Cookbook:New York Cheesecake

| Dessert | Cake | New York City cuisine

Arnold Reuben, owner of Turf Restaurant at 49th and Broadway in New York City, developed the recipe for New York cheesecake in 1929 after eating a slice of cheese pie at a friend's home.

He altered his hostess’ recipe and eventually developed his own version of cheesecake which relies on cream cheese rather than cottage cheese as most other bakeries did at the time. Reuben then served his new creation in his restaurant which became a hit in no time.

The below recipe makes a firm and heavy cheesecake, nicely flavored with lemon. It is very important to avoid over beating the ingredients in order to avoid cracks.

Crust

 * 5 ounces Barnham and Bailey animal crackers or sweet digestive biscuits
 * 3 tablespoons sugar
 * 4 tablespoons melted butter

Cake

 * 2 ½ pounds softened cream cheese
 * 1 ¾ cups white granulated sugar
 * 1 tablespoon corn starch
 * 3 tablespoons flour
 * Zest of 1 lemon
 * 1 teaspoon vanilla
 * 5 large whole eggs
 * 2 large egg yolks
 * ¼ cup heavy cream

Crust

 * 1) Butter bottom and sides of 10-inch springform pan.
 * 2) Crush animal crackers into a fine powder. Mix with 3 tablespoons of sugar.
 * 3) Add to melted butter and mix with a fork until blended.
 * 4) Press mixture into the bottom and up about one third of the sides of the pan.
 * 5) Refrigerate 1 hour.

Cake

 * 1) Have all ingredients at room temperature.
 * 2) Preheat oven to 475°F.
 * 3) Mix sugar, flour and cornstarch together.
 * 4) Using a wooden spoon, beat cream cheese with sugar mix, zest and vanilla until it is smooth. Do not overbeat.
 * 5) Add the whole eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating lightly with wooden spoon after each addition. Do not overbeat as this causes the cheesecake to crack.
 * 6) Gently stir in cream.
 * 7) Pour mixture into the pan. Place pan on cookie sheet to avoid leakage.
 * 8) Bake at 475°F for 15 minutes
 * 9) Lower heat to 225°F and bake for 1 hour
 * 10) Raise heat to 250°F and bake for about 15 more minutes
 * 11) Refrigerate immediately for at least 1 hour, covered with a cloth and cookie sheet (cloth on bottom) until condensation stops forming. Condensation will drip onto the cake if you cover it right away with plastic wrap.

Notes, tips, and variations

 * You may substitute lemon juice for vanilla.