Velvet Cheesecake

The smoothest, creamiest cheesecake ever - the Mountain West version!

velvet cheesecake

1 lb. cream cheese (2- 8 ounce packages) - at room temperature                                                       

3/4 cup granulated sugar  

3 eggs, at room temperature                                               

2 teaspoons vanilla extract                                                 

1 1/4 cup sour cream 

1/4 teaspoon fine salt                                     

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups crushed graham crackers or vanilla wafers

3 tablespoons sugar

1/4 cup melted butter 

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-FOR CRUST-

Place crackers or wafers in a food processor and run on medium, until they are finely crushed. Mix with sugar and melted butter.  Press firmly into a 9 or 10-inch spring form pan, covering the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides. (The cheesecake will be thinner in the 10-inch pan so use the 9-inch pan if you prefer a thicker cheesecake.) Bake crust for 10 minutes in the oven, then remove and allow to cool for at least 15 minutes.

-FOR FILLING-

Beat softened cream cheese and sugar together until smooth in an electric mixer on medium speed, about 5 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time and beat about 2 minutes longer on high speed, until incorporated - do not overbeat. Add vanilla and lemon juice and mix well.  Stir in sour cream with salt, until smooth.

-Pour batter into the cooled graham cracker crust. Bake 25 minutes or until just barely set.  (Wiggle the pan - the center should tremble slightly but not appear runny.) If still runny in the center, bake another 5 minutes then check again, until the center is just barely set.

-Remove from oven and let cool completely.  Chill for several hours or overnight.

-Garnish with sweetened whipped cream and serve with raspberry or strawberry puree or cherry pie filling. Serves 8.

Poor the batter into the baked and cooled crust.

Decorate with loads of sweetened whipped cream and berries or……..

Try a more modern decor, such as with medallions of sweetened cream and buree puree.

PERSNICKETY NOTES:

-Take care not to overbeat the batter mixture once the eggs are added, as this can cause the cake to crack during baking. Not a big deal if this should happen - just camouflage the cracks with whipped cream!

-You do not have to use a springform pan. A 10-inch pie plate will work just fine. However, press the crumbs up the slanted sides of the pie plate as the bottom crust will be too thick otherwise. You will have a slanted edge instead of a straight one to your cheesecake, but the taste and texture are the same!

-Oven temperatures vary so it is difficult to say exactly how long to bake the cheesecake, but with experience, you will develop the eye for just the right amount of jiggle in the middle of the cheesecake before removing it from the oven. If it sets up to the solid nature of a New York style cheesecake, it will not achieve the creamy, velvety texture we are aiming for. But it will still be delicious - just a more solid experience!

-Try various toppings on your cheesecake and be creative. If you go for fruit, strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, peaches, nectarines, cooked apples, are all great. Or stick with sauces and purees if you prefer, caramel, melba, strawberry, butterscotch, even chocolate ganache, etc. With or without cream. I was first won over to cheesecake in its naked form. “In taste, there is no dispute” as my mother always said. I won’t dispute that!