Super-Simple Cheesecake

I happened to be in Brazil for my dad’s birthday and I wanted to make him a cake, but there was one big problem: he doesn’t really like cake. I wracked my brain for a cake that he’d actually get excited to eat and that’s when I thought of cheesecake, which literally doesn’t exist in Brazil. When I proposed it to my dad his eyes widened and his face lit right up! I knew I’d come up with the perfect cake for the occasion. Only problem was, I’d never made one before . . . and for some reason I was under the impression that cheesecake is hard to make. Add that to using foreign ingredients, in the metric system, in someone else’s kitchen, and you’ll probably get how nervous I was to try this. But I’m here to tell you it was totally easy and incredibly delicious! Read on for the recipe for this Simple Cheesecake and make it next time you want to wow someone.

There are two disclaimers I have to include before I go any further though:

1. This is not a cheap cake to make
2. You need a springform 9″ cake pan (I would assume that most people don’t own one of these)

That said, everything else about this cake is super easy. You do need to start the day before you want to eat it because it requires overnight refrigeration, but other than that small bit of planning everything else is completely straight forward. I found that the easiest way to get cookie crumbs was to put the cookies into a gallon-sized freezer bag and then smash the bag with a heavy jar. It did take longer than I expected but using the bag contained the mess very nicely!

I chose to shave chocolate on top but you can easily change that to some other topping, like something with strawberries or maybe caramel? Or just serve it plain with whipped cream on top . . . the options are endless. Enjoy!

Super-Simple Cheesecake
Adapted from Raspberry Cheesecake from foodnetwork.com

For the crust:

• 1.5 cups graham cracker or some other cookie crumbs
• 1 tbsp sugar
• 6 tbsp (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:

• 2.5 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1.5 cups sugar
• 5 whole extra-large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup sour cream (or you can substitute heavy cream if you don’t have sour cream on hand)
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract

For the topping:

• Good-quality chocolate bar, frozen

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For crust: Combine the cookie crumbs, sugar, and melted butter until moistened. Pour into a 9-inch springform pan. Press mixture into the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool to room temperature.

Raise oven to 450 degrees. For filling: Beat the cream cheese and sugar in an electric mixer, using paddle attachment, on medium-high speed until light and fluffy (appox. 5 minutes). Reduce speed to medium and add the eggs and egg yolks, 2 at a time, mixing well. Scrape down the bowl and beater as necessary. With the mixer on low, add the sour cream, lemon zest, and vanilla. Mix thoroughly and pour into the cooled crust.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn the oven down to 225 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes more. Turn the oven off and open the door wide. The cake will not be completely set in the middle. Leave the cake in the open oven for 30 minutes. Then cool cake at room temperature for 2-3 hours until completely cool. Wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Carefully run a knife around the outside of the cake to release it from the pan. Remove the cake from the pan, leaving the bottom of the springform pan for serving.

To make the chocolate shavings, use a paring knife to shave strips off the end of the chocolate bar as if you were peeling an apple. You can do this directly onto the cake and use as much chocolate as you like.