New York Style Cheesecake

Cheesecake, cheesecake, cheesecake! Who doesn't love it? Plus, the possibilities are immense with cheesecake, not only with the style or type of cheesecake, but with the toppings as well.

I wont deny it, I am a fan of all cheesecakes. Basically, because I'm a lover of cheese. There isn't a cheesecake I've tasted that I didn't like.

Luckily, my brother always picks cheesecake for his birthday cake/pie. That way I have an excuse to make it and eat it. Hence, this recipe.

So, as I said, there are all kinds of cheesecake. I like to look at cheesecake as 3 different parts. The crust, the filling and the topping. Depending on the ingredients you use you can alter these parts from sweet to savory. I am a huge fan of just a general graham cracker crumb crusts with my cheesecakes, with a fruit topping. But, I've had cheesecake with a shortbread crust that was pretty amazing and the cheesecake I get asked to make the most has a gingersnap cookie crust. The toppings can range from just a fruit topping to sour cream flavored with vanilla/lemon.

In the U.S. we generally use cream cheese as our filling, in Italy they use ricotta and in Poland they use quark. All delicious. Also, in the U.S. we generally distinguish between two styles, New York and Philadelphia. New York style cheesecakes use heavy cream and sour cream to get that rich, dense consistency, whereas the Philadelphia style uses only eggs and cream cheese to get the lighter, richer flavor consistency.

This is probably the best recipe I have for New York Style Cheesecake. Basically, because it's no fail and you can tell that it's real home-made cheesecake with that rich, dense texture. Plus, it's not too sweet. It came off the back of a graham cracker crumb box.

What you'll need: graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, eggs and sour cream

You want to start by making the crust. Mix together graham cracker crumbs and 2 tbsp sugar. Add the butter and press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan, and about 2 inches up the side. Chill while making the filling.

Prepare filling by beating cream cheese until fluffy. Add remaining sugar (1-1/3 c), cornstarch, and vanilla. Mix until combined, then add eggs, one at a time. After every addition beat until just combined. Stir in sour cream. Pour into chilled crust.

Bake at 325 degrees F until center is almost set, about 75 mins. Allow to cool for at least 15 mins. before removing sides of pan. After removing pan bring to room temperature and then refrigerate 3 hours before serving.

Top with anything you like. Here, I used strawberry pie filling, quick and easy.

New York Style Cheesecake

2 c graham cracker crumbs

1/2 c butter, melted

2 tbsp + 1-1/3 c sugar

4-8 oz packages cream cheese, softened

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp vanilla

3 eggs

1 c sour cream