Cheesecake - The Ultimate Dessert

Very few of us know when our last meal will happen.  In fact, unless you have "a date with the state," that day will be a mystery.  But if you knew, what would you have as your last meal?  Me, I might skip the meal all together and have the single most decadent food ever created: Cheesecake

14" wide by 3" tall cheesecake (from heaven)

No other dessert is even close.  The combination of thick luxurious creams, tang, and pleasant sweetness has no rival.  Ice Cream you say?  Nope.  Cake, pie, creme brulee?  Nope, nope, nope!  All other desserts play in the triple A league at best.  A great cheesecake is hall of fame material.

I venture to say there are a lot of people who've never had a good one and thus don't understand my obsession.  Finding a good cheesecake (I mean a really good one) is difficult; at least where I live.  Chances are, you have to take matters into your own hands if you want the real deal.  Below you'll find detailed instructions how to make the best cheesecake of your life.

Determining the proper pan is the first step.  Spring form pans have the advantage of being able to get the cake out easily after baking.  The disadvantage is it's not water tight.  To make a great cheesecake we need to use a water bath (submerge the pan in a large pan filled with hot water, 2/3rds of the way).  This allows for consistent heating and provides a humid environment which prevents the top from cracking.  I've used spring form pans with aluminum foil (as a waterproof barrier) wrapped tightly around it successfully a few time...but have had just as many failures.  If there's a way, water will find it and soak what was supposed to be a crisp graham cracker crust.  My choice is a round cake pan.  Getting the cake out is not as simple as a spring form, but the risk of water infiltration is eliminated.

I've used straight wall pots as well.  These work fine, but it can be a challenge to get it out of the pan sometimes.  A square or rectangular cake pan works well also.  Even a bread loaf pan will work.

This recipe is for a 9 x 2.5 inch cheesecake.  The size can be scaled up or down to fit the pan size you're using.  I recommend you make enough batter to have a cake that's at least 2 inches thick.  Baking times will change as the volume of the cake changes...longer time for more volume, shorter for less.

• 1 stick of butter (melted)
• 10 full graham crackers (4 rectangles per full cracker)
• 1 cup of sugar
• 2.5 packages of cream cheese
• 1.5 cups of sour cream
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3 egg yokes
• 1/3 cup of heavy cream

Start by lining the pan with parchment paper.  Lay out a sheet of parchment and trace around it with a pen.  Cut out the circle.  Then cut strips of parchment three inches wide and long enough to go all the way around the pan.  With a brush apply enough melted butter to the inside and bottom of the pan to adhere the parchement.  Then stick the parchment in place.  Take care to make it lay as flush and even as possible on both the side and bottom...the better job you do on the sides, the nicer your cheesecake will look when you're done.

Tracing the circle

Now smash up the graham crackers.  The size of the bits should range between a crumb and a quarter.  I do this in a plastic ziptop bag.  Mix the remaining butter with the crackers, making sure it's evenly distributed.

Pour all but a half a cup of the graham crackers into the pan, on top of the parchment.

Use something flat and round (like the bottom of a glass) to push the graham crackers into a smooth flat crust.  Take care not to have any crumbs on the side walls...they don't look so good on the outside edge of the finish cheesecake.  

Using a water glass to smooth out the graham crackers

Crust is packed in nicely

Now blind bake the crust at 350 degree for 15-20 minutes...or until it starts to turn a bit darker than it already is.  When it's done, extract from the oven and let it come to room temperature, then place it in the refrigerator to cool even more.

Blind baking, extra crumbs on the right to use later

Set your oven at 250F.  Place the cheesecake pan inside a pan large and tall enough to allow you to hold water 2/3rds of the way up the outside of the cheesecake pan.  A roasting pan is fine; as is another baking pan if you have it.  A baking sheet with tall edges might work, but make sure it can hold water at least halfway up the cheesecake pan.  Pour enough hot water in to do the job, but not so much that it overflows the pan when the cheesecake pan goes in.  Close the door and let the water heat up.

The batter.  It's a lot of work to get a smooth batter without an electric mixer.   Someone could do it with a hand whisk and skip a trip to the gym that day.  A stand mixer makes it easy as long as you add ingredients in the right order.  Use the paddle attachment, not the whisk. Smooth is the key.  To do get it completely smooth, bring all the ingredients to room temperature first.  

In goes the cream cheese

First add the sour cream and cream cheese.  Turn on the mixer and let it run until they are completely combined and perfectly smooth.  Scrap down the bowl several times to make sure everything is fully incorporated.  It's very hard to get a smooth cheesecake if you don't do this first...trust me on this one.  The mix should look something like cake icing when it's fully blended.

From here, add the rest of the ingredients one at a time (sugar first, cream last) and mix until everything is fully blended. 

Vanilla Extract.  Yes, I eyeballed it

That yoke is on the edge of the millennium force

Heavy Cream

Scrap down the bowl at least once at the end and mix again to make sure everything is evenly incorporated.

The owner of the number one bakery in the country told me if you don't let the crust fully cool, it's more likely the bits will float up into the cheesecake while it's baking...not what we want.  Carefully pour in the batter.

Take a few moments and agitate the pan to force air bubbles to the surface.  Use a paring knife to pop as many of the bubbles as you can.  It's very important to get the large bubbles out or you may have a less than perfect surface to your cheesecake.

Slowly and carefully lower your soon to be cheesecake into the water bath.  Take care not to splash water into the cheesecake.  If there's too much water, scoop some out with a coffee mug.  If you need more, pour hot water in to bring the water level where it needs to be.

Settled into the water bath

Close the oven door and wait...  After an hour check the cheesecake.  If it looks slightly

Looks puffy in the middle

fluffy/puffy in the middle, you're done.  If you tap the pan and everything moves like jello, it needs more time.  Give it another 15 minutes and check it again.  Or to make sure you have it right, use an instant read thermometer and stick it right in the center halfway down.  When it registers 158, you're done.  Remember how long it took to get this temperature and next time you won't have to cause a blemish in the top of your perfect cheesecake.



After it's done, take the cheesecake out of the oven.  Careful not to splash water into the cheesecake.  First let it come to room temperature, then place it in the refrigerator overnight (minimum of 6 hours).

The next day fill up your water bath again with hot water from the faucet.  Then cut a piece of parchment paper (or wax) slightly larger than the diameter of your cheesecake.  Float the cheesecake in the water bath for 30 seconds to slightly melt the edges.  Place the parchment/wax paper on top of your cheesecake.  Then put a flat cutting board on it and carefully flip the cheesecake.  If it doesn't come out, use a paring knife and carefully go around the outside edge...do your best not to mess up the edge.  Go back into the hot water bath again and repeat the flipping process.

Once the cheesecake is out of the pan, carefully peel off all the parchment paper.  Now determine what you want your cheesecake's final resting place to be.  I use a round cutting board (see the picture above/below).  Put the board on the crust side of the cheesecake and flip it again.  Now carefully peel the parchment/wax paper off the top.

The reserved graham cracker crumbs are to fix mistakes/imperfections.  If the sides don't look right, pack an even layers of crumbs all the way around the outside edge.  If you used a thermometer

on the top or if it was damaged in the flipping, sprinkle the fine bits on until it's not longer noticeable.

That's it.  Don't let the long details of these instructions intimidate you.  It's not hard.














I'm a purist and have never experimented with raspberries, chocolate, strawberries and whip cream additions.  Cheesecake this good doesn't need it.

Enjoy!