Cheesecake

I believe cheesecake is sort of like pie. There's a certain amount of skill that not everyone is willing to undertake. But like pie, shortcuts do not pay off. You can't buy a pie from Hy-Vee on Thanksgiving and try and pass it off as homemade. In a similar way, you can not make instant cheesecake from a jello mix. It's just not the same and people will know. This cheesecake is absolutely worth the effort. Last year I made it for the Knaack Thanksgiving and I got the ultimate compliment from my cousin Kyle: "Screw pies (his mom and sister make the best pies in the world) you can make cheesecake for every family event!"


Graham Cracker Crust
1 pkg graham crackers
1/3 c. butter
1/4 c. sugar
Crumble graham crackers, melt butter, add sugar and mix all together.

Cheese Cake Filling
4 8 oz packages cream cheese (very, very soft)
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 T cornstarch
1 T vanilla
Juice of one lemon (minus seeds, I have problems with this, more than once someone has accidentally gotten a seed)
1 c. sour cream
Line bottom of a 10" spring form pan with parchment paper circle
Pat graham cracker mixture to form the crust

Mix eggs, sugar+cornstarch, and cream cheese
Mix vanilla and lemon juice into cream cheese mixture
Add sour cream
Pour mixture into the prepared spring form pan
Place a 9x13 pan with 1" of water in the bottom rack of the oven
Place cheesecake on the upper rack and bake for 60 minutes at 350 degrees.
Turn off oven and prop open oven door for an additional hour for the cheesecake to cool.

Raspberry Sauce (annoying, but necessary because it's the finishing touch)
2 12 oz pkg frozen raspberries, thawed
2/3 c sugar

Puree raspberries. Pour mixture through a wire mesh strainer into a small saucepan. Discard seeds. Cook sauce until the consistency of egg white. Cool and serve over cheesecake!

The final result ... delightful.

I made this cheesecake last week for a dinner we were having with my cousin Eric and his girlfriend Ashley. I hope none of them got a lemon seed ...