Friday, March 25, 2011

Cheesecake? Yes, please!

I finally got my cheesecake made and O-M-G was it ever yummy!



I used to have a great cheesecake recipe and then lost it.  Ever since then, I have searched for a good recipe and have just had no luck finding one.  In desperation, I turned to one of my oldest and dearest friends, who I had seen post these fantastic looking cheesecakes on Facebook.  She was kind enough to share her basic cheesecake recipe with me, which she tells me she originally got from Kraft.

For my cheesecake, I used lowfat Nilla wafers for the crust and swapped out three packages of the cream cheese for the lower fat neufchatel cheese.  For a big, full cheesecake like this, a springform pan is a much.  Mine is from Pampered Chef and I have had it for ages.  If has different inserts for a bundt cake and a heart and star shaped form.  I think they have a new one now, one with a glass bottom, which is even better.

Cheesecake

Preheat Oven to 325

CRUST
1 cup Cracker or Cookie Crumbs
3 TBSP Sugar
3 TBSP Melted Butter
Mix all together, press into bottom of a springform pan and bake for 10 minutes 





FILLING
5 Packages of softened Cream Cheese (like I mentioned, I used 3 neufchatel cheese)
1 Cup of Sour Cream
3 TBSP Flour
1 Cup Sugar
1 Tsp Vanilla
4 eggs





Mix cream cheese, flour and sugar until smooth. Add in sour cream and blend well. On low speed add 1 egg at a time until just blended. Pour over crust and bake (@325) for 55-60 minutes. The middle should wiggle just a little. Run a knife around the edge to loosen from spring form and let cool completely before putting in the fridge. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving. 







My friend's recommended leaving it overnight to chill and that was totally my intention.  However, life got the best of me and I was unable to get it made the night before, so it had to settle for chilling for just about 4 hours in the fridge.  Despite that, it still got rave reviews from all my mama friends!


I finished it off with a little lemon curd and it was a perfect accompaniment.  The tartness of the lemon curd and the sweetness of the cheesecake played off of each other great.  In fact, I am counting down to my son's bedtime so I can have another slice!

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