Classic New York Cheesecake

To make a classic New York cheesecake, we need cream cheese. Cream cheese can be bought in the store, or it can be made at home from regular kefir.

For this, place kefir in the freezer overnight, and in the morning, lay it out on a sieve lined with cheesecloth.

When the kefir thaws, its structure will be homogeneous; we just need to place a weight on top to compact the cheese structure. After a few hours, the homemade cream cheese is ready.

Prepare the ingredients for the cheesecake crust according to the list.

Crush the cookies into crumbs, which can be done in any convenient way. Using a rolling pin, food processor, potato masher, etc.

Toast the walnuts in a dry skillet until they become crumbly and fragrant.

Let them cool slightly and finely chop with a knife.

Melt the butter in the microwave or on the stove.

Add the chopped nuts to the cookie crumbs and mix. Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients. Mix the mass until homogeneous.

Prepare a springform pan for the cake. Line the bottom with baking paper.

Pour two-thirds of the crumb mixture into the pan and spread it evenly across the bottom, compacting it with a flat glass. With the remaining crumbs, shape the edges of the pan. The crust is ready; place the pan in the freezer while we prepare the filling.

Prepare the filling ingredients according to the list.

Before preparing, crack the eggs into a separate bowl to check their quality and avoid shells getting into the filling.

We will mix the filling using a whisk; it's better not to use a mixer or blender in this case to avoid incorporating air bubbles, as the cheesecake should be smooth, dense, and free of air pockets. In a bowl with cream cheese, add powdered sugar and mix with a whisk. As soon as the cream cheese combines with the powdered sugar, add the sour cream. Mix thoroughly. Next, add the heavy cream to the filling mass and mix until homogeneous. Add the eggs one by one, mixing thoroughly. To prevent cracking during baking, add a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch to the mixture. Lemon juice and zest are added to prevent an eggy taste in the bake. If desired, add vanilla powder to the filling. The filling is ready.

Remove the crust from the freezer; it is well set. Immediately fill it with the cheese filling. The form should be gently rotated a few times to eliminate air bubbles.

Place a baking tray with water on the bottom of the oven, as the dessert is baked in a 'water bath'; preheat the oven to 180°C.

We bake the classic New York cheesecake at this temperature for half an hour (30 minutes). After half an hour, we reduce the heating temperature to t-150⁰ C and continue baking for another half hour. Then we turn off the heating in the oven, but do not take out the dessert. The cheesecake should remain in the oven until it is completely cool, which will take three to four hours.

We take the cooled dessert out of the oven and send it to the refrigerator for six to eight hours. During this time, the cheese mass will settle and become denser.

Before removing the cheesecake from the mold, the edges should be run around with a knife to ensure that the base will not be damaged. We transfer it to a plate, decorate it as desired and preferred. We decorated it with mint leaves.

The cheesecake should be cut with a hot knife; the knife needs to be rinsed with boiling water.

We pour coffee and call everyone to the table.

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