pre-resolution send off … Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

New Years Resolutions.  Oh lordy.  One year, a friend and I were watching the New Year’s Day extravaganza that is the college football bowl system and noticed A LOT of smoking cessation and weight loss commercials, a bit of a bummer after a night of excess.  It eventually dawned on us why … resolutions!  Doh!  That was the year we briefly toyed with doing the opposite – instead of giving things up, we were going to take things on.  Gain weight – add it to the list.  Stop exercising – check.  Be less productive – absolutely.  Start smoking – sure!  We came up with a lot more, wholly inappropriate options and cracked ourselves up well into the Rose Bowl that night.  We even came up with a slogan … “Excess Yes!  2000!”  It still makes me laugh, ten years later.

Yet every year, I make a pact with myself that this is the year I’m going to get my ass in gear.  And pretty much every year, I peeter out quicker than I care to admit.  Oh sure, there was the year when I ran a marathon but it’s been 7 years now and I don’t think I can ride the coattails of that accomplishment anymore.  I’m in the WRONG profession – I certainly don’t look like I ran a marathon anymore.  (Fun fact:  did you know that if you stop running cold turkey after a marathon your butt will still look fantastic for 7 weeks?  49 glorious days – that’s the half life of a grueling marathon training schedule.  Day 50 it all goes to hell.  True story.)

hell yeah, buy the crumbs

That said there’s something immensely appealing about starting the year with a clean slate.  A fresh start. But that’s not what this post is about – it’s about my tendency to have a big food send off before I start.  You know exactly what I’m talking about.  The justification that you make to yourself when you know you’re going on a big diet so you have to have this one thing (or two or three) now, before the actual cut backs start because … drumroll please … this might be the last time ever.  (It never is but somehow you believe it just might be.)

really pack those crumbs down

So today my send off will be cheesecake.  I don’t have it very often (there’s some god awful cheesecake out there) but my love goes way back.  When I was a kid, my Mom made a mean cherry cheesecake with a sour cream layer on top.  One Thanksgiving, a college roommate and I ate a whole one pretty much by ourselves.  Come to think of it, we also polished off all the leftover stuffing at my house and my boyfriend’s house too. (Yes Penny, I’m talking about you.)  Skinny college girls can really pack it away.  Such a waste.

Now then, I’ve come by today’s cheesecake somewhat by accident.  You see, my friends were supposed to have a New Year’s Eve chili cook-off party.  I threw some options out for my entry – Chile verde?  White chicken chili? – and was immediately and soundly vetoed.  “No way.  Who would bring dessert?!?”  Sigh.  Such is the life of a pastry chef.  (Full confession:  I intended to do both but whatever.)  So I needed something simple and cooling … cheesecake, right?  Except yesterday, as my cheesecake was chilling, the party was cancelled due to illness.  Drats.  I promptly had a slice and contemplated my options.  Geez, just what I needed.  A whole cheesecake to myself.  Crap.  I needed to round up some friends.

ready to bake

I’ve made a zillion cheesecakes and there’s all kind of debate about how to bake the stupid things.  Many call for a bain marie (aka a water bath) and for a long time, that’s what I did.  The theory is that the egg rich cake bakes up creamier in the gentle heat of the hot water but half the time I had water leakage issues no matter how tightly I wrapped that damn pan.  I’d seen many recipes that did away with the water bath but it wasn’t until a colleague told me she never uses a bain marie that I decided to try it.  (She was very vocal and adamant and may have called me crazy.  In fact, I’m pretty sure she did.)  Plus it’s easier and that’s extremely appealing.

In terms of flavors, I’m talking old school – dense, creamy with a little vanilla, a touch of lemon and a graham cracker crust.  No fancy pants mix-ins, swirls, chunks or wild crusts for me thankyouverymuch.  Sometimes I like a sour cream layer, sometimes not.  Oh and maybe some sort of fruit sauce on top though I’ve moved beyond the canned cherry goop.

a regular San Andreas fault

The only problem I run into once in a while is when the dang thing cracks which happens when the cake is over baked, has too much air incorporated into the mixture or is improperly cooled.   Or all three as was the case today.  To prevent over baking, take it out of the oven when the sides are just set and the center jiggles like Jell-O.  You won’t think it’s done but it is and will firm up as it cools.  To be terribly precise, take a temperature reading, 150°F is perfect and don’t go over 160°F.  Too much air in the mixture will cause the cake to rise (or soufflé) during baking then collapse while cooling so take care – mix until just blended.  Also, let the cake cool completely on a wire rack – 2 ½-3 hours – before chilling.

sour cream cover-up…shhhhh

But if it cracks, big whoop.  My cheesecake had the Grand Canyon of fissures right down the middle because my oven is old, hot and inaccurate and I was too impatient to let it cool properly.  No problemo.  All you do is spread a sour cream layer on top (make sure the cake cools for 1 hour first) then bake it for 10 minutes just to set.  The sour cream fills in any cracks and no one’s the wiser.  Ha!

