Cheesecake

Holy cow people! Do I have a treat for you! The other day I woke up and thought "I need to make cheesecake better". So I did... :)

I started thinking how I could improve on the standard cream cheese/ sugar/ whole eggs/ etc recipes. It hit me. Pastry cream. Anyone who has worked with me knows that making a great pastry cream is my favorite thing in probably the entire world. So simple, so creamy, so yummy. So I merged these two together (sort of) for a superb creamy, custardy cheesecake that is neither too light or too dense. It really came out perfect. Sorry to brag but HOLY COW.

Ok, I obviously like cheesecake.........

Here's the deal: I am NOT convinced that Philly Cream Cheese is any better than regular store brand. Especially when baking. If it's on sale I'll buy it, but not under any other circumstances.

I am however, SUPER sure that the right eggs CAN make a difference. My wonderful mother supplies me with farm fresh lovelies, but for the average bear, any organic egg is great. Remember, it's more about what the chickens eat then where they sit.

Don't go on the free range soap box... don't go on the free range soap box...

Ok, I resisted it. I have a great 8 inch spring form pan I use for this, but the recipe can be made at 1.5x for a 10 inch. Also can go in a deep pie plate if you don't currently have a spring form pan.

Pan Preparation: I like my crust simply along the bottom, not up the sides at all. So I take a piece of parchment and cut it about 3 inches wide and run it along the walls of the pan. You can use a small piece of tape on the pan side of the parment to hold it at the right size and place. Then I cover the entire exterior of the spring form pan in foil to prevent leakage in the water bath. Then I press the crust in. Then I put the filling in. After it's ready I put the contraption in an oven safe pan for the water bath. I have this great sauté pan that I use because it is round and deep and has a lovely handle so I don't hurt myself. ;) Then the whole thing goes in the oven with the rack pulled out. Lastly, I pour boiling water into the water bath and slide the rack in.

Oh, DO NOT SKIP the water bath. It makes a huge difference.

Preheat oven to 300°

Graham crust:

12 graham cracker squares
Pinch of salt
3 Tbs sugar
4 Tbs butter, melted

Filling:

16 oz. Cream Cheese, room temp
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla bean paste (or high quality extract)
1/4 tsp salt
4 tbsp cornstarch
1/3 cup half & half

Mix all crust ingredients  in a bowl and press into bottom of pan with parchment around the inside wall. Set aside.

Now would be a good time to put 4 cups of water on to boil for your water bath.

With the paddle attachment on your mixer (or beaters if you're using a hand held) whip cream cheese until soft. Add sugar and whip for 1 minute. Add egg yolks, vanilla, salt, and cornstarch. Mix until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add half & half and mix until combined.

Transfer filling into pan with crust. Whack the pan on the counter 5 or 6 times and prick any air bubbles that surface with a knife or toothpick.

Place pan into water bath pan. Pull oven rack out slightly and place the whole thing on the rack. Pour water in water bath pan ( you want it to come up to about 80% of the pan's height). Gently slide rack into oven.

Bake for 1 hour and 40 minutes. That's a long time.. I know... When your 100 minutes is over, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the warm oven for 30 minutes. Now you can pull the whole thing out. Bring cheesecake out of water bath and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for 6 hours before eating.