Cheesecake

So, we have discussed starting a baking blog for at least a year now, but it never went any further than drunken musings of our confectionary adventures catapulting us into fame and fortune. Clearly that isn't going to happen, but we do like to bake and this blog gives us a reason to do it more often. While we have both independently baked a myriad of different desserts we are going to start with the basics and hone our "talent" into genuine "skill." Or we will develop diabetes and spend a lot of money to cover our kitchens with sugar and flour. Either way is cool.

As this is our first post we are going to start with the basics. After scouring the internet for recipes and reading hundreds of user reviews, we think we have come up with the best recipe and technique for making the perfect cheesecake. Oh yeah, this is just as presumptuous as it sounds. So here goes...

CHEESECAKE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Crust

• 2 cups graham crackers (1 1/2 packages)
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 5 tbsp unsalted butter
• pinch salt

Filling

• 2 pounds cream cheese (4 boxes)
• 1 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2/3 cup heavy whipping cream

Plain Topping

• 2 cups sour cream
• 1/4 cup granualated or powdered sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.


CRUST

Crush the graham crackers until you get 2 cups of crumbs. A food processor works, but we did it the old fashioned way with a ziploc bag and a rolling pin. Combine the graham cracker crumbs with the salt, sugar and butter until coated. Place crumbs evenly on the bottom of the pan and press down to create a sturdy layer. Place crust in oven for 10 minutes. Remove and let cool. Reduce oven temperature to 325.



FILLING

In a bowl or mixer, beat the cream cheese until creamy. Add sugar, beat until incorporated. Add salt and vanilla, beat until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each egg. Add sour cream, beat until incorporated. Add whipping cream, beat until just incorporated. Do not overmix after adding the whipping cream or the filling will puff up while baking and then sink as it cools, looking less than snazzy. Pour filling into the pan once the crust has cooled to about room temperature.

BAKING

Place in oven with a water bath to avoid burning and to keep the top of the cheesecake even. There are a couple options with the water bath. You can place the springform pan directly into a larger pan with water, but with this method you would have to put aluminum foil in the springform pan prior to adding the crust and whatnot to ensure that water doesn't get into the pan. That's too much of a pain in the ass for us, so we did it by placing the cake on the middle rack. Then put a cookie sheet with water on the rack underneath it. It works the same without the hassle. Bake for 1 hour.

Turn off oven and crack open the door. Let the cheesecake cool as the oven cools so that the top surface doesn't crack. This takes roughly an hour. Cover the cheesecake with aluminum foil or saran wrap and let cool in refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.

Top the cheesecake with the sour cream mixture, if desired. Mix the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. That's it! This is our super sexy, perfect cheesecake.

Phew! We are blogging virgins no more!  We hope you enjoy the recipe and try it out for yourselves. If not, enjoy staring at our dessert, voyeurs! Hopefully we'll get the hang of this shizz and have a new post soon. Any suggestions? Chocolate cake? Tiramisu? Feel free to comment...and we'll feel free to veto any jerky comments. Toodles!