Cheesecake- Yumm!

Eggless cheesecake

Makes one 10” round cake 

Filling ingredients 

24 oz Cream cheese ( room temperature) 

1/2 cup heavy cream 

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp corn starch 

3 tbsp water 

1/2 cup sour cream

14 oz condensed milk ( 1 can) 

1 tbsp lemon 

2 tbsp vanilla 

1/2 tsp lemon zest ( optional) 

Crust ingredients 

27 sheets of graham crackers 

1/2 cup melted butter ( one stick) 

1/2 cup sugar 

1/2 tsp salt 

Compote 

2 cups raspberries (macerated)

3 tbsp sugar

1/4 cup water 

For Water-bath 

Springform pan

Aluminum foil large enough to envelope the pan 

Another rectangular pan - large enough to hold your 10” cake pan and deep enough to hold 1/2” water. 

Boiling Water 

Procedure

Wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil. This is so that it creates a cover to ensure water from the water bath does not go inside the cake. 

Put the graham crackers into a ziplock bag. Using a rolling pin roll until coarse powder. Mix in with the butter, salt  and sugar. Line a 10” springform pan with parchment paper. I line it enough that I can fold sufficient paper to the bottom of the pan. This helps me pull the cake out more easily from base plate. 

Line the sides of pan and the parchment paper with some butter. Press the graham crackers mix nicely to the bottom of the pan. I use my cup measure to get even crust. Put it into the refrigerator until we have the filling ready. 

Mix cornstarch and water into a paste, and keep aside. 

In a mixing bowl,  slowly whip the cream cheese about 3-4 minutes until fluffy. Add the sour cream, condensed milk, heavy cream, vanilla and lemon juice and whip on medium until well mixed.  You can whip the heavy cream separately if needed. But I just do it all together. Add the cornstarch mix and whip a couple of minutes. Transfer the filling onto the crust in the springform pan.  Tap on the ground to take out any air bubbles. 

Place the round pan in your rectangular pan. Plan in oven preheated to 350 F. Once in the oven, slowly pour boiling water into rectangular pan, until about 1/2” deep. 

Bake for 40 minutes.switch the oven off and let it continue to sit in the oven for another 20 minutes.  Then move it to the counter and let it cool. Once at room temperature, set it in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours. 

While the cake is cooling down, in a sauce pan heat the raspberries, sugar and water. Cook down to desired consistency. Let it cool. 

Server chilled slices ! Keep a bowl of piping hot water to clean your knife between cuts. 

I missed my timer around 40 minutes. So went almost up to 55. Which is why you see the cracks. Hopefully next time I can get no cracks. But it tasted great! My son who doesn’t like cheese cakes - was asking for seconds and thirds and ... you get the point. And as much as he is a mama fan  - he is a tough critic!