New York Cheesecake Bon Appetit Recipes

ORIGINAL NEW YORK CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• The day before you plan to serve the cheesecake:
• 1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Make and bake the cake crust as directed and leave it in the pan. Keep the oven on.
• 2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment if your mixer has one, beat 1 package of the cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch together on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the bowl several times. Blend in the remaining cream cheese, one package at a time, beating well and scraping down the bowl after each.
• 3. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat in the remaining sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Beat in the cream just until completely blended. The filling will look light, creamy, airy, and almost like billowy clouds. Be careful not to overmix! Gently spoon the batter over the crust.
• 4. Place the cake pan in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes halfway (about 1 inch) up the side of the springform. Bake until the edge is light golden brown, the top is light gold, and the center barely jiggles, about 1 1/4 hours. If the cake still feels soft around the edge, let it bake for 10 minutes more (the cooking time will be about the same for both the 8- and 9-inch cheesecakes). Remove the cheesecake from the water bath, transfer to a wire rack, and let cool for 2 hours (just walk away-don't move it). Then, leave the cake in the pan, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until completely cold before serving, preferably overnight or for at least 6 hours.
• On serving day:
• 5. Release and remove the side of the springform, leaving the cake on the bottom of the pan. Place on a cake plate. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Slice with a sharp straight-edge knife, not a serrated one, rinsing the knife with warm water between slices. Refrigerate any leftover cake, tightly covered, and enjoy within 2 days, or wrap and freeze for up to 1 month.

NEW YORK CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Make crumb crust as directed in separate recipe. Preheat oven to 550°F.
• Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, and zests with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
• Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until puffed. Reduce temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour more.
• Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

BLUEBERRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Wrap outside of 10-inch-diameter springform pan with heavy-duty foil. Combine all ingredients in processor. Blend using on/off turns just until crumbs are moist. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of prepared pan. Bake until crust begins to brown, about 8 minutes. Transfer crust to rack and cool. Maintain oven temperature.
• Make filling:
• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and sugar in large bowl until will blended. Beat in flour. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined. Beat in sour cream, milk and vanilla. Pour filling into crust.
• Place springform pan in large roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come 1 inch up sides of pan. Bake cheesecake until just set in center and top is slightly puffed and golden brown, about 1 hour. Turn off oven; keep door closed. Let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour. Remove cheesecake from roasting pan. Refrigerate until cold, at least 6 hours. Cover; refrigerate overnight.
• Make topping:
• Stir blueberry spread in large skillet over low heat until melted. Remove from heat. Add blueberries; toss to coat. Spoon blueberry mixture over top of cake, spreading evenly. Chill until cold, at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
• Run small sharp knife around sides of cake to loosen. Release pan sides. Transfer cake to platter. Cut into wedges.

AUTHENTIC LINDY'S FAMOUS NEW YORK CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor for 5 seconds.
• Add the butter, egg yolk, water, and vanilla and pulse until the mixture looks granular and lumpy; the butter should be in about 1/4-inch pieces.
• Add the flour and pulse rapidly 20 to 30 times, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until the mixture almost gathers into a ball.
• Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press the dough into a 1-inch-thick cake.
• Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Adjust an oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
• Detach the sides; set aside.
• Cut off slightly less than one half of the dough.
• Break it into pieces, and scatter them over the springform bottom.
• Press firmly and evenly with your fingertips to make a thin layer.
• Set the bottom crust in the oven and bake until pale golden brown, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from the oven with a wide metal spatula and set on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• In- crease the oven temperature to 525 degrees.
• Shape the remaining pastry into a square.
• Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle slightly larger than 10x6-inches.
• With a large sharp knife, trim away the edges so that the pastry measures 10x6-inches.
• Cut the pastry crosswise into five 2-inch strips.
• Reassemble the springform pan.
• Line the sides of the pan with 4 of the pastry strips, pressing the pieces firmly together where their edges meet and pressing the pastry firmly against the pan so that it will stay in place.
• Cut what you need from the last strip to fill in the last gap.
• Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
• For the filling, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
• Add the sugar, flour, salt, zests, and vanilla and beat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating only until thoroughly incorporated, about 15 seconds after each.
• Beat for another 30 seconds.
• On low speed, beat in the heavy cream.
• Scrape the mixture into the pan and smooth the top.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour longer; the top will be golden brown.
• Cool to room temperature on a rack.
• Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 6 hours; overnight is best.
• For the strawberry sauce, if the strawberries are small, reserve 1 cup of the prettiest ones.
• If they are large, slice enough to make 1 cup.
• Set aside.
• Place the remaining berries in a medium saucepan and crush with a potato masher.
• Add the sugar, water, salt, and cornstarch.
• Stir well with a heat- proof rubber spatula, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly thickened.
• Remove from the heat and add the butter, lemon juice, and reserved berries.
• Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
• (The sauce can be made a day ahead.) To serve, run a small sharp knife around the edges of the cake to release the pastry and carefully remove the sides of the pan.
• Rinse a knife in hot water, shake off the excess water, and slice.
• Serve each portion with a spoonful of the strawberry sauce.
• Refrigerate leftovers.

