The 'You Thought I Forgot About This Month's Cheesecake, didn't you?' Cheesecake, or, Perfect Crustless Cheesecake

I didn't forget. In fact, I so totally didn't forget that I've been putting this recipe off for a week because I just couldn't handle one more cheesecake. Then I started making it, separated 5 eggs, and suddenly had flashbacks. It was at that moment that I realised this cheesecake has the exact same ingredients in the exact same quantity as the first cheesecake I made in this unending saga. I panicked, tried to find a different recipe that would take 5 eggs, and couldn't.

So I proceeded, and boy, am I glad I did. I don't know if it's the fact that this cheesecake is any better than the first one I made, or just that I've gotten better at making cheesecakes, but this one is hands-down the best one I've made so far... though I have been on an upward trajectory for awhile, so I guess that's to be expected. Weirdly, this one is just typed up on a silky sheet of paper Judson informed me was mimeographed, and then tried to smell it to convince me that mimeography has a specific smell. I don't know if that's true, but here's what we did learn from his hands-on test: the smell of nicotine persists across generational divides. Ick.

Judson's friends, who have become my Official Cheesecake Taste-Testers, voted this one the best so far (and voted hard for it to be the only I transferred into my own permanent recipe box), so I know I'm not alone here. Also, I've been saving the best for last, but you guys, THIS CHEESECAKE CAME OUT OF THE OVEN WITHOUT A SINGLE CRACK! Those of you following along at home (and those of you who have ever tried making a cheesecake) will know that it's nearly impossible to get a cheesecake out of the oven with a smooth, crack-free top. My last one had cracks that ran so deep they hit the bottom crust, which is really just unreasonable, so I was particularly proud of this one.

Having now made basically this exact same cheesecake two times, I'll warn you to follow these directions exactly-- it really makes a difference! Specifically, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature, your egg whites are folded into the mixture until the entire mixture has a uniform consistency (for me, this was WAY MORE mixing than I thought was necessary, but it paid off in the end), and that there is a tray under your springform pan in the oven, lest you suffer a scorched oven floor.

But seriously. There's just something about enjoying a slice of cheesecake with your friends. The Golden Girls knew it, Eleanor knew it, and now I know it. It's so decadent and luxurious, but somehow still manages to be improved by the addition of girlfriends to share it with. I may be getting tired of cheesecakes, but I'll never get tired of sharing them with my friends. So if you, like the Golden Girls in the clip above, have watched Psycho or Jaws or It or The Ring and have scared yourself into staying awake all night, slice yourself a piece of cheesecake and put the kettle on for some tea. There's enough room at my kitchen table for all of us.

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. Best cheesecake I've made so far, but I've got my eye on the prize here. Make this cheesecake for your next girls' night in, and your friends will never let you forget how delicious it is.

The recipe:

Perfect, Crustless Cheesecake

THE DIRECTIONS:

Start with first four ingredients at room temperature.
Grease springform pan.
Preheat oven to 176C/350F.
Whip egg whites until stiff, then set aside.
Mix cream cheese, sour cream, and ricotta until well blended.
Add sugar, cornstarch, and vanilla and mix until smooth.
Add egg yolks and mix until smooth again.
Fold beaten egg whites into mixture and beat just until smooth.
Pour mixture into pan, set it on a cookie sheet in case of drips, and cook for one hour.
Without opening oven door, shut off oven and leave for one additional hour.

the ingredients:

5 medium eggs, separated
16 oz cream cheese
16 oz sour cream
15 oz ricotta
1 ½ c sugar
4 tbsp cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla

 

Tax Day Cheesecake, or, Double-Crusted, Lightweight Cheesecake

Alright, let's be honest. If you're reading this, there's a good chance you're paying American taxes today, which, even if you're getting money back, is still a terrible amount of paperwork. Or perhaps you're a Brit, in which case, you probably should be celebrating the fact that you AREN'T paying American taxes today. Or maybe you started a new job this week (oh wait, that's me).

Regardless, I'm pretty sure this accurately sums up the way you and I both feel right about now.

In case you're just tuning in, when I sorted out the recipes in the box, it turned out that my grandmother had over a dozen recipes for plain cheesecake. Plain! Not even flavoured! So each month I'm making one, in hopes that I'll perfect my method, and also that maybe eventually I'll have a go-to unbeatable cheesecake recipe. So far, this is turning out more difficult than I thought.

Of all the cheesecakes I've made from the box so far, this one is most definitely the easiest. It's also hands down the most delicious... but that doesn't mean it came out pretty. Once again, the cheesecake rose to unmanageable heights in the oven, then slumped, fell, and cracked down the middle almost all the way to the crust. Also, good luck finding zweiback if you don't live... wherever zweiback is from. I settled for a mix of BelVita 'milk & cereals' biscuits and something called 'Nice Biscuits,' which I later learned are very sweet and coconut-based, so I don't recommend going that route. But if you do, then lower your sugar accordingly (I've included both amounts below).

However, it was still worth it, because this sucker was delicious. (Oh, and I finally found pie filling at an international grocer, so I'd be lying if I said I didn't eat my share of this topped with cherries. I'm sure Eleanor is glowering down on me from Heaven, but hey: a girl can't make one cheesecake a month without getting sick of plain ones!

