This was seriously AMAZING!!!! I made this for a surprise for Danny for Father's Day because he loves cheesecake & this recipe did not disappoint. Danny said it was even better than the Cheesecake Factory, so it's definitely a winner!
Company Cheesecake
Crust:
3/4 C. flour (I did 1/2 graham cracker crumbs)
1/4 C. sugar
1/4 C. finely chopped pecans
1 tsp. grated lemon peel
6 Tbsp. cold butter
1 egg yolk
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Filling:
5 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, softened to room temperature (don't use reduced fat)
1 3/4 C. sugar
3 Tbsp. flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt
4 eggs (at room temperature)
2 egg yolks (at room temperature)
1/4 C. whipping cream (I used 1/4 C. sour cream instead)
Make crust by combining flour, sugar, pecans & lemon peel. Cut in butter until crumbly. Combine egg yolk & vanilla & stir into flour mixture. Press into the bottom of a greased 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 8-11 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack.
Fill a 9x13 pan with 8 cups water & place on lowest oven rack. Reduce heat to 325 degrees.
Make filling by beating cream cheese until smooth (make sure to scrape the bowl often throughout the whole process of making the filling so you don't have lumps). Gradually beat in sugar. Add the flour, vanilla & salt. Combine eggs & egg yolks in a separate bowl & then add to cream cheese mixture until just combined. Beat in cream until just combined. Pour over crust.
Bake on middle rack at 325 degrees for 70-75 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen. Cool 1 hour longer. cover with plastic wrap & tinfoil & refrigerate overnight (I did mine for 24 hours). Remove sides of pan & serve.
* I baked mine for 65-75 minutes (I can't remember the exact time--I just kept checking it) or until the center wobbled like jello.
*My cheesecake did crack, but I didn't care--just as long as it tasted good :)
*I only have a 9-inch springform pan, so I saved some of the crust & filling & baked it in a little loaf pan & it worked great!
*I used some of these tips from Our Best Bites.
recipe from Donna Bucher from allrecipes.com
