A 9" cheesecake. You must make it the day before so it has time to set up -- but it's a nice dense cheesecake in the Eli's style.
The tricks to non-cracking cheesecake: use room temperature ingredients, introduce minimal air, don't overbeat your eggs, keep a stable oven temperature (no peeking!), free the crust from the pan, and cool the cheesecake slowly.
Springform pans will work, but they may leak -- you may want a dedicated cheesecake pan if you make this often.
| Ingredients | Step |
|---|---|
| 32 oz (4 containers) cream cheese ⅔ c. sour cream 4 large eggs |
Pull out and let rise to room temperature. |
| Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Ensure the rack is in the center of the oven. | |
| 1½ c. graham cracker crumbs (1 package) 2 T. white sugar 1 T. brown sugar 7 T. melted butter |
Combine (probably in the food processor), then press into a 9" round pan. Place the pan on a cookie sheet lined with foil (just in case). |
| 32 oz cream cheese | Stir gently until smooth and creamy, scraping as needed. |
| 1 c. sugar | Stir gently again until creamy, scraping as needed. |
| ⅔ c. sour cream 1½ t. vanilla ⅛ t. salt |
Stir until well-combined, scraping as needed. |
| 4 eggs | One at a time, lightly beat each egg and then gently stir into the cream cheese mixture. Do not over-mix. Scrape sides as needed. |
| Tap the cheesecake batter against the counter until you're satisfied that you've eliminated most of the air bubbles you introduced during mixing. | |
| Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325 for 50-75 minutes, until the edges are slightly puffed and possibly turning light golden brown, and the center is still jiggly like Jell-O. | |
| Turn off the oven and open it, letting it cool for 10 minutes. After ten minutes, use a knife to gently loosen the crust from the pan -- but leave the ring attached. | |
| Let the cheesecake cool until it is near room temperature (1-2 hours), then refrigerate the cheesecake overnight before serving. |
Source: Sam Merritt