- 12
- 90 mins
Ingredients
- Crust
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used already crushed from the grocery)
- 5 tbsp of butter, melted plus 1 addtional tbsp for greasing pan.
- 1 tbsp of sugar
- Filling
- 2 1/2 lbs. (5 packages) of cream cheese, softened to room temp.
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt
- 1 1/2 cups of sugar
- 2 teaspoons of real vanilla extract
- 2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
- 1/3 cup of sour cream
- 6 whole eggs
- 2 egg yolks.
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Adjust rack to lower middle position
Mix with the sugar and 5 tbsp of the butter with a fork until crumbly. Brush bottom and sides of 9 in springform pan with most of the remaining butter leaving some to brush the pan again later.
Press the crumbs in the bottom of the prepared pan, bake until fragrant and beginning to brown around the edges, for 13 minutes, remove to rack to cool while you prepare the filling.
Brush sides of spring form pan with remaining melted butter generously after the crust has cooled.
Turn oven up to 500 degrees In a large bowl, Beat the cream cheese on medium low speed for about 1 minute, to get out most of the big lumps. Scrape beater
Add the salt, add half the sugar, beat about 1 minute.. Scrape bottom of bowl and sides.
Beat in the remaining sugar, until combined, about one minute. Scrape bowl.
Add the sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat at low speed until well combined, about 1 minute. Scrape bowl. Add yolks and beat at medium low until combined, about 1 minute.
Add the whole eggs two at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl.
Brush the sides of the pan with the remaining butter
Pour batter into cooled crust and place on a lipped baking sheet in case there is spillover.
Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 200 degrees.
DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR.
Bake 90 minutes. instant read thermometer inserted in center should read 150 degrees.
Remove from oven, cool for five minutes on wire rack.
Run knife around the outer edge of the cake.
Allow to cool for 3 hours at room temp.. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
Best served 30 minutes out of the refrigerator
Above is the basic recipe.
Puree fresh fruit raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries spread on top of cake
You can also put fresh fruit on top.
However, if you want to make it really decadent, pour a ganache over the whole thing!
Ganache
Ingredients
9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped. I just broke it up in small pieces
1 cup heavy cream
Directions
Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy