New York Cheesecake

Name: New York Cheesecake
Total time: 18000 s
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 9 graham crackers (1 pack); 50 g walnuts/pecans (1/2 cup); 1/4 cup brown sugar; 1/4 melted butter (55g); Pinch salt; 32 oz cream cheese (4 packs); 8 oz plain goat cheese (chèvre); 2 cups white sugar; 1/4 tsp salt; 1 Tbsp vanilla extract; 1 Tbsp lemon juice; 1/2 tsp orange flower water; 6 eggs; 3/4 cup heavy cream; 4 cups strawberry/blueberry/cherry; 2/3-3/4 cup white sugar; 1 lemon, zest and juice; Pinch salt; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 1/4 tsp almond extract

Lance Wilson @lance_wilson

Nyack, NY

I’ve been playing around with cheesecake recipes for the past few months.
I’ve made Stella’s version. IMO things she got right: the custard volume, using an 8” false bottom pan, the general custard (sweetness and egg amount), goat cheese in addition to cream cheese, orange flower water.

Things I decided I don’t like: souffléd texture from an initial high temperature over cooked the custard at the edges and disliked the poofy texture in a cheese cake. If I want burnished top, I’m just going full on basque. I much prefer the slow and low temperature bake to make an ultra creamy dense cheesecake. The crust on her cheesecake left something to be desired. It was course and sandy, not enough sugar, and lack of prebake made the crust soft instead of set and crystallized.
I much prefer the crust recipes from sugarologie for texture with the proper ratio of graham/butter/sugar or Brian lagerstroms for taste with the addition of walnuts or pecans (hated his “double crust method though). I tried a few versions and getting the butter amount correct is hard, not enough and the crust doesn’t hold and compress, too much and the crust “leaks” butter and worse begins to puff in the prebake because of too much steam. I also found that switching from graham to some type of cookie (biscoff, sandy, Oreo, amaretti) exacerbated the too much butter ratio issue.

What I’ve settled on is a traditional graham crust with a thick dense cheese cake that eats more like a heavy custard.

Lance Wilson @lance_wilson

Nyack, NY

What I’ve settled on is a traditional graham crust with a thick dense cheese cake that eats more like a heavy custard.

Saved

Ingredients

2.5 hours

Crust
9graham crackers (1 pack)
50 gwalnuts/pecans (1/2 cup)
1/4 cupbrown sugar
1/4melted butter (55g)
Pinchsalt
Custard
32 ozcream cheese (4 packs)
8 ozplain goat cheese (chèvre)
2 cupswhite sugar
1/4 tspsalt
1 Tbspvanilla extract
1 Tbsplemon juice
1/2 tsporange flower water
6eggs
3/4 cupheavy cream
Fruit Topping
4 cupsstrawberry/blueberry/cherry
2/3-3/4 cupwhite sugar
1lemon, zest and juice
Pinchsalt
1 tspvanilla extract
1/4 tspalmond extract

Saved

Steps

2.5 hours

1

Lay out your cheeses several hours before starting until they are very soft. Unwrap them while still cold for ease.
2

Preheat the oven to 350F
3

Add the graham, nuts, brown sugar and salt to a food processor.
4

Process the graham until the mixture is even and sandy.
5

Add the melted butter and pulse until incorporated.
6

In a false bottomed, 8 inch round by 4 inch deep pan, line the bottom with cut parchment or folded foil. Spray the lined bottom with cooking spray.
7

Dump the crust mixture into the pan and then shake the pan to even the crumb layer.
8

Using a glass or other flat tool, press the crumbs into a tight layer.
9

Use a spatula to scrape any stray crumbs into the layer and press again.
10

Bake the crust on a cookie sheet in case the butter melts out for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges start to brown.
11

When the crust comes out of the oven, drop the oven temp to 250F.
12

In a mixer add the cheeses and sugar and salt and mix on low speed until the mixture loosens.
13

Add the lemon juice, vanilla, and orange flower water and mix until incorporated.
14

In a separate bowl or jar, crack the eggs and then blend with an immersion blender.
15

Pass the eggs through a fine mesh strainer into the custard to catch any protein squigglies.
16

Wipe the sides down in the mixer.
17

Heat the cream in the microwave until hot. Add the hot cream to the custard and mix until just incorporated. The hot cream helps thin the mix out to allow bubbles to rise and pop.
18

Remove the beater. Do not scrape the unmixed portions stuck on the beater into the smooth custard.
19

Pour the custard into the crust pan and tap on the counter to pop bubbles.
20

Bake at 250F for 2-3 hours, until a thermometer in the center reads 150F. Begin checking at 2 hours and check every 10 min until the temp is reached. The cheese cake will poof up.
21

While the cake is baking, cut the fruit into small pieces, add the sugar, zest and juice and bring to a simmer until the fruit breaks down. Add extra sugar to taste if the fruit is too tart. When removed from heat, add the vanilla and almond extract and then cool in the fridge to set up.
22

When the cake is removed from the oven and sinks slightly take a smooth thin spatula coated in cooking spray and gently run it around the edge of the cake. This is the best method to prevent cracking that I’ve found.
23

Let the cheesecake cool down until warm and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
24

Unmold the cheesecake by sliding a thin offset spatula coated in cooking spray around the perimeter of the cake.
25

Lift/push the cheesecake up from the bottom and set the ring aside. Place plastic film directly on top of the cheese cake.
26

With one hand flip the cheesecake upside down and remove the pan bottom. Invert a flat plate onto the cheesecake bottom and turn over and remove the wrap.
27

To cut the cake for serving, cut at the sink with the water running hot. Run a knife under the hot water and then slice the cake. After each cut, rinse the cake off under hot water and then make the next cut. Top with chilled fruit topping, or other syrups and enjoy.