One of the family traditions when I got married was to have New York Cheesecake for breakfast on Christmas morning. My mother in law would make a cheesecake for her house and the sons' families that lived close. She had found a recipe in a Family Circle magazine 40 years earlier and had made the cheesecake as a special sweet treat just for Christmas. It was honestly a task she looked forward to each year.
I had wanted to be the one to make the cheesecake for my family but I didn't have one of the necessary requirement- a spring form pan. In fact, I really wasn't sure what one looked like and exactly where I would buy one. Until one day I ran across a set of three spring form pans for a steal $12.99. I scooped those up and was set to make the cheesecake.
I soon found out why the spring form pans were 3 for $12.99. There were flimsy and hard to make work. I would struggle getting the bottom with the cooked crust just right and fitted inside the sides. I would flip the spring back and forth, readjust the bottom layer in the fitted grove and finally, when I thought it was perfect, I'd pour the yummy filling (which is an investment with butter, 7 eggs and 5 cream cheese blocks) and bit would seep out and make streams of cheesecake all around. I would readjust and somehow I would make it work before I lost all of my filling. But not before my entire kitchen was covered with drips of cheesecake. If I had been Hansel and Gretel, I would be easy to locate because there was a path of cheesecake all over my kitchen. Making the cheesecake and cooking in these flimsy pans went on for years. And because of these flimsy pans, I would dread making the yummy Christmas tradition. I didn't share my mother in laws excitement and happiness about "the cheesecake."
This year while out shopping with my youngest daughter, I mentioned to her I wanted to try and find a better spring form pan for making the cheesecake. While I was in Belk, she surprised me with a find from TJ Maxx. A Cake Boss spring form pan. It wasn't flimsy at all. I couldn't believe the difference in the quality of material that went in to the pan. It was so sturdy and strong.
The following day was Christmas Eve and time to make the cheesecake. An added bonus to my being gone with my youngest daughter the day before was my oldest daughter had my kitchen spic and span and organized perfectly. It made the making of the cheesecake even easier with that done.
Following the recipe of old, I got the crust ready and rolled to the bottom of the pan. Popped that in the oven and began working on the filling. Finishing the filling the crust was ready and time to fit it to the spring form sides. Snap it went on easily. I poured my yumminess in the middle and no streams of filling poured onto the counter. It held it perfectly. I popped it into the oven and waited. What came out of the oven was a great present. A perfectly cooked cheesecake. It was the most beautiful cheesecake I had ever made.
Directions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Lightly coat a 10 inch springform pan
- To make the crust: Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 egg and 1/2 cup butter or margarine. Spread to the edges of the pan. Prick all over with a fork, then bake 15 minutes at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Allow to cool.
- Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, 1 3/4 cups sugar, 3 tablespoons flour, 5 eggs and the yolks and mix thoroughly. Add cream and mix only enough to blend.
- Pour filling over crust and bake for 10 minutes at 475 degrees F (245 degrees C). Reduce temperature to 200 degrees F (95 degrees C) and continue to bake for one hour. Turn oven off, but leave cake in for another hour. Don't worry if it looks a little jiggly in the center.
- Chill overnight. This is imperative! If desired, top with your favorite fruit or serve plain.
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