NEW YORK CHEESECAKE (BON APPETIT)

Steps:

• To prepare 1 cup of Simple Berry Jam in advance, add the juice of 1 medium lemon or the juice of half an orange to a medium saucepan. It adds a nice citrusy flavor to the jam. Place a couple of small plates in the freezer. Wash, hull and halve 1 POUND OF FRESH STRAWBERRIES. Add to saucepan. Add 1 CUP OF SUGAR to the saucepan. Stir together over medium heat, boil for 20-25 minutes, until thickened. To check if the jam is set, remove one chilled plate from the freezer and spoon a small dab of the mixture onto it. Give the jam about 30 seconds, and push it with your finger. If it wrinkles, its set and done; if it moves about on the plate, it needs to be boiled a bit longer before you test it on the other plate. You'll also know the jam is done when it reaches 210*F/100*C on a candy thermometer. When the jam is set and done, remove it from the heat and stir in 1 TABLESPOON OF COLD SALTED BUTTER CUT INTO SMALL PIECES. Skim off any foam from the surface with a metal spoon, then pour the jam into clean heat-safe containers or jars. The jam will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. VARIATIONS: For Raspberry Jam: Decrease the amount of raspberries to 2 cups and add 1 tablespoon of strained fresh orange juice and 1 tablespoon of finely grated orange zest to the berries when stirring them with the sugar. Do the same for Blackberry Jam, but simply increase the amount of sugar to 1 1/2 cups.
• To make the CRUST: Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450*F. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. In a medium bowl, mix together the cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, nuts, vanilla and salt. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan, using your hands or the flat bottom of a small measuring cup to compress the crust. Put the pan in the freezer.
• To make the FILLING and TOPPING: In a large bowl using a hand held mixer (I find this works better for the job, rather than a stand mixer), beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, lemon zest and orange zest on medium speed for 3-5 minutes, stopping the mixer and scraping down the sides of the bowl and the beaters to make sure there's no lumpy cream cheese in sight. With the mixer on its lowest speed, add the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla all at once, mixing until smooth and the eggs are well incorporated. Mix in the sour cream until just incorporated.
• Remove the crust from the freezer, put on a rimmed baking sheet and wrap the sides of the pan with aluminum foil. Pour the filling into the prepared pan and put the pan on a baking sheet. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until the top is puffed.
• Lower the oven temperature to 225*F and bake until the cake is mostly firm but still slightly wobbly in the center, 45 minutes to 1 hour more. (If the cheesecake is not done after 45 minutes, check it every 5 minutes or so until it is.) Once the cheesecake is done, remove it from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature in the pan. Cover and refrigerate it for 8 HOURS before topping.
• To make JAM TOPPING: In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the jam with 1 teaspoon water until it is pourable. Let it cool to room temperature and pour over the cheesecake. Return the cheesecake to the refrigerator until the jam topping is set before serving and topping with the fresh berries. Do not place the fresh berries on top longer than a day in advance of serving.

STRAWBERRY-TOPPED CHEESECAKE WITH GRAHAM CRACKER CRUST

Steps:

• Make crust:
• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Wrap foil around outside of 10-inch-diameter springform pan with 3-inch-high sides. Combine graham crackers, butter and sugar in processor. Using on/off turns, blend until crumbs begin to stick together. Press crumbs onto bottom and 2 3/4 inches up sides of springform pan. Bake crust 10 minutes. Transfer to rack and cool while preparing filling. Maintain oven temperature.
• Make filling:
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in large bowl until very smooth. Beat in flour. Add eggs and beat just until blended, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Pour batter into crust.
• Bake cheesecake until outer 2-inch edge of cake os puffed and slightly cracked, center is just set and top is brown in spots, about 55 minutes. Transfer cake to rack. Cool 10 minutes. Maintain oven temperature.
• Make topping:
• Whisk sour cream, sugar and vanilla in medium bowl to blend.
• Spoon topping over cake, spreading to edge of pan. Bake until topping is just set, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Run knife between crust and pan.
• Cool hot cake in pan on rack, Chill overnight.
• Release pan sides from cheesecake. Arrange whole berries, points facing up, atop cheesecake; cover completely. Stir jelly in heavy small saucepan over medium-=low heat until melted.Cool to barely lukewarm, about 5 minutes. Brush enough jelly over berries to glaze generously, allowing some to drip between berries. Reserve remaining glaze in saucepan. (Cake and glaze can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover cake and refrigerate.)
• Rewarm remaining glaze until pourable. Cut cake into wedges. Pass remaining glaze separately.

PAGLIACCI'S NEW YORK CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Mix crumbs, 1/4 cup sugar and butter and press into a 10" spring form pan. Refrigerate until ready to use.
• Preheat oven to 500º.
• Beat cream cheese with electric mixer in large bowl until very smooth. Blend in lemon juice and vanilla. Sift sugar, flour and salt together and gradually beat into cheese. Beat until creamy, smooth and light, about 5 minutes. Beat in eggs and yolks one at a time. Blend in cream. Pour into crust.
• Bake 12 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 200º. Continue baking until tester inserted in centre comes out clean. The original recipe said for 45 minutes but I find (having made this at least 30 times in two different ovens) that it takes about 90 minutes.
• Run a sharp knife around the edge of the pan. Cool cake completely and refrigerate at least 24 hours before serving.