New York Cheesecake

So many people love cheesecake but baking one can be a little tricky. This Betty Crocker recipe makes it easy. You could bake a basic cheesecake and top it with whatever you like!

New York Cheesecake

Ingredients:

Crust-

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg yolk

Filling and Topping-

5 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/4 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup whipping cream

1/3 cup slivered almonds, toasted, if desired

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly grease 9 inch springform pan with shortening; remove bottom. In medium bowl, mix all crust ingredients with fork until dough forms; gather into a ball. Press one-third of the dough evenly on bottom of pan. Place on cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown; cool. Assemble bottom and side of pan; secure side. Press remaining dough 2 inches up side of pan. Increase oven temperature to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. In large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, orange peel, lemon peel, and salt with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Beat in eggs, 2 egg yolks, and 1/4 cup whipping cream, beating on low speed until well blended. Pour into baked crust. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake 1 hour longer. Cheesecake may not appear to be done, but if a small area in the center seems soft, it will become firm as cheesecake cools. (Do not insert a knife to test for doneness because the hole could cause cheesecake to crack.) Turn off oven; leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool in pan on cooling rack away from drafts 30 minutes. Without releasing or removing side of pan, run metal spatula carefully along side of pan to loosen cheesecake. Refrigerate uncovered about 3 hours or until chilled; cover and continue refrigerating at least 9 hours but no longer than 48 hours. Run metal spatula along side of pan to loosen cheesecake again. Remove side of pan; leave cheesecake on pan bottom to serve. In chilled small bowl, beat 3/4 cup whipping cream with electric mixer on high speed until stiff. Spread whipped cream over top of cheesecake. Decorate with almonds. Store covered in refrigerator.