Classic New York Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a dessert of American and European cuisine, which has become mega popular in recent years. There are a lot of varieties and recipes for making cheesecake, perhaps the most famous is the classic New York cheesecake. Easy to prepare, suitable for a family dinner, a party with friends and a festive feast.

Cooking time: 60 minutes + 720 minutes for compaction.

Servings: 12.

Calories: 180.

Ingredients

For the base:

• cookies - 280 g;
• walnuts - 100 g;
• butter - 120 g.

Filling products:

• cream cheese - 400 g;
• eggs - 2-3 pieces;
• powdered sugar - 150 g;
• lemon juice - 1 tbsp. (½ piece);
• lemon zest - 1 lemon;
• starch - 2 tbsp;
• sour cream (20% or more) - 200 g;
• cream (35%) - 150 g;
• vanilla - to taste and desire.

To make homemade cream cheese:

• kefir (2.5 - 3.2%) - 2 liter.

• the presence of lemon notes in the dessert - at personal request.

Cooking

1. To make a classic New York cheesecake, we need cream cheese. Cream cheese can be bought at the store, it can also be prepared at home from ordinary kefir.

2. To do this, put kefir in the freezer at night, and in the morning put it on a colander covered with gauze.

3. When the kefir thaws, its structure will be homogeneous, we will only need to install a weight to compact the structure of the cheese. After a few hours, homemade cream cheese is ready.

4. We prepare the products for the base of the cheesecake according to the list.

5. Grind the cookies into crumbs, you can do this in any convenient way. With a rolling pin, food processor, pusher, etc.

6. We dry the walnuts in a dry frying pan, the nuts should become brittle and fragrant.

7. Let them cool down a bit and chop finely with a knife.

8. Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove.

9. Pour chopped nuts into the cookie crumbs, mix. Add melted butter to dry ingredients. Mix the mass until smooth.

10. We prepare a detachable form for a biscuit. Cover the bottom with baking paper.

11. Pour two-thirds of the crumbs into the mold and distribute along the bottom of the mold, compact with an even glass. The rest of the crumbs form the sides of the form. The base for the cheesecake is ready, put the form in the freezer, and at this time we prepare the filling.

12. We prepare products for the filling according to the list.

13. Before cooking, we drive the eggs into a separate bowl to check their quality, and to avoid getting the shell into the mass of the filling.

14. We will mix the filling with a whisk, in this case it is better not to use a mixer and a blender, since the structure of the cheesecake should be smooth, dense and without air. Add the icing sugar to the cream cheese bowl and mix with a whisk. Once the cream cheese has combined with the powdered sugar, add the sour cream. Also mix well. Next, we send heavy cream to the mass of the filling, mix the mass until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, mix thoroughly. In order to prevent the filling from cracking during baking, add a couple of tablespoons of corn starch to the mass. Add lemon juice and zest to so that the taste of eggs is not felt in baking. If desired, add vanillin to the filling. Cheesecake filling is ready.

15. We take out the mold with the base for the cheesecake from the freezer, it is well frozen. Immediately fill it with curd filling. The form should be scrolled several times to get rid of air bubbles.

16. We put a baking sheet with water on the bottom of the oven, since the dessert is baked in a “steam bath”, we heat the oven to t-180⁰ C.

17. Bake dessert at this temperature for half an hour (30 minutes). After half an hour, we reduce the heating temperature to t-150⁰ C, continue baking for another half hour. Next, turn off the heat in the oven, but do not get the dessert. The cheesecake should remain in the oven until completely cooled, this will take three to four hours.

18. Remove the cooled dessert from the oven and send it to the refrigerator for six to eight hours. During this time, the cheese mass will settle and thicken.

19. Before removing the cheesecake from the mold, circle the sides with a knife to make sure that the base will not be damaged. We shift the New York cheesecake to a dish, decorate as you wish and prefer. We garnished with mint leaves.

Cut the cheesecake with a hot knife, rinse the knife with boiling water.

We pour coffee and call everyone to the table.

Classic New York cheesecake can be served with salted caramel or your favorite jam.