Monday, March 28, 2011

New York Cheesecake

This was my first attempt at making a cheesecake. I chose to make a New York style cheesecake with a strawberry topping. The results were absolutely delicious! My boyfriend ate it all in 2 days! =] Here is the recipe:





Crust:
2 cups (200 grams) of graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar
1/2 cup (114 grams) unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
32 ounces (1 kg) cream cheese, room temperature (use full fat, not reduced or
fat free cream cheese)
1 cup (200 grams) granulated white sugar
3 tablespoons (35 grams) all purpose flour
5 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup (80 ml) heavy whipping cream (double cream)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Topping:
1 pint strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Tips: Sometimes the surface of the cheesecake cracks. To help prevent this
from happening do not over beat the batter, especially when creaming
the cheese and sugar.
Another reason for cracking is overbaking the cheesecake. Your cheesecake
is done when it is firm but the middle may still look a little wet.
Also, make sure the springform pan is well greased as cracking can occur
if the cheesecake sticks to the sides as it cools.




New York Cheesecake: Grease, or spray with Pam, a 9 inch (23 cm)
springform pan. Place the springform pan on a larger baking pan to catch
any leakage while the cheesecake is baking. Preheat oven to
350 degrees F (177 degrees C) with rack in center of oven.
For Crust: In a medium sized bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs,
sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and
about 1 inch (2.5 cm) up the sides of the springform pan. Cover and
refrigerate while you make the filling.
For Filling: In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar,
and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth (about 2 minutes), scraping
down the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well
(about 30 seconds) after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the
bowl. Add the whipping cream, lemon zest, vanilla extract and beat until
incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling.
Place the cheesecake pan on a larger baking pan and place in the oven.
Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to
250 degrees F (120 degrees C) and continue to bake for about another
60 - 90 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake
looks a little wet and wobbly. (The baking time can vary due to the
differences in ovens, so make sure to check that the cheesecake is firm
with only the center being a little wet and wobbly.) Remove from oven and
place on a wire rack. Remove from oven and carefully run a knife or
spatula around the inside edge of pan to loosen the cheesecake
(helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools).
Let cool completely before covering with plastic wrap. Refrigerate
several hours, preferably overnight.
For Topping: Cut about 1/3 of the strawberries in half. In a saucepan
over medium high heat, combine strawberries, sugar and vanilla. Cook,
stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove
from heat. In a blender, puree about 1/3 of sauce, then mix back into remainder.
Store in refrigerator.
To Freeze: Place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze,
uncovered, until firm. Then wrap in aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag.
Seal and return to freezer. Can be frozen for several months. Thaw uncovered
cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.

8 comments:

  1. I would call this a very successful first attempt! GORGEOUS!!

    Great blog; happy I found you!

    Mary xo
    Delightful Bitefuls

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  2. Great job on your first cheesecake! Hopefully it's a sign of more to come! =)

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  3. Yum! And so pretty! I'd love for you to submit this to the M&T Spotlight at http://www.makeandtakes.com/spotlight

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  4. that looks amazing! I love how tall your cheesecake is. Decadent!

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  5. I cant wait to try this! Thanks for sharing- it looks amazing :)

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  6. me too jessica, my favorite flavor ever strawberry.sell my restaurant

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  7. I wanted to thank you for this great read!! I have you bookmarked to check out new stuff you post.
    concreting brisbane

    ReplyDelete