New York Style Cheesecake

[kirra]

New York Style Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 large egg yolk
1 large egg white, beaten

Filling:

40 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
5 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400.

Crust:
Process flour, sugar, zest, and salt in a food processor until well blended - about 10 seconds. Add butter in chunks and process until crumbly. Add egg yolk and process until dough just starts to form a ball.

Press about 1/3 of the dough into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan that has been coated with cooking spray. Poke dough liberally with a fork.

Bake at 400 until light golden, about 10 minutes. Cool completely.

Press remaining dough up the sides of the pan, ensuring that it is firmly attached to the bottom crust. Brush the bottom and sides of the crust with the egg white.

Refrigerate until ready to use (this can be made a day ahead of time, if you wish).

Preheat oven to 500.

Filling:
Using an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until smooth. Gradually add sugar and then flour, beating mixture until smooth and creamy - 1-2 minutes. Beat in lemon zest and vanilla. One at a time, beat in the eggs and egg yolks. On low speed, beat in cream. Pour the batter over the crust, using a rubber spatula to smooth the top if necessary.

Bake at 500 for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 200 and bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and prop the oven door just slightly open. Leave the cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove to a rack and cool completely. After cooling, refrigerate for at least 6 hours before serving. makes 16 servings