As Promised . . . Cheesecake!!

I promised my cheesecake recipe as soon as I had perfected it and I'm posting it here. There are a few things that have to be said about cheesecake. Cheesecake is not as easy as a regular pie or cake. A cheesecake should be started early in the morning because it will take hours to cool down. Springform pans are a MUST when making a cheesecake. So make sure you have an 8 or 9-inch springform pan. There are things that need to be done beforehand and I will explain about them as we go along in the recipe so first, you will need these items to get started . . .

An 8 or 9-inch springform pan
Parchment paper, lots of folding and patience
Vegetable or butter spray

Okay, Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. First you will need to line the bottom and sides of the springform pan with parchment paper.

For the bottom of the springform pan roll out your parchment paper onto a table and use a pencil to trace around the outside of the pan and then cut out the circle. For the sides of the springform pan, take a long piece of thread or yarn and measure around the outside of the pan then lay the string in the parchment paper lengthwise and mark the length you will have to cut. Make sure the paper is 2 to 3 inches above the top of the pan's edge because cheesecake recipes always run over in 8-inch pans. Spray the pan with the butter spray to adhere the parchment to the pan sides without coming apart. The Parchment has to stick to the pan to keep the cheesecake from coming apart when you open the springform pan.

Cheesecake Shell: 

2 cups of graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 cup (1 stick) of unsalted butter, melted
Large clean ziplock bag

If you have a food processor this works great but if not, don't worry. I made everything without the help of food processors or stand mixers.

I took about what I thought would make the 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs and broke them up into the measuring cup until I had what I needed. If it's a little more don't worry.

I poured the large crumbs into a large plastic ziplock bag and sealed it with as much of the air out of it that I could get. Then, I took my frustrations out on the bag with a rolling pin. You can roll the pin over the bag gently or beat the shit out of it like I did to get the tiniest crumbs possible. Then I poured the 2 tablespoons of sugar and the melted butter into the bag resealed the bag and moved it around with the crumbs to mix it all together. Then take the bag's contents and pour it into the bottom of the springform pan on top of the parchment. Lightly tamp down evenly on the bottom, not up the sides, of the springform pan and then get a flat bottomed glass or measuring cup and tamp the crumbs firmly but not too hard into place. You want a smooth even surface.

Put the shell into the 350F oven and let it bake for 10 to 15 minutes. Don't let it burn!. Take it out and then let it cool completely before starting on the cheesecake batter.

The cheesecake batter was really easy. I played around until I got the right consistency and flavors of the cheesecake. Some recipes call for flour but I hated the way the flour made it taste. So I went with cornstarch. The cornstarch binds the cheesecake together and helps to firm up the batter without the dry bland taste of flour. I hated the way the sour cream made the cheesecake taste so I eliminated that item from my recipe. A really good cheesecake should be creamy, slightly soft, and mildly sweet. More like a cream pie but not fall apart like one. It should stand on its own and not be liquid like pudding.

First off, you will need to bring all your dairy items to room temperature before you start. That is key when making cheesecake. So I took the foil off the 4 (8-ounces each) bricks of cream cheese and let it come to room temp in a mixing bowl that I was going to use. I placed a sheet of plastic wrap over it to protect it. Then I cracked 4 large eggs into a small bowl along with one egg yolk and I covered that with plastic wrap as well. I left the cream out on its own in its container. Everything took about an hour to get to room temperature and I prepped this before I started the cheesecake shell. 

Also, when you are ready to make the cheesecake batter you will need a deep metal lasagna pan or deep cake pan and boiling hot water to make a steam bath. Set your oven rack in the center level in the oven for the cheesecake and another rack below it for the water pan. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Boil a medium-sized pot or tea kettle of water. Pour the boiling water into the pan halfway up the sides. Gently put the pan on the lowest level rack in the oven. The steam bath will keep the cheesecake from cracking. Believe me, it works. Now for the batter . . .

Cheesecake Batter:

4 cake pkg. (8-ounces each) cream cheese, room temp
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla
4 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, room temp
1 cup heavy whipping cream, room temp
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 400F. and set up the pan on the bottom oven rack with the boiling water as I explained above.  

With an electric hand mixer, mix the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla, and heavy whipping cream together until completely mixed and softened. Add the eggs one yolk at a time into the batter and mix on the lowest setting on the mixer until all of the eggs are incorporated into the batter, the batter will look slightly bright yellow from the yolks. Clean off the batter from the mixer blades. Add the cornstarch into the batter until everything is completely mixed. This should only take a minute. The batter will be slightly thick.

Empty the batter into the prepared cooled springform pan. Don't worry about air bubbles but make sure the batter is even on the top. Put the cheesecake into the center rack level of the 400-degree oven and let it bake for 10 minutes. The oven should feel like a hot sauna.

After 10 minutes, turn the oven temperature down to 250 and then let the cheesecake bake for 1 whole hour, just walk away. The top of the cheesecake should not be browned but the same color as when you put it into the oven in the beginning. Please resist the urge to open the oven door if you can. The cheesecake temperature must be constant for one hour.

At the end of that hour, turn off the oven and walk away again. It's that easy. In the meantime, you might want to clear an area in the refrigerator so that the cheesecake can set overnight, untouched or unmoved.

After about an hour or two check the oven to see if it is still warm. If it is, close a wooden spoon between the oven door and the oven to vent the warm air slowly. The cheesecake must come to room temp very slowly. When the sides of the springform pan are still slightly warm to the touch, take the cheesecake out and set it on a counter for half an hour. If when you take it out and the center is still a little jiggly like jello, don't worry it should be this way, it will set once it is in the refrigerator.  Take the cheesecake still in the springform pan and put it into the refrigerator for 10 to 12 hours so that the cheesecake will completely set.

When you are ready to serve the cheesecake unlatch the springform pan gently and peel the parchment from the sides of the cheesecake. Take a sharp thin knife and run hot water over the blade and then dry with a clean towel each time you slice a serving slice to make a clean cut. The cheesecake serves up to 12 people. When ready to store the cheesecake place it into a cake-covered platter that can fit into the refrigerator. Do not store it beyond three days.

Well, I did as promised. If you followed the directions precisely there should be no problems. If you have a question email me at falconstar926@gmail.com and I'll try to help you. 

I have things to do before the weekend so y'all have a magical day.