The Cheesecake is gone...why is the cheesecake gone??

I have a confession to make. It's something I should really be feeling quite guilty over...

My husband and I ate this entire cheesecake.




The WHOLE thing.




By OURSELVES. In FOUR days. It's horrible. We should be ashamed of ourselves.



But it was sooooo worth it. ; )

This recipe is the one I used for our wedding cake.




It is by far the best classic New York Cheesecake recipe I've ever found. In my opinion, the sign of a good recipe is that it has sour cream in it, and this one has a very unique and wonderfully delicious "sour cream cap" added at the end of the baking time.



Mmmm. It adds a whole new, delicate layer of flavor. You should definitely try it. Just try not to eat the whole thing in four days...it will just leave you craving it for the next week. : )

Classic New York Sour Cream Cheesecake

Ingredients
Crust:
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs,
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch fine salt
Filling:
• 2 pounds cream cheese , at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups sour cream (possibly a little extra...see note)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

For the crust: Melt the butter, covered in the microwave, in a medium microwave safe bowl, or a saucepan. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan, taking care to get the crust evenly into the edges. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool. Wrap the bottom and up the sides of the pan with foil (I suggest using the extra-large, heavy duty foil so that you don't have seams) and put in a roasting pan.

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese on medium speed with a hand-held mixer until smooth. Add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat just until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Slowly beat in 3/4 cup sour cream, then eggs, and vanilla; take care not to over whip. Pour into the cooled crust.

Bring a medium saucepan or kettle of water to a boil. Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out of the oven). Pour in enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the outside of the cake is set but the center is still slightly loose. (Any browning on top is a pretty good indication as well.)
Meanwhile, stir together the remaining 1 cup of sour cream and ¼ cup of sugar. Spread over the top of the cooked cheesecake and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Turn the oven off, cook the cheesecake in the residual heat in the oven for 1 hour. This gentle finish minimizes the risk of the dreaded crack in your cheese cake. (NOTE: I didn't find that only 1 cup of sour cream covered the cake as much as I like, so I did more like 1 1/2 cups, or 1 3/4 and just added enough extra sugar to adjust for that. I loved how it came out with a really great thick, even topping.)

Remove cheesecake from the roasting pan to a rack. Run a knife around the edges and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Bring cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Remove the springform ring. Dip a knife in warm water, wipe dry before slicing each piece.