Cheesecake

My husband made cheesecake for his family on Christmas Eve. He has a large family so he made 3 cheesecakes. He was pretty much baking all morning. This is the best cheesecake ever!  I'm a cheesecake lover so it's not very hard to please me. But after trying this cheesecake I'm always disappointed by other cheesecakes. It's that good!  Cheesecake is always a little time consuming to make and I've heard a lot of people say they've made it and it hasn't turned out right. If you follow this recipe it will turn out great. It's so good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Printable Recipe

Cheesecake
adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Food Network

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling:
2 1/2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 whole eggs, at room temperature
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp grated lemon zest
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Topping:
frozen berries, thawed (any kind)
sugar to taste

Preheat oven to 350. To make crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. Using your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Increase oven to 450. To make filling, mix together cream cheese and sugar using a paddle attachment on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Reduce the speed of the mixer to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Reduce the mixer to low and add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix well and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 225 and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Let the cheesecake sit in the oven with the door open for 30 minutes. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let sit at room temperature for another 2-3 hours, until completely cooled. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

When ready to serve, remove the cheesecake from springform pan by carefully running a hot knife around the outside of the cake. To cut cake, make sure the knife is hot by running hot water over it. If the knife is cold it will tear the cake.

To make topping combine thawed berries and desired amount of sugar. Serve over cheesecake.

serves 12-15