Cheesecake
Cheesecake has the reputation of being very difficult to make. It really isn’t difficult at all, and though it isn’t something you can walk away from and forget like a crock pot, it is a great dessert to fix while you are doing other things around the house.
This recipe has you cool the cheesecake slowly. This prevents large cracks from forming in the top of the cheesecake. You can easily make smaller cakes since springform pans now come in all sizes. This recipe is written in fours. You can cut it down to make smaller cakes and all sizes work equally well.
Yield: 12
Time: 5-6 hours (includes refrigeration)
Special equipment:
Parchment Paper
9” Springform Pan;
heavy duty aluminum foil;
a waterbath larger than springform pan.
Preheat oven to 375°
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup vanilla wafers, crushed
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 eggs
1 cup sugar
4 8 oz pkgs. of cream cheese, softened
4 tsp vanilla
Instructions:
Take the bottom of the springform pan and use it to draw a circle on the parchment paper. Cut this out. Assemble the pan and spray the bottom and sides with a little pam. Put the parchment circle into the bottom.
Mix butter and vanilla wafers. Press mixture in to the bottom of a springform pan. Bake 15 minutes at 375, then remove and cool. Turn oven to 300.
Cream together cheese and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Beat until smooth.
Make a cover for the bottom of the springform pan with the aluminum foil, covering the entire pan so no water can get in. Put the pan into the waterbath.
Pour batter into the pan and place it and the waterbath into the oven. Pour and inch of water into the waterbath. Bake 1 hour. Turn oven off, but do not open the door. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional hour.
Remove Cheesecake from the oven and from the waterbath. Allow to continue cooling on the counter for one more hour.
Refrigerate 2-8 hours.
Run a knife around the edge of the pan to release the collar of the pan. After removing the collar invert the cake onto a cooling rack and remove the bottom of the pan and the parchment. Place the plate of your choice on the bottom of the cake and re-invert.
Variation:
Cheesecake Bites
Mix cheesecake batter as per above recipe, using only 3 eggs, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 pkg cream cheese, and 3 tsp vanilla. Line 2 dozen muffin tins with cupcake papers. Put one whole vanilla wafer in the bottom of each cup. Evenly divide the batter between the cups. Bake at 300 for 45 minutes.
You can decorate them afterward with a dollop of jelly or a squirt of chocolate sauce. We used to really like a candy called Swoops for this application. They were just the right sized and melted perfectly on top of the Cheesecake Bites. Since Trader Joe’s has come to town we can get something very similar. It looks like a chocolate potato chip.