Things have been pretty busy around here. Lots of projects have left me with very little time. Plus I have some family in town, which always adds to the adventure.

In fact yesterday I got out my recipe box, I was going to whip up my to die for Cheesecake, and realized it wasn’t there 😫

Luckily I had archived it on the blockchain here last year and well.. now all is right in the world again. Because my goodness it took me forever to get this thing right, losing it would have been so depressing.

Going back and finding the post made me think of @nonameslefttouse’s #showcase-sunday initiative, and figured it was a good way to share a recipe that many of you probably didn’t see.. plus to show I did cool things once on Steem 🙂

I’m not sure if any of you have ever tried to make cheesecake, but it’s a bit tricky. I remember daunting over recipes, trying them.. failing.. and doing that over and over again. I even remember many that came with warning labels like - ”Cook for precisely 45mins and turn off heat. WHATEVER YOU DO, DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN FOR 3 HOURS!!” ... or some other craziness.

Let’s just say that it was a bit daunting for me and never had much success. Then I decided to just come up with my own recipe based on all that trail and error, and finally came up with something that not only is damn delicious (like really really delicious) but also super easy to make.

So.. here it is - the epic Cheesecake recipe that took me years to get right, but has never failed me since.

Hope you enjoy!

The Ingredients

New York Cheesecake Filling

• 32 Ounces Cream Cheese (softened)
• 1 ½ Cups Raw Sugar
• 1 Tbsp PureVanilla Extract
• 2 XL Eggs
• ¼ Cup Cornstarch (make sure it’s non gmo)
• ¾ Cup Heavy Cream
  
  

Graham Cracker Cookie Crust

• 6 Whole Graham Crackers
• ½ Cup Brown Sugar
• ½ Cup Flour
• 5 Tbsp Butter (melted)

The Process

Prepping Your 9" Springform Pan

Cheesecake need to be baked in a water bath to ensure they have consistent temperature, its not a difficult process and I will walk you through that in just a bit. But, you do need to make sure that the water does not seep into your cake while cooking. So, we just need to wrap the bottom and outside of the pan in a thick layer of foil like so…

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The Crust

This crust is somewhere between a sugar cookie and a traditional graham cracker crust. It compliments the cheesecake filling perfectly while adding a bit of additional unique flavor.

First, we just need to crush the 6 graham crackers. You can do this in a food processor or just stick them in a baggie and use a rolling pin to roll them out until finely ground.

Then, just add your crushed crackers, flour, sugar, and butter into a small bowl and mix until combined.

Next, press the crust mixture firmly into pan and up the sides…

Bake at 325F for 13 minutes and then remove from oven and allow to cool while you work on the filling.

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The Cheesecake Filling

Add 8 ounces of cream cheese to a stand mixer with 1/3 Cup Sugar and ¼ Cup Cornstarch. Beat on low for 3 minutes until smooth.

Add remaining cream cheese one block at a time, letting it combine before adding the next one.

Increase mixer speed to medium and add in remaining sugar, vanilla and eggs. Mix until smooth (about 2 minutes)

Then add in your ¾ cup of Heavy Cream and mix only until blended on low speed.

Pour your mixture onto your cooled crust and tap the pan gently on the counter to remove and air bubbles.

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The Water Bath

The idea here is to place your springform pan inside of another pan with enough water to reach about one inch up the side. This can be any pan.. crazy enough this sad old tin turkey roasting pan that I don’t even know where I got is my favorite for this step. It has high enough sides where I don’t have to worry about any water boiling over and the cheesecake fits perfectly inside. It doesn’t have to be fancy, use what you’ve got available.

Bake at 350F until edges are golden brown, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Remove and let cool completely before removing the exterior portion of the pan. Refrigerate overnight for best results.

This cheesecake is great on its own or you can dress it up with the topping of your choice. I just simply heated up some sliced strawberries on the stove top until they released all their natural juices.. making a beautiful strawberry glaze.

And then just eat it up, buttercup.. because life is short.. and you most definitely should eat dessert 😋

Do you have a favorite recipe? Or perhaps one that took you ages to get just right?

Much Love,

Justine

This recipe was originally shared on my llfarms account over a year ago, and I am resharing as part of @nonameslefttouse’s #showcase-sunday initiative. Go check it out!