New York Cheesecake

I have been making cheesecakes a lot these days but none of them are what I really want... which is a big slice of hearty new york cheesecake. And I think I found just the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. However, since I don't have a very tall cheesecake pan, I ended up reducing the amount for a 9 inch pie pan.

Crumb crust:

8 graham crackers or approx 5 oz

5 tbs butter, melted

a pinch of kosher salt

Blend the crackers and salt in a food processor until the crackers are fine/ granulated. Then mix in the melted butter. Press onto bottom and sides of pie pan. Then set aside in the freezer.

Cheesecake filling:
24 oz cream cheese
1 cup + 1 tbs granulated sugar
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp orange extract
3 large eggs
1.5 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 550°F. In a standing mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, zest and orange extract until smooth. Add vanilla, then eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated. Scrape bowl down between additions to ensure everything is mixed. Pour filling into crust (pan will be completely full.)

Bake in the middle of the oven for 12 minutes or until puffed. Please watch your cake because some ovens will top-brown very quickly and if yours does too fast, turn the oven down as soon as you catch it. Sadly, I didn't catch mine.... (I checked at 10 minutes, which was still white and then again at 15 minutes, which was too late).

Then, reduce the temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 50-60 minutes more.

Since my cheesecake looked pretty bad on top with no room to spare for a topping to cover the awful cracks and dark tan, I trimmed the top so it was even and then flipped it into another pan:

I ended up making a blueberry compote (step 8) to top my upside down cheesecake. Too bad I forgot to take a picture of it since it was such a beauty. It definitely looked more appetizing. But regardless of its looks, its taste and texture was just what I wanted. Thick and crumbly but with a light and airy flavor. 

Blueberry compote:

1.5 cups blueberries, 2 tbs granulated sugar, 3 tbs water and 1 tbs lemon juice

Boil 1 cup of blueberries with the sugar, water and lemon juice until blueberries burst and syrup thickens. Take it off the heat and add the remaining blueberries. Set aside to cool. Pour on top of cheesecake before serving.

Note: Next time, I'll stick to a water bath and a constant temp of 200°F

Update 7/8/2013: Here's a picture of the ravaged cheesecake a day after our Saturday bbq.

Update 7/19/2013: Made another one but it baked in a water bath at a constant temp of 200°F.

Turned out to be much more moist and creamy if you prefer that version... Personally, I like the drier one. Also, this crust was made with 5.5 oz gingersnap cookies and 5 tbs butter and was a bit too much butter. I guess I'll stick with the original bake heat and timeframe. But I do like that gingersnap crust! Yum!!