New York Style Cheesecake

My mother in law decided that for Christmas she was going to make a New York style cheesecake and a Lemon Meringue pie.  I didn't get the recipe for the lemon meringue so I wanted to share with you this recipe.  It might have given me enough confidence to try my own recipe some day because even though this didn't turn out perfectly, it was still an amazing cheesecake which we were all sad to see go!

Here is how we did it (mostly her with me taking pictures).  We started with the crust and smashing graham crackers.  My husband did one package and my mother in law did another one but her's sprang a leak on the side and started spitting graham dust around the room so we went with plan B.

We put both packages of the graham crackers into the blender to get into a fine crumb.

At the same time, my husband got out the microwave safe bowl for my mother in law to melt the butter in the microwave.

We dumped all of the graham cracker crumbs into the bowl and my mother in law mixed them together.  I told her that I would use this picture because everyone could tell from the nicely painted finger nails that it wasn't me doing the stirring.

Neither of us were sure that it was enough butter to make the crust but I thought that the other ingredients with the cheesecake make compact the crust or add moisture so I didn't want to add more and then be wrong.  My mother in law took it and patted it into the springform pan that I fought to get together correctly.  She started with a fork and then moved to pushing it with her hands but she didn't think that people would want to see her hands in the crust so she asked me not to show it.  I thought that most people would use there hands so it should be a big surprise....it isn't like you are eating our cheesecake right?

Then, we moved on to the filling.  We started with the main ingredient which was four blocks of cream cheese.  I am starting to think that they should sell them in bigger blocks so that we could get them for a better price because it might be the most expensive ingredient in the recipe if you don't get a good sale.

Then, she mixed in the sugar then added other ingredients per the directions. At this point it really just looks like a lot of butter but it did smell yummy.

After everything was mixed together, like the heavy cream,

the eggs,

 and the sour cream

with a squirt of fresh lemon (and vanilla not pictured)

She added the flour and we were off to something that still looked like frosting but was the batter for the cheesecake.  She smoothed it out with a spatula.

We put it in the oven to cook.  It bakes and then you shut off the oven and leave the cheesecake in so that it shouldn't crack.  My mother in law made this recipe once before and she said that it didn't rise this high before so I couldn't help but take a picture of this cake that I was afraid was going to go over the pan but I was too afraid what would happen if I opened the oven to put something underneath.

Sadly, that didn't work for us but I think that it was because it rose so high or the oven temperature because mine really stays hot after it is turned off.  I was hoping that it would still taste yummy.

I left for my trip to CVS and my mother in law took the jar of cherry pie filling and topped the cake to make it super pretty.  I didn't even get the first piece because I was gone when then cut into it...before dinner even!!!!  This is what it looked like when I got home.

Okay, so I ate a piece before dinner too and it was amazing!  I was super excited to get to taste this yummy creation and be a part of it.  Here is a slice for you and I hope that you have the courage to try a cheesecake in the new year....start with one you can cover with topping so that it doesn't even matter if it cracks.  Isn't it still beautiful?

New York Style Cheesecake

adapted from Allrecipes by my mother in law

Ingredients 

• 15 graham crackers, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese 
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar 
• 3/4 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice 
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter (might add more melted butter next time or less graham crackers). Press onto bottom of springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in cream, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Add a little bit of fresh lemon juice to taste.  Pour filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving (if it lasts that long).

 Shared at Homemade Monday by Frugal By Choice
and Saturday Night Fever at Yummy Healthy Easy