New York Cheesecake

WOW.. this was my very first time making a cheesecake. Hubby wanted cheesecake for his b-day so I went in search and found this recipe. I must say that I've been intimidated with the thoughts of making a cheesecake in regards to whether or not to use a water bath & how long to cook it, but after some research I found that the reason why this recipe does not call for a water bath is because of the flour. Cheesecakes with cornstarch or flour added to the batter do not crack as easily from overbaking. The starch molecules will actually get in between the egg proteins preventing them from over-coagulating. No over-coagulating, no cracks!! So I did as the recipe stated & only put it in a pan therefore no cracks. The only things I did differently was to not add the lemon because I had none & after it was done baking I left it in the oven to cool. PERFECTION!!

DH wanted cheesecake for his birthday so I found this recipe. I have never made real cheesecake before but this turned out great! Based on previous reviews I did use a water bath. Did not have a lemon, so I used 1 T lemon juice. Added 1/2c.sugar to 3 cups graham cracker crumbs for the crust. Served with blueberry pie filling. My only "complaint" is that it was so rich that I had to freeze half of it so we didn't eat it all at once. I sliced it and froze the slices wrapped in plastic wrap to be defrosted individually.

This cheesecake is amazing. If your cheesecake didn’t turn out, it’s not this recipes fault. I followed the instructions almost exactly and got a perfect cheesecake. Make sure your cream cheese is at room temp, only mix until creamy, over mixing will cause cracking. I usually only use an electric mixer for the cream cheese and sugar and then do the rest of the mixing with a wooden spoon or sometimes a whisk. The only thing I did differently is baked it for about an hour and fifteen minutes and then just turned off my oven amd left the door closed for about 30 min then opened the door, slid a knife around the edges to prevent sticking when it shrinks and let it sit for about 2 hours in the warm oven before putting it in the fridge. Sudden temperature changes can cause cracking as well. It was so good. I drizzled white chocolate on top. I think next time I will do a little bit more crust for my personal taste but it was delicious the way it is.

I found the perfect cheesecake with this one and need to look no further! I can't believe I actually made a cheesecake of this quality. It's at least as good as any professionally-produced cakes I've ever had. Five stars is not enough. I used three cups of graham cracker crumbs but thought the crust was too thick so I'll use two cups next time. Also used the water bath and it baked nearly 2 hrs. I let it cool off by taking it out of the water bath and leaving the oven door ajar. No cracking--lightly browned on top and simply perfection! Thanks Bev.

To say this recipe is outstanding is a huge understatement. I made this last night and let is 'season' overnight in the fridge. I used 1 tsp. of vanilla bean paste (to get the flecks in the cake) and 1/2 tsp. of real vanilla. I also doubled the crust as it did not appear 2 cups would be enough from other reviews - and I am glad I did! The crust came all the way up the side of the pan. I baked at 325 for 1 hr. 45 mins. in a water bath and then opened the oven door, turned the oven off and let it cool there - no cracks!!! I topped this beauty the next day with Kittencal's Delicious Skillet Apples and a slight drizzling of caramel topping. Thanks for posting - this was a remarkably easy cheesecake with stunning results!!