Recipe adapted from Savor America by Williams Sonoma.
I really love this cookbook published by Williams Sonoma, the photography is excellent of course but what I loved the most was that it provided a lot of interesting background to many American classics. Anyways, this is a twist on classic New York cheesecake as it uses a chocolate graham cracker crust instead of the regular pastry crust however I prefer oreos to graham crackers so I used crushed oreos intead. The recipe called for vanilla beans in the filling but I skipped it as I don't really like the bold flavour of the beans. My regular readers will notice that I hardly bake but after baking my lemonade cookies earlier, I must have caught the baking bug.
Baking or rather making a cheesecake is a different feat altogether - if you type in 'tips for cheesecake' in google, you will be sure to find a long list of tips on how to achive the 'perfect' cheesecake, the most common objective is to achieve a cheesecake with zero cracks. The secret apparently to achieving that is strictly no overbeating of the cream cheese after the eggs have been added as the protein in the eggs will trap the air hence the cake will crack once it cools as the air tries to escape. I was delighted that being the novice baker that I am, my cheesecake DID NOT crack!
I would like to thank my assistant today - Jon (SS) as well for being exceedingly helpful in the kitchen and this post and cake is dedicated to him as he is probably the biggest cheesecake lover I know!
There seems to be endless debate as well on what really constitutes baking a New York cheesecake, so to err on the side of caution I must mention that this is probably a recipe adapted from baking the New York. I did not use a waterbath for my cheesecake as this recipe had flour in it. Flour or cornstarch is often used in cheesecake recipes to avoid overcoagulating of eggs which is the main cause of cracking.
After the cheesecake is done that is when the center still jiggles slightly when you shake (lightly!) the pan - turn of the oven but do not remove the cheesecake just yet and keep it in the cooling oven for another hour.
You will need:
A springform pan
Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/2 cups oreo cookie crumbs (about 20 cookies - remove the cream)
2 tbsps sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
2 pounds/ 1 kg cream cheese, at warm room temperature
2 tbsps all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs, at room temperature
Method:
For the crust:
1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees fahrenheit or 200 degrees celcius. Lightly butter a 9-inch springform pan - I was quite generous with the greasing of the pan to make sure that when the cheesecake cools (it will shrink) it can pull away from the sides of the pan easier.
2. In a bowl, combine cookie crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Stir until well blended and the crumbs are evenly moistened. Transfer the crumb mixture to the prepared springform pan or pans and press evenly ontol the bottom and about 1 1/2 inches up the sides of the pan. (You can use a flat-bottomed cup for this step.) Bake for 10 minutes. Transfer the baked crust to a rack and let cool completely. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees fahrenheit (150 degrees celcius).
For the filling:
1. Combine the cream cheese, flour and salt in a large bowl. Beat until smooth and fluffy, stopping frequently to scrape down the sides.
2. Add the sugar and sour cream to the cream cheese mixture and beat until well blended, again frequently scraping down the sides. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition until blended before adding the next egg. It is extremely important to make sure the mixture is well blended before adding the next egg. This is because eggs coagulate if overbeaten i.e. when there is air trapped in the batter which will cause cracks in the cheesecake. Pour the cheese mixture into the baked crust.
3. Bake for about 60-65 minutes. Try nudging the pan and the middle should jiggle slightly - remove the springform pan from the water bath and place the springform pan onto another rack in the oven. Remove the water bath carefully from the oven. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for another hour after turning off the oven.
4. Transfer the cheesecake (still in its' pan) to a rack and let cool for about 10 minutes, run a sharp knife around the edges and then let cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, preferably overnight.
New York Cheesecake Recipe
Wednesday, August 18, 2010 | Labels: American Food, Cakes, Desserts, Tea-time |
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Smoky Wok by Smoky Wok is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
Based on a work at www.smokywok.com.
6 comments:
What is the difference btw New York and Chicago Cheesecake? Sometimes I like the Japanese Cheesecake (soft and fluffy). So depending on mood of the day....:)
You have great photography! And your lovely photos are so inviting :)!
A cheesecake without cracks is a big deal. Congrats!
(man, it's been a while since I've had a real New York-style cheesecake).)
By the way, House of Annie has moved to its own domain, http://www.houseofannie.com. I'd appreciate it if you changed the link in your blogroll to point to the new site instead of http://chezannies.blogspot.com. Thanks!
TF - haha there seems to be so much debate..so I'm not sure myself..but my brother is the one who loves cheesecake me just so so haha
CG - thanks so much, yes, please have a slice :P
ny cheesecake is my fave! You're making me hungry :D
Nate - thanks! yes was very pleased there were no cracks..link updated
Wiffy - really? hehe thks
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