There are so many variations of baked cheesecakes- and I never tasted one I didn't like!... Mine is very basic and kinda like Nan's... 5 8oz. pkgs. cream cheese, a cup of sugar, half a dozen eggs, salt and vanilla (sometimes almond extract- sometimes lemon juice & lemon zest... I also will work ricotta or cottage cheese into it if I have some I need to get rid of) I use any number of various crusts from graham cracker to shortbread, to oreo, to cookie dough and even brownie batter. I sometimes use a water-bath, sometimes not.

I've even seen one cheesecake that was baked in a cooler oven, but then the kicker was, you shut the oven OFF and then leave the cheesecake in the oven overnight without ever opening the oven and losing the heat at all- not even once while it's actually baking! Strange, huh? (Nan- this is the recipe for the 'Double Musky's' Cheesecake in Girdwood, Alaska!)

Okay- just googled it... here's the recipe!

Double Musky Cheesecake

This is an easy recipe - if you do one thing that I have trouble convincing my cooks to do: refrain from opening the oven door. Ever. Don't check on the cheesecake; that's guaranteed to ruin it with cracks and shrinking. Just trust the recipe and you'll see how well it worked in the morning.

1 graham cracker crust
2# cream cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups sour cream
3 Tb lemon juice
1 Tb vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place cream cheese in mixer bowl, gradually adding sugar. Beat until well-creamed. Scrape sides often as you're mixing it. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat well after each egg. Add lemon juice, vanilla and sour cream and beat two more minutes until all ingredients are well-blended.

Pour into graham cracker crust in springform pan. Hold snap on pan firmly and bang bottom of pan very carefully on countertop to release the air in the mixture. Bake in preheated 325 degree oven for one hour.

Without opening the oven door, turn oven off and allow cake to cool inside the oven overnight. The next morning, remove from oven and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Thanks for sharing your recipes guys. I can't make up my mind which recipe to try first lol. Jon got me a springform pan a couple of days ago and I want to make my first cheesecake. Can you believe in two towns the only place we found a springform pan at was Krogers. They all said those pans have been selling like crazy since the holidays came around. Krogers had one left and it was on sale for $8.99. Kmart had one but it was very cheap made for $10.99. I didnt want that one. Now if I can decide on a recipe Ill make a cheesecake lol.

You don't need a springform pan to make cheesecake! I use many types (including springform) depending on what and who it is for.

And as far as recipes go - your filling is the big clue when deciding to use a waterbath or not. It all depends on the density, etc.

Save a piece for Mama!!!

janie...

...of course ALL cheesecakes are fabulous... but one of my favs that always impresses folks is this: Use any fav plain NY style cheesecake recipe- w/ the difference being, instead of a regular crust, spread a l'il brownie batter into the bottom of the greased springform pan and bake. Next, bake the remainder of the brownie batter in a small 8"X8" pan. Fold into the cheesecake filling tiny brownie squares that you've pre-cut into dice-size pieces and frozen. Bake, cool, chill... serve each wedge of cheesecake in a pool of hot fudge with raspberry puree drizzled across the top. Love me some Brownie-Truffle Cheesecake!

awwww - Kev -

Mama wants some NOW!