Cheesecake – NY style

I always use this basic cheesecake recipe and turns out well every time.

Lessons learned:
1) Crust- sometimes just use the graham crackers that are already ground up. You can buy that at the grocery store and I just use the recipe on the side of the box. Saves a little bit of time from having to crush the graham crackers. I put the crust in the fridge while I make the batter for the cheesecake. Recipe I used: 2 cups graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup melted butter, and 2 Tablespoons white sugar
2) Cream cheese and eggs should be at room temperature. (last made cheesecake- left eggs and CC at RT for 3 hours). To quickly bring it to room temperature, you can also microwave the cream cheese and put the eggs in a warm water bath. For the cream cheese- I take it from the fridge and microwave 2 eight oz packages for 35 seconds. Then repeat with the other 2 eight oz packages. It's important that cream cheese and eggs are at room temperature to mix in the batter.
3) Add eggs 1 at a time, and try not to overbeat. This will help prevent air bubbles from getting in.
4) When you bake- important to bake in a water bath, and then after it bakes, turn off oven and just leave the cheesecake in there. I usually let the cheese cake rest in there for 1-2 hours (usually 2 hours), with door closed, then take it out to cool at room temp. this helps prevent cracking. I also wrap the cheese in 3 layers of tin foil to prevent water from getting into the cheesecake from the water bath. Sometimes find water still seeps into my springform pan- but maybe that’s just my pan!

Chantal's New York Cheesecake (from allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:

• 15 graham crackers, crushed
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (I tried cheesecake with Koger cream cheese and the batter seed lumpier than using Philadelphia cream cheese)
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3/4 cup milk
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch springform pan.
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of springform pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.