This is the most worn-out, dripped-on, dog-eared recipe I've yet come across in the box, so I know Eleanor agreed with me: make this cheesecake when you need a break from the most taxing parts of your everyday life (pun intended).

The verdict:

4 spoons out of five. If I was ranking on ease and flavour alone, I'd have to give it a five, but alas, appearance figures into the mix here, and this cheesecake slumped and cracked like I've never seen before, so... a spoon is deducted accordingly. However, the uniqueness of having a top and bottom crust combined with the creamy-but-still-light flavour makes me think this might be the one most worth perfecting.

The recipe:

Double-Crusted, Lightweight Cheesecake

The ingredients:

The crust:

1 ½ c zweiback, digestive, rich tea, or graham cracker crumbs, ground very fine and divided
2 tbsp sugar (if using zweiback. Otherwise, cut this to a scant 1 tbsp)
3 tbsp melted butter

THE FILLING:

16 oz cream cheese
1 c sugar
5 eggs, divided
16 oz sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

CRUST:

Mix together sugar, butter, and 1 c crumbs, then press firmly into bottom of springform pan.
Reserve remaining ½ c crumbs for top crust.

 

 

FILLING:

Bring cream cheese to room temperature.
Once cream cheese is ready, preheat oven to 148C/300F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat egg yolks.
Add cream cheese and sugar and mix well, then add sour cream, vanilla, and lemon juice.
(Cream cheese should be soft enough that you can do this by hand-- if you use a mixer, make sure to use the lowest speed)
Set aside mixture, and in a separate bowl beat egg whites until very stiff.
Fold egg whites into cream cheese mixture gently until mixture is smooth. (This will take 3-5 minutes if working by hand. Mine still had bubbles in it, but all lumps were gone).
Pour into prepared pan and top with remaining crumbs.
Bake 1 hour, then, without opening the door, turn oven off and leave for another hour.
Open door and leave for a third hour.
Remove from oven and allow to cool thoroughly before removing sides of pan.

"Beware the Ides of Cheesecake," or, Creamy Dreamy Cheesecake

In the second monthly installment of The Cheesecake Series, today we have a plain cheesecake dated Christmas 1978, with a note at the top that reads “hope you enjoy it!” It's written on sparkly Christmas stationery and signed “From Marge,” so I am assuming it came folded inside a holiday card. I love that idea-- long distance friends sending each other recipes when they can't visit each other in person. So old-school and cute.

Also, as an avid Golden Girls fan, I love that Eleanor and her friends were trading recipes for cheesecake long before the Golden Girls made cheesecake the dessert for women of a certain age to eat with their friends. (I especially love this because for a long time as a child I believed that the character of Dorothy Zbornak on the show was based on Eleanor, and that Sophia Petrillo was based on my Aunt Margie.)

I don't know how Eleanor felt about this particular cheesecake-- the recipe itself is in remarkably good condition, so it might not be one she made very often. I'm starting to feel like if you can find a cheesecake recipe that works for you, it's probably a better idea to stick with it than keep experimenting, but neither of the recipes I've tried so far have been particularly stellar, so I'm gonna keep trying. This cheesecake was definitely easier than the last-- no fancy ingredients (I'm looking at you, ricotta), and no weird steps like whipping egg whites into a meringue before folding them in gently. The crust, of course, was supposed to be made with graham crackers, but since I have no access to those and didn't want to make my own, I used digestive biscuits. This made the crust a little lighter in colour and a little thinner than I expected, but it was still delicious.

However. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, but both times I've made cheesecakes from the box, they've risen like crazy while in the oven, then fallen, slumped, and browned on the top. This one was still good-- Judson took half of it to work and his colleagues gave it a resounding thumbs up, so I know it's not just me who thinks it was good. It's denser than the last one, but manages not to be overpoweringly heavy. It's incredibly creamy and has a really faint lemon flavour that's offsets all that creaminess really well. If I could find pie filling in this country, I'd serve it with cherries on top, but alas. Maybe next month.

The Verdict:

3 spoons out of five. It's good, it really is. But if yours looks like mine, you probably wouldn't want to serve it to the Queen of England when she drops by for afternoon tea. (Also note: pictured here I served it with Nutella, but if you're interested in authenticity, you'd better have it plain)

The recipe:

Creamy Dreamy Cheesecake

The Ingredients:

16 oz cottage cheese
16 oz cream cheese
16 oz sour cream
4 oz butter (1 stick, if you're stateside), plus extra for greasing the pan
4 eggs
1 ½ c sugar
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp cornstarch
½ tsp lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c graham cracker or digestive biscuit crumbs

THE DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325F/162C.
Blend all ingredients except crumbs “until smooth like sour cream.”
(If yours is like mine, you might still see some tiny lumps from the cottage cheese, but as long as there are only a few, you're good.)
Heavily grease the bottom and sides of a springform pan, then sprinkle the crumbs in and shake to distribute evenly.
Pour the cheese mixture smoothly and quickly on top of the loose crumbs to avoid shifting the crumbs around too much.
Bake for one hour, then turn off oven and without opening the door, leave the cheesecake in for additional two hours.
Place cheesecake on counter (not refrigerator) to cool completely (this will take several hours), then refrigerate until serving, up to overnight if needed.