The Most Amazing Cheesecake!

Who doesn't love a good cheesecake? I know I do. For some reason, cheesecakes are something I rarely bake. This holiday season, I wanted to make one for my niece as this is her favorite dessert!
This recipe was created by Susan Sugarman, former deputy food editor of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia. It was originally featured in the Martha Stewart 2002 Holiday Baking Special Issue, titled "Susan Sugarman's Cream Cheesecake". It was then featured in the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook under the title of "New York Style Cheesecake" (made with a chocolate cookie crust). Though not the healthiest dessert out there, it certainly is rich, creamy, and delicious!

The ingredients consist of seven, yes seven bars of cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla all baked atop a vanilla cookie crust! The finished cheesecake weighs about 3-4 lbs!!

Making the crust is simple. Cream together some butter & sugar, then add some egg yolks and vanilla. Press onto the bottom of a spring-form pan, and bake at 350 til it's golden brown.

Now beat all that wonderful cream cheese in a mixer until it's light and fluffy! Then on low speed, add a little flour and the sugar.

Add your 5 eggs, one at a time!

Next, on low speed, mix in the sour cream and add the vanilla.

Pour the batter on to the prepared crust in a spring-form pan that has been buttered on the sides! Place on a baking sheet and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 90 minutes, lower the temp to 325 and bake another 12-15 minutes until the center is set. Turn off the oven and let sit in the oven, with the door ajar, for another hour. This prevents the top from cracking.

I had about a cup of leftover cheesecake batter so I baked that in these small silicone fluted molds.

When the cheesecake is completely cooled, keep in the pan, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 6 hours or overnight. The remove the ring of the spring-form pan carefully. Cut, serve and enjoy!

I guess you can say I'm a "purist" as I like my cheesecake plain, without a topping.

Now I did find a variation of this Cheesecake Recipe online and you can find it here: New York-Style Cheesecake. This version uses 1 bar less cream cheese and the chocolate cookie crust. It also has an orange topping. This recipe, along with the recipe from the Baking Handbook also uses a water-bath to bake the cheesecake in. The original recipe does not use the water bath and I find it unnecessary.