Cheesecake lessons learned – Cheesecake Supreme

January 18, 2010

True to the lady’s promise, the cheesecake turned out beautifully.  The only problem is the 4 1/2 hours it ties up the oven, and the temptation you must fight to open the oven to check progress.  I used the K beater and low to medium-low speed to beat the ingredients, so did not incorporate a lot of air (as using the balloon beater had in the past).  I tried dropping the unbaked cake from an inch or two to get out any air bubbles as the cooking engineers recommended, but all that did was dislodge some of the crumb crust onto the top of the cake.  Fortunately, it was going to be covered.  I also ran a knife through the batter as they recommended, but since the batter didn’t move at all during baking, all that accomplished was a slightly uneven cake top.  (Had I known nothing would change, I would have smoothed the top.)

The cake needed another hour of cooling once out of the oven, so this is not a quick process, but I was delighted with the result.  Below is the recipe I used, having searched the Web for a recipe that would be rich, creamy, but not extraordinarily fattening.  I think it is about perfect, and my son-in-law gave it his approval. It came from Cheesecake Supreme Recipe

Photo Courtesy of BHG.com

Cheesecake Supreme

Ingredients

• 1-1/2 cups finely crushed graham crackers
• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 3 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 eggs, slightly beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel (optional)

Directions

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.For crust, in a bowl combine crushed graham crackers, walnuts, the 1 tablespoon sugar, and, if desired, the cinnamon. Stir in melted butter. Press the crumb mixture onto the bottom and about 2 inches up the sides of an 8- or 9-inch springform pan; set aside.
3.For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, the 1 cup sugar, the flour, and vanilla with an electric mixer until combined. Beat in milk until smooth. Stir in eggs and, if desired, lemon peel.
4.Preheat oven to 350 degrees, put the cake in the oven, and immediately turn the heat to 250 degrees.
5.Bake 1 and 1/2 hour — turn oven off and leave in oven for at least three hours without opening the door.
6. Remove from oven and continue to cool. When completely cooled, refrigerate or freeze.

In the kitchenware store they had about a 6″ springform pan that I am going to buy, since the more cheesecake I make, the more we will eat and that will not help George’s diet.