A couple of tips…
–       Make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature.  Cold cream cheese will take longer to cream and you’ll incorporate more air increasing the odds of cracking.  If it’s room temp it’ll blend right up without little chunks of cream cheese throughout the batter.  An hour out of the fridge will do, overnight if you remember.
–       Eggs should be room temp too – putting cold eggs in a bowl of warm water for a few minutes will do the trick.
–       You can buy graham cracker crumbs though they’re a bit challenging to find – sometimes they’re with the crackers, other times in the baking section.  You can easily make your own crumbs – place whole crackers in a ziploc bag and roll over with a rolling pin until finely crushed.  Eleven whole crackers will give you the right amount.
–       This is one of the only times when a springform pan comes in handy.  You can do it in a regular deep cake pan though getting it out can be tricky – do a quick flip on a plate and back.  A removable bottom cake pan works too but the filling may leak.
–       Cream cheese – I prefer the Philadelphia brand.  I have zero scientific evidence but I think it really is the best.  And don’t skimp out – go with the full fat stuff.  “Lite” or –gasp!– fat free just doesn’t yield good or even decent results.  Gag.  Make something else.
–       The baking instructions are kind of odd – high heat for a very short period to just set the sides and top and then a long slow bake in a low oven.  This works great in my mom’s oven but my old behemoth doesn’t go quite that low so I turned it down as low as it would go (about 225°F) and baked it for about 50 minutes.  I think it was still too hot, hence the crack but the texture was still fantastic so I think it’s worth the small effort.

Happy New Year everyone!  Best of luck on any resolutions but don’t look to me for support.  I suck at these things.  But this year … this year …  yeah, OK.  We’ll see.

STRESS BAKING THERAPY FACTOR:  HIGH.  But is any perceived therapy compromised if you, uh, accidentally eat the whole thing?  16 slices of cheesecake for one person over a 2 or 3 day period can’t be a good thing, can it?  But it’s so creamy and delicious and utterly satisfying!  So here’s what you need to do – bake and chill it to creamy perfection as directed.  Sneak a slice or two for yourself then bring the rest to a friends house and share.  It’s immensely gratifying to share a really really good homemade cheesecake.  There’s so much bad cheesecake out there that your friends and family will be stunned and amazed and that is such a great feeling to share.  Ah yes, a HIGH ranking indeed!

looks perfect and no one’s the wiser!

VANILLA BEAN CHEESECAKE
makes one 9” cheesecake, serves 16 regular people (or 2 skinny college girls)

for the graham cracker crust:
1 ¼ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 11 whole crackers)
3 Tablespoons sugar
5 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

for the cheesecake:
2 pounds regular cream cheese (4 8-ounce packs), room temperature
1 ¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
1 vanilla bean, scraped (save pods for another use like vanilla sugar)
¼ cup heavy cream
¼ cup sour cream

for the sour cream topping:
1 ½ cups sour cream
2 Tablespoons sugar

1. For the crust: Preheat oven to 325°F and place a rack in the lower third of the oven.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
3. Press crumbs firmly and evenly into the bottom of a 9” spring form pan with removable sides.
4. Bake:  15 minutes until firm and golden.
5. Cool the crust to room temperature before filling.
6. For the filling: After baking the crust, increase oven temperature to 475°F.
7. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, cream the room temperature cream cheese and the sugar on medium until just combined.  Scrape but do not over mix.
8. With the mixer on medium, add the eggs one at a time until just combined.  Scrape.
9. Add the vanilla bean seeds and lemon zest and mix by hand until just combined.
10. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and heavy cream then fold into the cheesecake mixture until just combined.
11. Pour mixture into the spring form pan on top of the crust, smooth the top.
12. Bake:  475°F for 10 minutes.
13. Reduce the heat to 200°F for 1 hour until the outside is set but the center jiggles just a bit, like Jell-O (internal temp should be 150°F)
14. Cool for 1 hour on a wire rack.
15. For the topping: preheat the oven to 425°F.
16. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream and the sugar.
17. Spread the topping evenly over the cheesecake, not quite to the edges.
18. Bake:  10 minutes to just set the topping.
19. Cool: completely on a wire rack to room temperature – 2 ½-3 hours.
20. Chill:  least 4 hours or preferably overnight.
21. Unmold: Run a thin spatula around the edges of the cheesecake.
22. Loosen the hinge on the spring form pan and remove the outer ring.
23. To cut cleanly:  dip a thin sharp knife in hot water and wipe between cuts.
24. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days.  The crust will lose some of it’s crispness but it’ll still be tasty.