Creamy cheesecake

8 -10 servin

Ingredients

Quantity Ingredient
5 ounces Simple cookies (to obtain 1-1/4 cups crumbs)
¼ cup Walnut or pecan halves
3 tablespoons Sugar
6 tablespoons (a little less than 1/2 cup) unsalted butter melted.
16 ounces Cream cheese, cut into pieces and softened
½ cup Sour cream
¾ cup Sugar
3 larges Eggs
1 large Lemon, grated rind of
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
1½ cup Sour cream
3 tablespoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Directions

NUTTY CRUMB CRUST

CHEESE FILLING

SOUR-CREAM TOPPING

Crust: Preheat oven to 160 C (350 F). Process cookies in a food processor to fine crumbs, or put them in a bag and crush them with a rolling pin.

Measure 1-¼ cups. Chop nuts. Mix crumbs with nuts and sugar. Add melted butter and mix well. Lightly butter a 23-cm (9 in.) springform pan. Press nut mixture in an even layer on bottom and about 2-½ cm (1 in.) up sides of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Remove and let cool completely. Leave oven at 160 C/350 F.

Filling: Beat cream cheese with sour cream at low speed until very smooth.

Gradually beat in sugar. Beat in eggs, one by one. Beat in lemon rind. If using a vanilla bean, scrape its seeds with point of a knife into cheese mixture; or stir in vanilla extract. Carefully pour filling into cooled crust and bake about 45 minutes or until firm in center. Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 200 C (390 F).

Topping: Mix together sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Carefully spread topping on cake in an even layer, without letting it drop over crust.

Return cake to oven and bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving. (Cake can be kept 3 days in refrigerator.) Remove sides of springform pan just before serving.

General tip: For cutting cheesecakes, if you do not have a cutting wire, use dental floss. Grip a length of floss with both hands; cut down through the cake; then draw the floss out one side at the bottom (as opposed to pulling it back up through the cake). This gives each slice a sharp, straight edge. Posted to EAT-L Digest 18 Mar 97 by Ruth Heiges <heiges@...> on Mar 19, 1997

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