There has only been one time I’ve attempted to make a cheesecake. Yes, really! It was while I was dating the man who is now my husband. I had help making it too as I had never done it before and it seemed very involved. I somehow remember not liking the taste of it myself. So, 10 years pass and I all of a sudden get the desire to attempt another cheesecake.
I hate to admit it but we’ve just been buying that boxed, really easy, throw it in the fridge not really a “cake” stuff. It is a taste we both love but I thought it was time to revisit the cheesecake. Was I really missing out on a good thing? Well for one of course all the extra crap that is put into non homemade goodies.
I was a bit worried about all the “cracking” while it makes the cake look less pretty, it does not change the taste. So many recipes say all kinds of different stuff about keeping it in the oven to cool, baking it in water, refrigerating it for 7 hours or more before serving. The list goes on. There is no family recipe so I had to just choose and hope it tasted great.
I went with a plain cheesecake because I am picky, yup. Plus I did not have anything to throw on top of it. While the whole process was simple, I was unsure of the water bath baking, so this time I skipped doing that. It came out wonderful, even if it did have a few very ugly cracks on top of it. I think next time I will try a few different methods. It also did not want to cut as “pretty” as I had wanted it too, so I have some things to perfect. Do you have a favorite cheesecake recipe?
- 1½ cups Graham Crackers Crumbs
- 3 tablespoons Sugar
- ⅓ cup Butter, melted
- 4 packages (8oz) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, softened
- 1 cup Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla
- 4 Eggs
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, 3 tablespoons sugar, press into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
- Beat cream cheese, 1 cup sugar and vanilla till fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time. Do not over-work eggs.
- Pour over crust.
- Bake 55 minutes, till the center is almost fully set but has a little jiggle.
- Turn off oven and let cake cool before removing.
- Remove rim and refrigerate at least 4 hours.