The wait is over!

For those who have been anticipating and waiting a long, long time for me to make my cheesecake again, the wait is over!  My run for Olympic Gold will never happen, but my run to make the best cheesecake ever has been completed.

I spent most of the week, mentally preparing for this long awaited treat, because honestly, it has been more than several years since I baked my last cake. Why so long? Well, I had put my career first and gave up cooking and baking for at least 7 years or more. There was just no time for me to spend in the kitchen and I subjected myself to microwave meals, take out and dining out.

So when my friend Sweetpeasurry (K) blogged about my new blog site and mentioned my cheesecake a few weeks back, the door had been opened for the challenge and I happily accepted.

I must say, it was like riding a bicycle, you never forget. I pulled out my dusty spring form pan from the back of the cupboard and I was good to go.

So, here is my recipe-Modified-as I will not divulge my secret ingredient, but this one is just as tasty as mine. One secret I will give away is that my recipe uses less sugar than other classic recipes. I do make other flavorful cheesecakes, which eventually down the road I will make the more complicated ones for all to see and try out.

Classic Cheesecake

By Have a Seat

Special Equipment: 8" Round Spring Form Pan; Electric Beaters or a Stand Mixer; Parchment Paper; Heavy Duty Tin Foil; Rubber Spatula; Roasting Pan*Roasting pan must be large enough to hold the Spring form pan and must be 2 1/2" deep.

 
Ingredients:

• 24 oz. Cream Cheese 
• 3/4 c Sugar + 2 Tbls* (2 Tbls is for Crust) 
• 1 Teaspoon Real Vanilla Extract 
• 3 Eggs
• 2 Teaspoons Fresh Lemon Juice 
• 1 c Sour Cream 
• 4 Tbls Butter* (1 Tbls if no Crust )
• 1 ¾ - 2 c of Shortbread Cookies-Crust 
• Fruit Topping (any kind you like) 
• 6 small amaretto cookies 

Equipment Preparation:

Prepare the 8" Spring form pan by taking a sheet of Parchment paper and placing it on top of the Spring form plate (disc.) Take the "form" and fit it around the "plate" and tighten. There will be some overlapping parchment paper if done correctly. Turn the pan upside down and cut the paper so that there is about an inch of paper fanning out of the bottom of the spring form pan. Carefully, butter the paper and the inside rim making sure the butter covers every inch of the pan. Set aside in the refrigerator.

Take the roasting pan and fill with warm water to 1". Place tin foil over water. Do not secure tin foil around edges. This is what is called the "water bath." Since water can only reach 220 Degrees, it creates even cooking temperature for the inside of the cake, while the oven temperature cooks the outside of the cake. The "water bath" technique, also works well with other recipes, such as; soufflés, custards and even regular cake mix.

Preheat oven to 375 Degrees.

Cake Preparation:

For bottom Crust (Optional):

Take shortbread cookies and crush into a sandy texture. A food processor will help with this. If you do not have a food processor, place cooking in a plastic Ziploc bag and crush cookies with your hands or use a rolling pin. Again, the crumbs should have a consistency of sand. Place crumbs in small to medium bowl, add 2Tbls of sugar and the 3 Tbls of melted Butter, then mix. Get your Spring form pan from the fridge and add shortbread mixture and evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Take the back of a measuring cup and pack the mixture in the pan so that surface is smooth. Place pan back in the refrigerator for about an hour.

For Cake:

In a large bowl place cream cheese and beat until soft. Once the cheese has softened, add sugar and vanilla and beat until well incorporated. Continue to mix and add one egg at a time. Do not add all 3 eggs at once. Again, continue to mix while adding the sour cream and lemon juice (I also like to add Lemon zest). Scrape the bowl with the rubber spatula and continue to mix until all ingredients are well incorporated or until the batter is smooth and looks like it’s almost doubled in volume. I fiddle with the speed settings during the initial mixing process and after my last spatula check let it mix untouched on med high for about 5 minutes. This allows for an airy consistency vs. a dense one.

Remove the spring form pan from the refrigerator and pour the cheesecake batter in the pan. Carefully, place the pan on top of the tin foil in the roasting pan. Lightly secure the tin foil around the roasting pan, leaving a small gap open, allowing the steam to escape.

Carefully, transfer cake to oven. Let cook about 1 hour or until middle of cake jiggles firmly. Allow cake to cool in oven, with the door slightly open to allow the heat to escape (about an hour or 2). Take cake & roasting pan out of oven and let cool for another 2 hours (Do not disassemble cake and roasting pan). Once cake has cooled, remove from roasting pan and refrigerate cake overnight, still in the spring form pan.

Remove cake from the fridge, and then remove the spring form carefully. Add your favorite fruit topping…Crush Amaretto cookies sprinkle on top and enjoy heaven!