New York Cheesecake

Hi.
Im back.
Sorry I haven't felt like cooking since I'm still not feeling 100% and I also had a doctor's ap. yesterday.

Cheesecake. Its amazing. Period.
Even though Im not a big fan of dairy, cheesecake is my favorite dessert, though I don't eat it often.
This is the only cheesecake recipe I have ever used and it's always a hit!
If you opened my cookbook  and turned to the cheesecake page, you would see 2 pages that has stains from the cheesecake batter and vanilla extract.

After baking, I use a measuring cup to press down the crust. Just to make sure the crust is compact.

Instead of doing the usual plain cheesecake, I chopped up 3.2 ounces of very good, very dark chocolate

 and layered it on the still warm crust. This way, the cheesecake will have a rich chocolate layer.

I generally use semi-sweet or dark chocolate because milk chocolate is usually too sweet for my taste, but use what you prefer.

This cheesecake recipe doesn't have a ton of sugar (Ive seen recipes with 2 cps!) and its very rich and creamy; so I like using a darker, less sweet chocolate to help cut the creaminess and add more flavor without being too sweet.

After cooling completely, remove the sides of the pan and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, but I tend to let it chill for about 8-12 hours.

Sorry, not the prettiest picture, but it tasted good :)

  

New York Cheesecake

Adapted from: Good Housekeeping Great American Classics Cookbook

Serves: 16

For the Crust: (makes 1- 9inch crust)

• 1 1/4 cp. graham-cracker crumbs (11 rectangular graham crackers)
• 5 tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Mix together the ingredients in a medium bowl.
3. In a 9 inch sping form pan, with a spoon, press the mixtue firmly into the bottom of the pan.
4. Bake for 10 minutes; cool on a wire rack.

Cheesecake:

• 3 pkg. (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened
• 3/4 cp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/4 cp. milk

I added: (optional)

• 3.2 oz dark chocolate- I used 70%

 1. Prepare the crust as directed, using a 9 inch spring form pan. Heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, with a mixer on medium speed, cream together the cream cheese and sugar until smooth and fluffy-about 3 minutes. Beat in the flour and vanilla until just combined. Reduce the speed to low and add in the eggs and egg yolk. Beat in the milk until just blended.

* I layer the chopped up (you could melt it ) chocolate pieces on top of the crust before adding the batter, but the chocolate is optional. The cheesecake is delcious with or without the chocolate layer.

3. Pour the batter in the pan. Bake until the egdes are set and the middle jiggles slightly, 55-60 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edge  to prevent cracking during cooling.

4. Cool cheesecake in pan on a wire rack for 1 1/2 hours before removing the sides. Refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours. Enjoy.


Other ways..

Marble Cheesecake: Melt chocolate of choice in a double boiler. After pouring the batter in the pan, dollop the chocolate in the batter and swirl using a butter knife.

Chocolate Cheesecake: Melt 6 oz of chocolate and let cool. Fold into the batter.

Not a fan of chocolate? Then use butterscotch chips,cinnamon chips, peanut butter, or caramel in place of chocolate.