Cheesecake

Cheesecake                                    3 skill level 

1 1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup butter, melted

3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup milk

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1. Preheat oven to 375. For crust, in a medium bowl stir together crushed graham crackers and 1/3 cup sugar. Stir in melted butter. Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of an 8-or9- inch springform pan (page 458). Place the crust-lined springform pan on a double layer or 18x12 inch heavy-duty aluminum foil. Bring edges of foil up and mold around sides of pan to form a watertight seal (below).

2. For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, the 1 cup sugar, the flour, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in milk until smooth. Stir in eggs (below). Pour into crust-lined pan. Place in a roasting pan and pour enough hot water around pan to reach halfway up the sides (below). Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes for the 8-inch pan (35-40 minutes for the 9-inch pan) or until edges of cake are set but center jiggles a bit when pan is gently shaken. Turn oven off and let cheesecake sit in oven for 1 hour. 

3. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Using small sharp knife, loosen the crust from sides of pan (below); cool of 30 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan; cool cheesecake completely on rack. Cover and chill for at least 4 hours before serving. Makes 12 slices. 

Per slice: 405 cal, 27 total fat (16g sat. fat), 129 mg chol, 282 mg sodium, 34g carbo, 0g fiber, 7 g pro. 

Recipe comes from Better Homes and Gardens: Anyone Can Cook pages 458-461

This was my first time making a homemade cheesecake and using this recipe was super easy and I will definitely use it again. It was my first time also using a springform pan and I loved it! It makes the cheesecake perfectly round when you take it out of the oven and easy to cut when you are ready to eat it. I will never make a box cheesecake again! 

Picture 1: Crust finished and in the springform pan.

Picture 2: Cheesecake all put together and in the springform pan with the water in the roasting pan.

Picture 3: All the ingredients for the cheesecake. 

Picture 4: Finished product

Some may ask why bake cheesecake in a bath? A water bath, or what the French call a bain-marie, keeps the cheesecake from cracking or curdling. Leaving it for an hour in the turned-off oven helps in the same way by allowing it to gently finish cooking.