Homemade New York Cheesecake.

I promised my daughters I'd make them a cheesecake this weekend.  I actually owe them one, which I won't get into, but the cheesecake they almost had before and didn't get, is no where near as good as this one, so they ended up with a better deal anyway.

My mother in law gave me this recipe.  She told me she got it from an elderly Jewish lady in New York, so, to me, it's officially New York Cheesecake.  The orginial recipe called for Zwieback toasts (teething toasts for babies, of all things) for the crust, instead of graham crackers.  Zwieback crust is much better then graham cracker crust by far, there's something more sophisticated about the texture, and the flavor doesn't step on the taste of the cheescake itself.  Unfortunately, Nabisco no longer makes Zwieback toast. 

So what the hell was I going to do.  I was not about to lower myself to a graham cracker crust.  This recipe is too good for that. So while I was still half asleep wondering how I was going to make my crust my husband found this recipe:

1 whole package of Gourmet Center Biscoff Crisp European Cookies
3/4 package of Nabisco Lorna Doone Shortbread Cookies.
(this will work for a 10" springform pan)
Grind them up in a food processor with 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinammon.  And 1 1/3 stick of melted butter and pulse until all ingredients are mixed.  Spray the pan with cooking spray and press teh crumb mixture to cover the bottom and sides of the pan.  Refrigerate for 20 minutes. 

Now that that problem was solved, on to making the cheesecake. 

1 prepared Biscoff/Lorna Doone crust
2 1/2 lbs (5 8 oz bars) cream cheese - softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 tbs flour
1 1/2 tsp grated lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
5 whole eggs & 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream

Blend all ingredients except the cream in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer.  Add the 5 whole egs and 2 egg yolks one at a time, beating lightly after each addition.  Fold in the 1/2 cup of heavy cream.  Fill the prepared pan with the cheese filling and bake in a very hot oven (550 degrees - note turns out this was too hot in my current oven, 500 would have been better) for 12 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to very low (225 degrees) and continue baking for 1 hour.  Cool cheese cake before cutting.

And Enjoy!