How do you do cheesecake?

Answer 1

OK, for what it's worth, here's my recipe, with all the details.
First of all, the eggs should be room temperature, as should the cream cheese.
You'll need a 12" springform pan (30 cm). Smaller won't work.
You'll also need to bake this the last thing at night because it cools in the oven overnight.
You can, if you want, put a pan of water in the oven while it bakes- not really necessary, though. If you do, put the pan of water on the bottom-most rack.
Crust:
Crush 16 Zwieback crackers, add 1/4 c. sugar, 1/4 t. cinnamon, 1/2 stick butter, 1/8 t nutmeg. Using a food processor works best.
grease springform pan, and press crushed mixture into pan- Freeze while you're doing the other thing.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Batter I:
beat 6 eggs (large, 7 if they're "regular") and 2 1/2 cups sugar.
beat slowly for a good while- about 10 mins. batter should feel slightly grainy to touch.
add 1 T vanilla and the juice of a lemon (2 if they're small).
add 1/4 c. flour + 2 T. flour. Beat this 10 minutes to stretch the flour.
add 1 t salt.
set aside.
Batter II:
mix 3 lbs of cream cheese (brand really doesn't matter- I've used cheap Sam's club 3 lb. sticks all the way up to Philadelphia and never really noticed any difference in taste).
Add 1/2 c heavy cream. If this consistency isn't fluffy, you may need to add up to 1/4 cup more cream.
Mix well.
Combine the two batters (having a kitchen aid mixer with two bowls is a real help for this). Mix well.
Pour batter into springform.
Put in middle rack on oven. Bake 10 mins at 350. Then reduce heat and bake and 325 for 50 mins. No peeking. Leave in the oven overnight.
In the morning:
remove cake from oven. preheat to 350 degrees again.
take 1 pt of sour cream- add 1/3 cup sugar, and a little of your favorite liquer (brandi, cointreau, chambord, or even whiskey). beat for a while. spread on top of cheesecake, bake 10 mins till sour cream is set.
Refrigerate for 6 hours or more. remove from springform, press zweiback crackers onto sides if you wish.
Use a large knife to cut this- warm knife in hot water and make thin slices. Each slice is more filling than you might realize- people can always come back for seconds.
This cake feeds one graduate statistics class of about 25 people comfortably- I also used to do a little (technically illegal) baking for a local restaurant- it was quite popular there.
It's never "cracked" on me- perhaps because of baking and cooling overnight and making sure the sides were well-greased.
For what it's worth-

Answer 2

NEW YORK CHEESECAKE
We find that different generations have different ideas about what a typical New York cheesecake is. To us, a New York cheesecake is high, firm, and dense, with a slightly lemony flavor. The Lindy's cheesecake in our January 1991 issue, adapted here for a simpler crust, is all of that. It's also a cake that keeps for up to two weeks and lends itself easily to flavor variations.

Active time: 45 min Start to finish:10 hr

click photo to enlarge
1 crumb-crust recipe, made with finely ground graham crackers
5 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla



Make crumb crust as directed in separate recipe. Preheat oven to 550°F.
Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, and zests with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.

Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until puffed. Reduce temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour more.

Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cooks' note:
@èeesecake keeps, covered and chilled, 2 weeks.

Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Gourmet
November 1999

Answer 3

It's not the easiest thing in the world, but it's also not the tuffest. First most important thing is that you need a "springform" pan to bake your cheesecake in. You can get them anywhere.

Answer 4

go to the grocery store and buy a mix, and there you go, follow the directions on the box

Answer 5

here is a recipe for No-bake cheescake
http://www.recipezaar.com/9243

Answer 6

Mount it and start thrusting.

Answer 7

I don't know, that should be illegal