New York Cheesecake with Lemon

This New York style cheesecake is made with cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, and a subtle hint of lemon that does not dominate its flavor.

Makes 12 servings from a 9-inch cheesecake

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Creamy Classic New York Cheesecake

Cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs combine to make this a truly creamy cheesecake. I am not going to claim that this is the best cheesecake you will ever make. There are lots of cheesecake recipes out there that already make that claim. I will say that this is an exceptional recipe and that you will never regret learning how to make it. Your family and friends will also thank you. That is, if you share it with them. You may decide to keep it all for yourself.

This is easily the most requested cake here at the monastery. Coming in at a close second is the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. Let there be no mistake. This cheesecake is a lot of work. But I am sure that you will find that it is well worth the effort. It should be made a day in advance or in the early morning if you plan to serve it with dinner. It should be thoroughly chilled before you cut into it.

Equipment:

9-inch springform pan

Ingredients:

Ingredients for Graham cracker crust:

1-3/4 cups Graham cracker crumbs (made from 15 whole sheets of graham crackers)
6 Tablespoons melted butter (3/4 of one cube butter)

Instructions for Graham cracker crust:

1. Break up half of the Graham crackers into pieces and place in a blender. Whirl at low speed for about 15 seconds. Place a colander over a large bowl and pour the blended Graham crackers into the colander. Repeat for the remaining crackers.
2. Use a large spoon or soup spoon to stir the Graham cracker crumbs in the colander so that they fall into the bowl below. Return the large pieces that remain to the blender and repeat the process. Please note: You can skip these first two steps by buying Graham cracker crumbs in a box. Check your local grocery store. They will cost more but save a little time.
3. Measure the Graham cracker crumbs to make sure that you have 1-3/4 cups. Add the 6 Tablespoons of butter to the Graham cracker crumbs in the bowl. Stir until well blended.
4. Coat the sides and bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with butter. Simply rub the pan with the end of a stick of butter until thoroughly coated. Add the Graham cracker mix and spread evenly along the sides and bottom of the pan. Use a large spoon to press the crumbs up against the side of the pan. Leave the bottom for last. Set aside until ready to use.
   

   1 - Break up Graham crackers and whirl in blender to make crumbs.

   

   2 - Sift Graham cracker crumbs through colander into bowl to remove large pieces.

   

   3 - Stir melted butter into Graham cracker crumbs in bowl.

   

   4 - Press Graham cracker crumbs along side and bottom of 9-inch springform pan.

Ingredients for cheesecake filling:

3  packages (8-oz.) cream cheese
1-1/2 cups sugar
3 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (you will need 2 large lemons)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 eggs

Instructions for cheesecake filling:

1. The cream cheese should be at room temperature. Place the three blocks of cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer. Beat at a low speed for about 1 minute until the cheese is creamy without any lumps.
2. Add 1-1/2 cups sugar, 3 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice, 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Beat again until sugar has been mixed into batter.
3. Add the eggs, two at a time, and beat for about 30 seconds after each addition. Do not beat too long after adding the eggs. You do not want to beat a lot of air into the batter.
4. Pour the cheesecake filling into the prepared graham cracker crust. Bake in a preheated 325° oven for 65 minutes (1 hour and 5 minutes). Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool. Let cool for 25 to 30 minutes. The amount of time you wait before adding the sour cream topping is critical. If you do not wait for the recommended 25 minutes, then the weight of the topping will cause the center to collapse, causing the filling to have a concave appearance. If you wait more than 30 minutes, you increase the chances that the filling will crack. This is not a real issue because the topping will cover any cracks in the filling.  However, if you wait too long, the crust around the top may begin to collapse and fall onto the filling.
   

   1 - Beat the cream cheese in an electric mixer until creamy. About one minute.

   

   2 - Add sugar, lemon juice, vanilla flavoring, and salt. Beat again until sugar is blended in.

   

   3 - Add the eggs two at a time and beat for about 30 seconds after each addition.

   

   4 - Pour the cheesecake filling into the Graham cracker crust. Bake in a preheated 325° oven for 65 minutes.

Ingredients for sour cream topping:

3 cups sour cream
6 Tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring

Instructions for sour cream topping:

1. In a large bowl combine the 3 cups sour cream, 6 Tablespoons sugar, and the 1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla flavoring. Stir together until well blended.
2. Gently spoon the sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake filling.
3. Spread over the top to an even thickness. Bake in a preheated 325° oven for exactly 12 minutes. Allow to cool on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes before placing in the refrigerator to cool.
4. Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 6 hours. You want the cheesecake to be completely chilled before you cut into it. Remove the outer ring so that you can cut the cake into 12 equal size pieces.
   

   1 - In a large bowl stir together the sour cream, sugar, and vanilla flavoring.

   

   2 - Gently spoon sour cream mixture over the top of the cheesecake filling.

   

   3 - Spread the sour cream mixture evenly over the top of the cheesecake. Bake in a preheated 325° oven for 12 minutes.

   

   4 - Refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 6 hours. Remove outer ring before slicing.

Can I freeze New York cheesecake with lemon?

Yes, you can. If Sarah Lee can do it, you can do it too. Cut your cheesecake into twelve equal size pieces. Place the pieces of cheesecake on a cookie sheet that is covered with plastic wrap. Make sure that they do not touch each other. Place in the freezer for about 12 hours or until frozen solid. Remove from freezer and wrap each piece in plastic wrap. Place the pieces in a plastic bag and store in the freezer. I usually put 6 to 8 pieces in a plastic bag. To serve, remove from freezer, remove plastic wrap, and place on a plate. Allow to thaw (defrost) on the counter for about two hours or keep in the refrigerator overnight. Once you thaw cheesecake that has been frozen, you can hardly tell the difference from freshly baked cheesecake.

Notes:

• A word of caution: When mixing the ingredients in the electric mixer, always use a low speed and do no over-beat. You do not want to beat any air into the batter. This could cause the cake to rise in the pan and spill over the sides.
• Can I use a regular cake pan in place of the springform pan? I would not recommend it. First of all, I have never tried it. So I am not familiar with any potential problems. Secondly, regular cake pans are not as tall as a springform pan, which is about 2-3/4 inches tall. Regular cake pans are only 2 inches tall. So there would not be enough room for all of the cake filling. And finally, cutting the cake and getting it out of the pan undamaged, especially the first piece, would be very difficult.
• How many calories?! If you are concerned about the number of calories in a slice of this cheesecake (585 calories), you can cut the cheesecake into 16 pieces instead of 12. This would mean that each piece of cheesecake would have only 439 calories.