New York-Style Cheesecake
Definitely the best cheesecake I have ever tasted, a perfect balance between the generous, melt-in-your-mouth filling and the sugary, crunchy crust. The French version of this recipe calls for LU Thé biscuits - not the most traditional ingredient for a New York-style cheesecake, but if you can find them, their orange blossom water flavour actually compliments the filling very nicely.
Serves 8 to 10 - The cheesecake can be stored up to three days in the fridge.
Preparation time : 25 mn - Cooking time : 1 hour to 1h30 - Refrigeration time : 4 hours
Difficulty : *
Baking equipement needed :
- one food processor
- one 22 cm/ 9 inch spring-form cake tin
Ingredients :
For the crust
- 180 g sweet wholemeal biscuits (e.g., Graham Crackers, Digestives), crushed
- 20 gr caster (superfine) sugar
- 90 g unsalted butter, melted
For the filling
- 540 g plain cream cheese, softened ( Philadelphia)
- 80 g caster (superfine) sugar
- 80 gr icing (powdered) sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 40 g plain (all -purpose) flour
- 355 gr/ 36 cL sour cream (30% dairy fat)
- 5 eggs
- 1 yoke
- ½teaspoon natural vanilla extract
- Prepare the crust. Grease the base and side of a 22 cm (9 inch) spring-form cake tin. In convection mode (not fan), preheat the oven to 180⁰C (350⁰F/Gas 4).
- In a food processor, mix the crushed biscuits, sugar and melted butter together, then spread this mixture over the base, pressing it down well with your fingertips or a spoon.
- Place in the oven and bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until slightly golden. The crust shouldn’t be rock hard but still soft to the touch.
- Take the crust out of the oven and raise the temperature (still in convection mode) to 225°C (440°F/Gas 8).
- Prepare the cheese filling. Using an electric mixer or food processor, combine the filling ingredients in the order they are listed, until smooth.
- Grease the side of the tin once again, so that the filling won’t stick.Pour over the crust.
- Place one or two small ramequins filled with water in the oven. This will keep the oven moist and prevent cracking, without the need for a bain-marie.
- Bake for 10 minutes. Without opening the oven, lower the temperature to 100°C (250°F/Gas 1) and cook for another for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes or so. You can place some aluminium foil over the cake when the filling is golden if you want to leave the cake a little longer. The cheesecake is done when golden, the centre should still be a little bit wobbly. (If you have a thermometer, the temperature at the centre should be 65°C (150°F)
- Turn the oven off, crack the oven door open and let the cheesecake cool for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven and let cool for one hour.
- Refrigerate for at least 3 hours before serving.
(This recipe is adapted from Marc Grossman's Un Goûter à New York,, Hachette Livre, 2011.)
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