Craig Claiborne's Cheesecake
It is necessary to habe a powerful mixer to beat the cream cheese adequately: now's the time to invest in a Kitchen Aid K5A!
The other requirement is two cheesecake pans: an 8" inner pan with 3" sides and a 10" outer pan also with 3" sides to make a bain marie.
I've won a bet which required me to make this in 20 minutes from a clean kitchen!
- the finely grated rind of 1 lemon
- 3 Tbsp of lemon juice (same lemon!)
- 2 lbs cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Butter the inside of the inner pan very thoroughly (else the cake will stick and not rise properly).
- Place the lemon rind in the lemon juice to soak.
- In a mixer, beat the cheese while adding the sugar and vanilla, which will soften the cheese a bit. The cheese should be very thoroughly beaten until absolutely smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating only enough to incorporate. Add the lemon rind and juice.
- Pour the batter into the buttered inner pan, put 1" of boiling water into the outer pan and then add the inner pan. The water must come at least half-way up the inner pan. Bake for 1 1/2 hours. The cake will rise almost 2" above the top of the iner pan. Remove and place on a rack to cool. The cake will shrink.
- When cool, invert the cake over a place. If the cake is cool and the pan was buttered, the cake iwll come out cleanly; otherwise, repair it. Sprinkle the graham cracker crumbs evenly over the bottom of the cake and invert again onto a serving plate. Cover the cake with the topping either now or when first serving it. Refrigerate at least 5 hours. Serve cold. The cake is best cut with a knife dipped in hot water. Freezes perfectly.
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