Jammy Cheesecake

By Hklbrries

This cheesecake is a play on the New York classic - it's made with cream cheese, of course, but it also has sour cream, lemon zest, and a thick layer of jam at the bottom. Although the cake is easy to make and relatively quick to assemble, it still needs 2 1/2 hours in the oven, a cooldown at room temperature, and several hours in the refrigerator, which is why it's a terrific idea to bake it ahead and have it in the freezer, at-the-ready, for the holidays.

_____________________________________________Freezables:

I don't think I'd been cooking for more than six months when I had one of those eureka moments. I'd spent an entire day racing across New York City shopping for food and the next whole day cooking it, only to have my houseful of guests go gaga over the simplest dish of the night: a big, buttery Bundt cake.

I'd seen it before and I've seen it since, but it was that evening, more than 30 years ago, when I realized what was at play and how primal it was. No matter how much I'd fussed over dinner and no matter how good dinner was, the offering of a homemade dessert trumped it all—and it always would. We never get over the idea that dessert is a reward and that a dessert that's homemade is a sign of affection.

Of course there's no time better than the holidays to have homemade sweets on hand—no time busier, either. But, happily, lots of sweets can be baked early, stowed in the freezer, and pulled out at party time, their taste, texture, good looks, and power to delight completely intact. Here's how to get it right—plus a few no-fail recipes for bake-and-freeze desserts.

Begin with butter:
Pound cakes, tight-grained loaf cakes, sturdy Bundts, brownies, cookies—all the butter-based sweets—freeze best.

Freeze pies raw:
Fruit pies make fine freezables, but you should get them into the freezer right after they're assembled. Then, pull out and bake.

Don't freeze creams:
Meringues, puddings, custards, creams, mousses, and whips don't freeze well—some break down, some weep, and they all lose their lovely textures in the defrosting process.

Cool first, freeze second:
A sweet isn't really finished until it's cooled—cooling is what sets the texture and gives the flavors time to blend.

Pack it airtight:
Oxygen is what causes freezer burn. There are fancy freezer containers on the market, but old-school twist-tied plastic bags or plastic wrap is most effective. Because the seal should be snug, draw together the top of the bag, then suck out as much air as possible before shutting it tight with a twist tie.

Label everything:
Put the name of your goody on the bag (mystery cakes are as frustrating as mystery meat), and mark the date that you made it.

Defrost slowly:
It's best to put the frozen dessert—still in its wrapping—in the refrigerator to defrost overnight, then bring it to room temperature before serving. If you're in a rush, go directly from freezer to counter. Never defrost frozen desserts in the microwave. That's a sure-fire way to cook or melt them.

Don't be smug:
You're bound to feel like a genius, a hero, a magician—even a saint—when, after pulling out all the stops for dinner, you also pull out a homemade dessert. Try not to crow.

Dorie Greenspan is an award-winning cookbook author, including Baking: From My Home to Yours (Houghton Mifflin, 2006).

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker, vanilla wafer, or chocolate wafer crumbs
• 2 1/2 tbsp granulated sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• Cheesecake:
• 1 1/2 pounds cream chees, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp pure almond extract
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 cup thick jam, preserves, or marmalade

Preparation

Step 1

Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan - choose a pan with sides that are 2 3/4 inches high. Wrap the outside of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil.

Mix the crumbs, sugar, and salt together in a medium-size bowl, then stir in the melted butter. Turn the mixture into the springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer along the bottom of the pan and up the sides.

Put the pan in the freezer while you center a rack in the oven and preheat it to 350 F. Slide the springform pan into the oven and bake the crust for 10 minutes. Transfer the pan to a cooling rack while you put together the cheesecake.

Turn the oven temperature down to 325 F. Have a roasting pan and a kettle of boiling water at hand.

Workin with an electric mixer at medium speed, beat the cream cheese, sugar, and salt together for 5 minutes or until the cream cheese is satiny smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and beat for 1 minute after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and, one by one, mix in the vanilla and almond extracts, the lemon zest, and the sour cream.

Using a rubber spatula and a gentle hand, spread the jam across the bottom of the crust. Put the springform pan into the roasting pan and carefully pour the batter over the jam. Slide the roasting pan into the oven, then pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan. Be careful not to burn yourself with the water.

Bake the cheesecake for 90 minutes - the top will be brown and the cake may even crack a bit, but that's fine. Turn off the heat, prop open the oven door, and leave the cheesecake in the oven, in its water bath, for 1 hour more.

Carefully lift the springform pan out of the roasting pan, remove the foil (pay attention - some hot water may have seeped between the foil layers), and put the springform pan on a cooling rack. Let the cake come to room temperature.

Transfer the cooled-down cheesecake to the refrigerator and chill, covered, for at least 4 hours - overnight is even better. To remove the cake from the pan, warm the pan with a hair dryer before lifting it free of the cake. Alternatively you can dampen a towel with hot water and wrap it around the pan before removing the cake.

Storing: This cheesecake will keep well, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week and, wrapped airtight, in the freezer for up to 2 months. To defrost, put the wrapped cake in the refrigerator overnight.

Nutrition Information:
Per serving
361 calories
5 g protein
36 g carbohydrates
0 g fiber
22 g fat (14 g saturated fat)
99 mg cholesterol
248 mg sodium