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Last week our younger daughter turned sixteen. Her requested birthday menu was a great example of how things change and yet stay the same. The now 16 year old is the same daughter that used to be vegetarian. Having returned to the the omnivore’s world over a year ago, her requested dinner was hamburgers, with avocado and bacon, and homemade french fries.
She did have some consistency to her dessert request. This year she requested cheesecake, much like she did four years ago. The cheesecake request did change slightly; it didn’t include chocolate. I checked with her to be sure. No chocolate swirl? No chocolate chips? The answer was the same, “Plain cheesecake, but not ricotta style.”
Thus, I made one large cheesecake for all to share. However, I knew that some sort of topping would be requested when the cheesecake was served. So, for the chocolate fans there was hot fudge, and for the non-chocolate fans there was blueberry sauce. And of course, there was whipped cream to decorate everyone’s plate.
This cheesecake recipe is a nice blend of styles. It is slightly lighter than an all-cream cheese cheesecake but denser than a ricotta-based recipe, due to the addition of sour cream. That same ingredient also adds a nice tangy flavor to the dessert. For an indulgent dessert, this cheesecake is a must-try.
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 5 Tb. butter, melted
- 2 8-oz. packages cream cheese, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 cups sour cream
- 1-1/2 tsp. vanilla
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1/3 cup sugar, and butter in a small bowl. Stir until all crumbs are moistened. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray on sides and bottom.
- Pat crumb mixture evenly into bottom. Refrigerate.
- Preheat oven to 325. Place a kettle of water on stove to boil. Place cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer and beat with paddle attachment on low speed for 2 minutes.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute per egg. (Occasionally scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula, so that all of the batter is well mixed.)
- Add sugar, sour cream, and vanilla, and beat for an additional minute.
- Remove crust from refrigerator. Pour cheesecake batter into prepared springform pan. Wrap exterior of pan with foil, and place in roasting pan.
- Pour boiling water into roasting pan until water is halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake for an hour, or until only the center is jiggly.
- Allow to cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes. Transfer to refrigerator, and cool for at least 4 hours.
