New York Cheesecake - First Time Right

I wanted to bake a cheesecake for a long time now but was deterred by the lengthy prep-time, complicated ingredients etc. I had decided on the recipe long ago. Joy of Baking has been my go-to site for cake recipes. I have tried many recipes from the website and they have come out pretty well. The instructions are spot on and you just cant go wrong.

It was my sister's birthday on the 13th of this month and she had been behind my life to bake her a cheesecake. And so finally I mustered the courage to bake a cheesecake.

So here goes the recipe and how I baked my first cheese cake-

• 2 cups or 200 gms of graham wafer crumbs or finely crushed vanilla wafers or ginger snaps
• 1/4 cup or 50 gms granulated white sugar
• 1/2 cup or 114 gms melted unsalted butter
• 32 ounce or 4 packets of cream cheese (8 ounce each) at room temp (use full fat, not reduced or fat free cream cheese
• 1 cup or 200 gms granulated white sugar
• 3 tbsp or 35 gms all purpose flour
• 5 large eggs at room temperature
• 1/3 cup or 80 ml heavy whipping cream
• 1 tbsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup or 240 ml sour cream (not low fat or fat free)
• 2 tbsp or 30 gms granulated white sugar
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Grease a 9" (23 cm) spring form pan thoroughly with butter.

Measure the required amount of butter into a microwave proof bowl. I used Nutralite butter for its zero salt content. If the butter is still cold, microwave it for ten seconds. Add the biscuit crumbs into the bowl. I used regular Marie biscuits instead of graham wafer crumbs. You can put the whole biscuits or partially crushed biscuits in the mixie and measure 2 cups or 200 gms. Add the sugar and with the help of  rubber spatula or spoon combine the ingredients together. A word on the sugar - the recipe calls for granulated white sugar which is nothing but our regular sugar, albeit small to medium sized crystals. The sugar which I used had fairly large crystals, so I processed my sugar in the mixie for a couple of seconds and then added it with the other ingredients. Using the rubber spatula, I combined the ingredients till the butter was incorporated and then mixed the ingredients with my hands and transferred them in to the greased springform pan. The recipe says to test the consistency of the crust, squeeze some in your first. If the the crums hold together, you have the perfect crust. And perfect it was!!! Using your hands, press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Then cover the pan with a cling flim or any steel / aluminium lid and refrigerate it. The recipe adds, for a firmer crust, bake the crust at 177 degree C or 350 degree F for 10 min in a oven. I refrigerated my crust.

Measure the plain flour (maida) into a medium sized glass bowl. Make sure the bowl is dry. Add the required amount of sugar (I processed my sugar) and the cream cheeses into the bowl. I used 4 packets of Philadelphia cream cheese, which I procured from a specialty food store in my locality. Beat the ingredients with the help of an electric beater, on low speed, till they combine and the mixture is smooth (It took me less than 2 minutes). The recipe very categorically states to avoid over beating the batter as it may cause the surface of the cake to crack. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula at regular intervals. 

Add one egg at a time, beating the mixture on low speed after each addition, till the eggs combine (approx 20 sec each). Do not forget to scrape the sides of the bowl.   At this juncture, I preheated my oven. I have a Samsung microwave oven with a convection feature. So I placed a wire rack on to the turntable and pre-heated the oven @ 180 degrees C. Add the whipping cream, vanilla extract and zest of the lemon into the cream cheese mixture, and beat on low speed for about 15 seconds. I used Amul cream as heavy whipping cream. Heavy whipping cream is supposed to be a full fat cream, However, after adding the cream, I read the tetrapack which mentioned that Amul is actually a low-fat cream. Nevertheless, it worked. I had a to zest one large lemon to get the required quantity. I used a sharp knife to zest and then minced them. However, make sure that you use only the outer yellow part of the lemon and avoid any white rind as it will impart a bitter flavor into the cheesecake.  

Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour the cream cheese filling into it. Place the pan on a larger baking tray and place on the wire rack in the preheated oven. The baking tray will catch any leakages from the pan (There was none). I baked the cake initially for 15 min @ 180 degrees C and then set the timer for 1 hour @ 140 degrees C.

As the cake was getting baked, I prepared the sour cream topping. I substituted the sour cream with plain yogurt procured from a local dairy. Add the required amount of sugar and vanilla extract and beat on low speed till the mixture is smooth.

Around 45 min after I set the oven for 1 hour I checked my cake. The cake had risen up slightly and looked good. However, there were cracks on the surface of the cake. I presume it was on account of the oven temperature. So I reduced the temperature to 100 degrees C and baked the cake for another 15 min. At the end of the 15 min, the cake was nice and wobbly. I pulled the pan out of the oven and spread the sour cream topping over the cake and baked it for another 15 min @ 100 degrees C. Once the baking time is done, take the pan out and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan to loosen the cake. According to the recipe, this helps prevent the surface from cracking as it cools.  

This cake is best enjoyed when it is cooled and preferably the next day after it has rested several hours. Let the cake cool completely in the pan, before covering with cling film or any lid and refrigerating it.

I garnished the cake with canned blackberries. 



The cake tasted absolutely heavenly and just like any of the cheesecakes in upscale restaurants. I was pleasantly surprised by the easy prep as compared to other cakes. The cheesecake lasted for almost a week in the refrigerator.

I would recommend baking this cake when you have guests at home. The cake is very dense and a single slice itself will be filling. If you keep the cake for more than a week then I would suggest freezing it. Thaw the cake overnight in the refrigerator and use it.