Kitty'S Traditional Cheesecake
- 24 ounces Philadelphia Cream Cheese
- 4 Eggs
- 1.25 cup White finely granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons Lemon juice
- 4 tablespoons Vanilla extract
- 8 ounces Graham Cracker Crumbs
- 4 tablespoons Brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons Unsalted butter (melted)
- 16 ounces Sour cream (Knudsen's is my preferred brand)
- 1/2-1 teaspoon Nutmeg - freshly grated if possible
- 1/2 teaspoon Cinammon
- Set out all dairy and eggs to come to room temperature before beginning to mix
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees
- Wrap bottom and sides of springform pan with foil to prevent leaks
- Gently butter sides of springform pan
- Mix together graham crackers, melted butter, brown sugar and cinammon, and then spread into springform pan - with a thicker layer on the bottom and some crumbs on the sides of the springform pan. Gently pat down the crumbs with the back of a spoon.
- Bake the cracker crust for approx 10 minutes until fragrant and a little more golden in color. Do not burn.
- Beat cream cheese on low to medium with a paddle attachment - you do not want to incorporate too much air.
- Add 1 cup sugar and mix. Stop and scrape down sides of bowl until sugar isn't gritty.
- Whisk eggs in a separate bowl, then gradually add to the cream cheese mixture
- Add 8 ounces of sour cream to cream cheese mixture
- Add the vanilla extract and the lemon juice to the cream cheese mixture just until incorporated
- Pour batter through a sieve (to ensure no lumps), into springform pan, place a sheet pan underneath and place in oven. You can cover the cheesecake with a second sheet pan for the first 15-30 minutes of baking to keep it moist and prevent burning.
- Remove sheet pan from top of cheesecake, and continue to bake until cheesecake has risen slightly and the center only slightly jiggles instead of waves of liquid motion.
- If your oven has uneven hot spots, rotate the cake every 15-20 minutes
- Cheesecake may take an hour or even 80 minutes to fully bake. You will know when its done when it only gently wobbles in the middle.
- After cake is done, turn off oven and crack open oven door with a wooden spoon to let it gradually cool
- Wrap tightly inside the springform pan and chill for a few hours or overnight before serving. Before releasing the springform pan sides, take a thin offset spatula or flat edged knife to loosen the crust from the wall.
- For the top, I prefer to take 8 ounces of sour cream and mix gently with a little sugar, then spread on top
- Sprinkle top with freshly grated nutmeg or decorate with fresh berries
- Use a warm knife to cut slices cleanly
cream cheese, eggs, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, butter, sour cream, nutmeg freshly, cinammon
Taken from www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/kittys-traditional-cheesecake-5ba91a3c7a685d1e72f1d0c4 (may not work)