Post by Mitra on Feb 10, 2012 6:58:35 GMT -5
This is an easy, super rich and creamy, cheesecake. I have been using the same recipe for the last 25 years. I got it from Jeff Smith's The Frugal Gourmet (1984 edition) cookbook. I remember watching his cooking show on PBS, a million years ago.
The first time I made this cheesecake I remember being very scared because it was cheesecake
and I was not a cook, just a newlywed trying to impress. I was sure that cheesecake was something only professional pastry chefs were capable of doing. This recipe seemed easy (almost too easy) but I went for it. Success the very first time! You need to have a spring-form pan.
___________________________________________
Directly from the book:
As served at the Chaplain's Pantry for ten years. My wife was brought up in Brooklyn, so she knew real cheesecake. After a long search she came up with this recipe, and she has never given it out. So, this is a first. You will enjoy the richness of this dessert and the clarity of flavor.
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of butter and 2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
2 eggs (or my substitution - 1 duck egg)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pound of cream cheese, broken into small pieces
Blend the cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1/4 cup of melted butter, and line the bottom of an 8 or 9" ungreased spring-form pan. (I put a layer of parchment paper down and then close the spring-form pan over the base. I cut the excess parchment paper off. When the cake is done and I take off the spring-form ring, I can grab the edge of the parchment paper and slide the whole cake off the metal base of the pan before cutting into it)
Blend the sour cream, 1/2 a cup of sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a food blender for 1 minute. Add the cream cheese, blend until smooth.
Pour 2 tablespoons melted butter through the top of the machine. Pour into spring-form pan.
Bake in the lower third of a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. (With my current oven I only bake for 35 to 40 minutes even though my oven thermometer says my oven is exactly at 325 degrees. When it's done, the center will still "jiggle").
When baking is finished, remove from oven, and turn oven on to broil. Broil the cheesecake just until the top begins to show attractive spots of brown. (I don't do this step anymore.)
Refrigerate for 4 hours, preferably overnight, before cutting and serving. (If you've overcooked it, it will look perfect when you take it out of the oven and it will still be delicious but it will also develop cracks as it cools. The cracks are easily remedied by adding a layer of preserves after the cheesecake has cooled.)
This is not a low-calorie version. Cut into small pieces - it is very rich.
SERVES 8 to 12, depending on the size of the slice.
The first time I made this cheesecake I remember being very scared because it was cheesecake
and I was not a cook, just a newlywed trying to impress. I was sure that cheesecake was something only professional pastry chefs were capable of doing. This recipe seemed easy (almost too easy) but I went for it. Success the very first time! You need to have a spring-form pan.___________________________________________
Directly from the book:
As served at the Chaplain's Pantry for ten years. My wife was brought up in Brooklyn, so she knew real cheesecake. After a long search she came up with this recipe, and she has never given it out. So, this is a first. You will enjoy the richness of this dessert and the clarity of flavor.
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3/4 cup of sugar
1/4 cup of butter and 2 tablespoons melted butter
1 1/2 cups of sour cream
2 eggs (or my substitution - 1 duck egg)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 pound of cream cheese, broken into small pieces
Blend the cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of sugar, and 1/4 cup of melted butter, and line the bottom of an 8 or 9" ungreased spring-form pan. (I put a layer of parchment paper down and then close the spring-form pan over the base. I cut the excess parchment paper off. When the cake is done and I take off the spring-form ring, I can grab the edge of the parchment paper and slide the whole cake off the metal base of the pan before cutting into it)
Blend the sour cream, 1/2 a cup of sugar, eggs, and vanilla in a food blender for 1 minute. Add the cream cheese, blend until smooth.
Pour 2 tablespoons melted butter through the top of the machine. Pour into spring-form pan.
Bake in the lower third of a 325 degree oven for 45 minutes. (With my current oven I only bake for 35 to 40 minutes even though my oven thermometer says my oven is exactly at 325 degrees. When it's done, the center will still "jiggle").
When baking is finished, remove from oven, and turn oven on to broil. Broil the cheesecake just until the top begins to show attractive spots of brown. (I don't do this step anymore.)
Refrigerate for 4 hours, preferably overnight, before cutting and serving. (If you've overcooked it, it will look perfect when you take it out of the oven and it will still be delicious but it will also develop cracks as it cools. The cracks are easily remedied by adding a layer of preserves after the cheesecake has cooled.)
This is not a low-calorie version. Cut into small pieces - it is very rich.
SERVES 8 to 12, depending on the size of the slice.
I let my Dad try some and he said that it was even better than my Moms. 
