Silky New York Cheese Cake (with oreo base)

Let's start with this...Did you know that Cheese cake actually originated from GREECE! I didn't and I have never heard of Greek Cheese cake, I know there's the famous New York Cheese Cake, French Cheese Cake which I tried once and hope to share with you someday , there's also Japanese Cheese cake which looks as soft as Cotton; that's still in my wish list. 

I like to know the history of most of the food that I cook and keep them as my bedtime stories for my kids when I run out of things to say ;) So, yes Cheese Cake recipe is about 4,000 years old to Ancient Greece.

 

Its very difficult to describe a "perfect" Cheese cake coz every one has their own individual way and things that you look for it could be the crust, the tanginess, the sweetness and the texture etc..etc...

  

I got this recipe from Joe Pastry's blog, he can tell you all the science and chemistry, do visit his page for more information. I have tried it with few minor changes, some worked some did not work for me, it could work for you depending on what you are looking for.

 

 (Shhhhhhhh, New Yok cheese cake does not have a CRUST!!!!) I still need to figure out how to get my crust to stay crusty..its soggy ;

  

Before you start to you need to make sure your ingredients are at room temperature, that's the secret to getting a great Cheese Cake, coz if your ingredients are cold ; especially the cream cheese, when you whip you will find the lumps and you will need to whip it longer to remove the lumps and over whipping causes your Cheese Cake to crack..GOT IT!

 

For the crust you can use about 10 gram crackers about 2 cups. I used 2 packets of 10s although in the video I have shown only one.

 

Preheat your oven to 400F

For the Crust:

 

 

20 Oreo biscuit sandwiches ( 2 Cups )

3 Tbls butter

 

Spread in an 8 or 9 inch spring form (depending how tall you like your cheese cake to be) if you are using a normal baking pan, you will need to line it up with parchment paper.

Spread the crumbs evenly and bake for about 5-7 mins. Let it cool before you pour the cheese cake batter.

 

 

Bring your oven down  to 350F  and set a rack on a middle shelf

 

For the Filling

 

 

lb. 2 ounces cream cheese
7 ounces sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract or lemon zest if you wish
4 eggs
1 lb. 8 ounces sour cream (you can also use heavy cream, or any combination of the two)

(In the video I used 1lb sour cream and 4oz whipping cream and 4 oz sweetened condensed milk)

 

 

1. Combine your cream cheese, sugar and salt in the bowl of a mixer……and beat several minutes until smooth and creamy, scraping once or twice during the process.

 

2. Add in your vanilla and beat about 20 seconds more. Scrape.

3. Beat in the eggs one by one, again, scraping once or twice along the way.

4. Add the sour cream in three additions, and yes scrape! Mix a few seconds more.

5. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil to prevent any water get in your cheese cake - no you don't that to happen!

 

6. Put the foil-lined pan in a larger shallow pan, and add an inch or so of hot simmering water.

Bake 45 minutes at 350, then turn off the oven and — without opening the oven door — bake for an additional hour as the oven cools. 

 

Allow the cake to cool for at least an hour at room temperature, then chill it for a minimum of 3 hours, preferably overnight. The next day, remove the ring and the parchment paper, slice and serve. You can get whatever topping you desire but this is good without it.