Cheesecake

I’ve used this recipe few times , and i think it’s one of the best cheesecake recipe out there . I never failed making this , even the very first time making it few years ago . So , couple of nights ago , i was looking for something to do , it was a busy day but , for some reason i just wanted to keep going and going .. yes , it’s like that energizer bunny .. LOL . Originally i was going to make Chocolate Babka .. but then my son said , why not cheesecake . I thought .. sure , why not cheesecake ?? Got everything on hand .. and there i was starting making the cheesecake , until i realized , i did not have enough sour cream !! I ended up replacing it with yogurt , and the only yogurt i have in the fridge was , low fat vanilla yogurt . I was worried that the cheesecake will not turn out right .. but i did it anyway .. And guess what ? it turned out delicious .. in fact i am going to do it this way from now on , using half sour cream and half vanilla yogurt . I also used the topping from the strawberry jam that i made last week , i warmed up the jam for just 20 seconds in the microwave , it turned out just perfect !! Great cheesecake !!

You will need :

For the crust :

about 2 cups of graham crackers , maybe about 30 squares , put it in the food processor until it becomes a very fine crumbs

1 stick of unsalted butter , melted

Mix these ingredients together in a medium bowl , with a fork until mix well . Spray 9 inch spring form pan with cooking spray , and then pour the crust mixture into the pan , press with your hand or bottom of a glass or cup to cover the pan and all the way up about 1 inch to the side , evenly .

Refrigerate , while you prepare the filling .

The filling :

2 of 8 oz cream cheese, room temperature

3 eggs

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup of low fat organic vanilla yogurt

good dash of vanilla extract

zest from 1 lemon ( optional)

In a mixer bowl , mix the cream cheese until smooth about 1 minute . No lumps , then add the egg one at a time , mix well each time , scrape off the side . Add the rest and do the same . Add the sugar , mix well for about 2 minutes , medium speed . Add lemon zest , vanilla extract and sour cream and yogurt . Mix well , scrape off the side , do not overbeat . Pour into the crust . Wrap the bottom of the pan securely with heavy duty foil . You will need a roasting pan , place the pan that has been wrapped with the foil into the roasting pan . Fill up with boiling water , half way to the side of the pan . Bake at 325 F , for 55 minutes ( each oven is different , you might want to check after 50 minutes , do not overbake , your cheesecake should be jiggle still ) It will get better once it’s refrigerated overnight .

Serve as is , or you can use strawberry topping . My strawberry topping recipe is taken from the strawberry jam recipe . I just had to warm up the jam to make it runnier .