Рецепт Lemon Cheesecake – Another Best, Really.
by Barbara Kiebel

After another week of making what I consider the ‘best of’ something this month I have to wonder what has come over me. I did not set out to do a ‘Best of’ series but it’s happened nonetheless. Maybe it’s the bit of melancholy I feel in the fall that has me thinking of foods that I love? I really don’t know but think I will plan ahead and devote the last Monday of the month to a recipe from my archives that I’ve always thought the best and include a list of links to others I’ve seen during the month that I have found especially appealing. I so often make something new…this will force me to revisit some old favorites that might be feeling a bit taken for granted.

It’s been fun. I’ve also noticed that each of my best of have such different histories for me. The Smashed Potatoes were a conglomeration of the best way I like to make potatoes happily combined with the newness of adding goat cheese. The Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies were something totally new that I tried that turned out to be the best doggone chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had. Since this effort was not intentional this month, I didn’t do a best of post when I visited 303 Distillery but I can honestly say it was the best time I’ve ever had on a distillery visit!

So on this last Monday of September, not wanting to disappoint, I’ve included what I consider the BEST cheesecake recipe ever. The original recipe comes from one of my favorite cookbooks, Colorado Cache, from the Junior League of Denver. It was given to me as a housewarming gift 25 years ago by my neighbor Pat who was a contributing member. It has never failed me and I’ve many favorites from this book. It has been loved so much so that my first copy, a spiral bound version, had to be replaced. Maybe not known to you, but when I went to the market for ingredients on Saturday, a woman noticed it in my basket and even came up to show me a couple of her favorites!

What makes this cheesecake so special? Well, for one thing, it tastes like cheesecake. Not Snickers or Turtles or Whoppers or any of the multitudes of conglomerations I’ve seen done to cheesecakes. Even seeing photos of some of those make my teeth hurt! I won’t call this a New York cheesecake for I’m not the judge of that but I will say that I love the rich cheese flavor combined with a touch of lemon. Simple, beautiful and simply the best I’ve ever had! Add some strawberries or raspberries and it’s an elegant and special dessert.

One reason I love it even beyond the luxurious taste? See that top after it’s been taken out of the oven? Not one crack in site. No hot water bath either. And then, as if there were a flaw to disguise, a sweetened layer of sour cream is baked on for 5 minutes and then it’s topped with a glaze of lemon. Perfect with berries. No candy required!

My ONLY revision to this perfect recipe should not be too surprising to those that know me. Wanting to have the top be yellow to reflect the lemon color I pondered what I could add. I have food coloring, sure but then I had a brainstorm. Limoncello! I simply substituted half of the water with 1/4 cup Limoncello! Perfect. This dessert is going to be my contribution to a party for the premier of Pan Am on television last night.

My friend Kim was a flight attendant for Pan Am back in their heyday; she invited some of her cohorts from then to join her and other friends for the premier. I got such a kick out of the Pan Am shrine with uniforms and photos and I’ll soon be doing a post with photos of those and a sample from the menu Kim made that was reminiscent of what they served to passengers then. Before anyone had a clue what the letters TSA stood for…ahh, those really WERE the days! I offered to bring dessert and we thought this cheesecake would fit in fine from that era. The real beauty of it…I think it’s just as current for today!

Lemon Cheesecake – Another Best, Really.

A large and luscious cheesecake with just the perfect touch of lemon.

Ingredients

For the Crust:

2 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 25 single crackers, crushed)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons melted butter
For the Filling:
3 8·ounce packages cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
For the Sour Cream Topping
1 pint sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
For the Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water (I substituted 1/2 cup Limoncello for the water but it's optional. I also ended up adding just a touch of lemon paste color. )
2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preparation

Prepare the Crust:

Combine cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into bottom and 1/2" up sides of an 11 to 12 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Cool before adding filling.

Make the Cheesecake:

Beat cream cheese with electric mixer at high speed until completely smooth.

Add eggs, one at a time, beating until smooth after each addition.

Continue to beat, gradually adding 1 1/3 cups sugar, then lemon juice and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Stir in lemon rind.

Pour into cooled crust and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

Blend sour cream topping ingredients.

Remove cake from oven. Gently spread sour cream over top of cake. Return to oven and bake about 12 minutes.

Cool on rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until topping is cool but not completely chilled.

Make glaze by combining sugar and cornstarch, blending in water and lemon juice until smooth. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, until thickened. Cook 3 minutes. Chill until cool but not set.

Spread top of cheesecake with lemon glaze. Chill several hours or overnight. Can also be frozen.

Notes

This recipe calls for a rather large springform pan; if your pan is smaller in diameter than your baking time will need to be adjusted accordingly.

2.0

http://www.creative-culinary.com/2011/09/lemon-cheesecake-with-graham-cracker-crust/

Рецепт Lemon Cheesecake – Another Best, Really. by Barbara Kiebel

Рецепт Lemon Cheesecake – Another Best, Really.
by Barbara Kiebel