a curdled, gloppy, texture from hell wreck! LOL It took me several years to figure out what I had done wrong. And now, they are heavenly, every time.

This recipe takes a while so be sure you allow yourself enough time for each step. I got this recipe from the Simply Celebrating cookbook from Kraft.

The recipe:
Baking time: 1 hour and 10 minutes - it may need to bake longer. It should not be to wobbly. The middle should almost be set. Set your oven to 350 degrees.

1 c. graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbls. sugar
3 Tbls. butter or margarine, melted
5 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
1 c. sugar
3 Tbls. flour
1 Tbls. vanilla
3 eggs
1 c. sour cream
1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling - optional for the top

Mix crumbs, 3 Tbls. sugar and butter; press onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Don't burn it, it is easy to do.

Mix cream cheese and 1 cup sugar for at least 3 minutes on medium speed. Add flour and vanilla and continue to mix until well blended. Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition, just until blended. Blend in sour cream. Pour in to crust.

Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until the center is almost set. After you take it out of the oven, run a small knife around the edges before placing it in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Do not remove it from the springform pan before you cool it.

Tips:

• The graham cracker crust can be replaced with a chocolate crust.
• Mix cream cheese and 1 c. sugar for at least 3 minutes. This is very important! The sugar needs to be fully incorporated into the cream cheese or it will come out of the oven lumpy.
• You can add mini chocolate chips to your cream cheese mixture.
• To add caramel, pour in half of the cream cheese mixture in to the crust, then a layer of caramel and then the rest of the cream cheese mixture.
• One of my baking times was 2 hours, the next was 1 hour and 10 minutes. It depends on your oven.