Week 1: Blue Ribbon Cheesecake

Okay, so this was my first real attempt at making a baked cheesecake.  And do I have a lot to learn!  I decided to start with George Geary's "Blue Ribbon Cheesecake".  Nothing too fancy about this cheesecake, but it sure is tasty.

Here is the adapted version of George Geary's Blue Ribbon Cheesecake:

1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter (unsalted)
4 packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
Decoration:  2 cups sliced strawberries


For the crust, mix 1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup melted butter in a bowl.  Press the mixture into the bottom of a cheesecake pan or springform pan and freeze.
For the filling:  In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar on medium to med/high speed for 3 min.  Add 4 eggs one at a time, beating each one thoroughly into the mixture before adding the next one.  Stir in 3 tbsp lemon juice and 1 tsp vanilla.  Pour mixture over the frozen crust.  Bake in a pre-heated oven (350 degrees) for 45-55 minutes, or until the cheesecake has a light brown color and the middle has a slight jiggle to it (really important, let me tell you).  Pull cheesecake out of the oven and let cool for 10 minutes (do not turn the oven off).  While the cheesecake is cooling, mix 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 tsp vanilla in a small bowl.  Once cheesecake has cooled for ten minutes, pour topping mixture onto the center of the cheesecake and spread out to the edges with a spatula.  Return cheesecake to the oven for an additional 5 minutes.  Once the final baking is done, pull cheesecake out of oven, and cool on counter for two hours.  Then cover cheesecake tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours before serving. Before serving, you can decorate the cheesecake with strawberries or whatever topping you so desire (I chose to not add a topping to my cheesecake).

Seems simple enough, right?  Well, good news is the cheesecake tasted better than it looked.  Bad news...my cheesecake had HUGE cracks in it.  And, it also didn't have the slight jiggle in the middle - this means it may have been overbaked, which in turn gives you a dry cheesecake.   

A few things I learned from my first cheesecake baking experience:

• Allow all refrigerated ingredients to come to room temperature, otherwise you will wind up with cracks in your cheesecake.  This takes about 3 hours.
• Keep a close eye on on the cheesecake during the baking process.  All ovens are different!  I baked my cheesecake for 50 min, but that was probably about 5 min too long.
• Mix all ingredients for the filling thoroughly
• Have patience!