New York Style Cheesecake

Rich. Creamy. Velvety. Three words typically used to describe a northern dessert staple: Cheesecake. A cheesecake consists of a crust, most often chocolate or graham cracker, and a custard-like filling which can be a variety of flavors. New York cheesecake keeps it simple, traditionally only being made with a few quality ingredients and no fancy flavorings, including sour cream, cream cheese, and heavy cream. Cheesecake has been around for centuries, and continues to be a sweet treat that never gets old. It is documented in the first century a.d. in Rome. Back then it was called libium, and only had three or four ingredients: cheese, flour, eggs, and sometimes honey. There have been restaurants created around this specialty, specifically the Cheesecake Factory, a wildly popular national chain, now serving multiple flavors daily, including traditional New York cheesecake. New York Style cheesecake can be found in many companies around Atlanta, such as the Atlanta Cheesecake Company and Southern Sweets Bakery. Cheesecake is an extremely versatile dessert to which multiple flavorings and toppings can be added. For example, at Vinny's on Windward in Alpharetta, Georgia, a lemon-ricotta cheesecake is served in an almond shortbread crust. or try the pumpkin cheesecake at Pricci. It is glazed with bittersweet chocolate and candied hazelnuts.
For a classic New York Style Cheesecake:

Cake:

6 large eggs
1 1/2 C sugar
2 lbs. (four 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, preferably Kraft's Philadelphia brand
1/2 pint sour cream
1/2 pint heavy cream
juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 heaping Tablespoons flour

Crust:

1 1/2 C crushed vanilla wafers (you can also use crushed graham crackers, or digestive biscuits)
6 Tablespoons melted butter
1/2 C sugar

Preheat oven to to 425°.

Add eggs, sugar, cream cheese, sour cream, heavy cream, lemon juice, vanilla, and flour to mixer. Beat (on low to to low-medium speed) thoroughly, until completely smooth.

While cake mixture is beating, make the crust.

Mix crust ingredients together in small mixing bowl. Pour into 9" spring form pan, pressing into place with your fingers or the back of a spoon. Chill in refrigerator for 15 minutes.

When crust is cool, and cake is thoroughly mixed, pour batter into the pan over the back of a big spoon, so the batter does not disturb the crust. Let it rest for 5 or 10 minutes.

Bake in 425° oven for 15 minutes. Then turn oven down to 275° and bake for 1 hour. Turn off oven. Do not open the oven door for 2 hours! After the 2 hours are up, remove cake and refrigerate.