I got this recipe out of the Kansas City Star at least five years ago. We tried it for Christmas 2009. It's delicious. The two pounds of cream cheese are a big factor, along with the "crust" being a sponge cake. The recipe calls for a 9-inch springform pan, which is what we used. (I'm using "we" in the royal sense. My daughter made the cheesecake, while I was fixing something else.) I think you'd get as good or better results with a 10-inch pan but that is just speculation on my part. Junior, I'm sure, would disagree.
Heads up: The recipe also calls for another pan big enough to hold your springform pan and an inch of water.
Bottom layer:
½ c. sifted cake flour (used ordinary flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
3 eggs, separated (you'll need to beat both yolks and whites with your electric mixer at different steps, so plan your bowl usage accordingly)
⅓ c. plus 2 T. sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 drops lemon extract
3 T. butter, melted
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
I. Oven to 350◦.
II. Generously butter bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan.
III. Sift flour, baking powder, salt into small bowl; set aside.
IV. Beat egg yolks for three minutes in large bowl with electric mixer on high. Gradually add ⅓ cup sugar. Beat an additional five minutes, until mixture forms thick yellow ribbons.
V. Add vanilla and lemon extracts.
VI. Sift flour mixture over batter and stir by hand until dry ingredients disappear. Stir in melted butter.
VII. In clean bowl, using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
VIII. Stir small amount of beaten egg whites until batter, then gently fold in remaining whites. Spoon cake batter into prepared springform pan and bake until it springs back when touched (about 10 minutes). Cool cake in pan on wire rack and prepare the filling.
Cream Cheese Filling
4 8-oz packages of cream cheese
1⅔ c. sugar
¼ c. cornstarch
1 T. vanilla
2 eggs
6 oz. (¾ c.) heavy whipping cream
I. Place 1 package of cream cheese, ⅓ cup of sugar and the cornstarch in large bowl. Beat on low for about three minutes, then beat in remaining packages of cream cheese.
II. Add remaining sugar (1⅓ cups) and beat on high. Add vanilla.
III. Blend in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
IV. Blend in cream, mixing only until completely blended.
V. Spoon filling on top of baked cake layer.
VI. Place springform pan in large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about an inch up the sides of the pan. (We set the cake in the larger pan and then added the water until it was about an inch up the sides of the springform pan. I think that's the way you'll want to do it, too. You don't want the hot water to flood your cheesecake after all the work you've done!)
VII. Bake about an hour. Center should barely jiggle when you shake the pan. Cool cake on rack an hour and then refrigerate at least four hours. When you are ready to serve the cake, slide knife around the edges of the cake to loosen, then remove springform side.
Observations: Since I didn't do the preparation, I can't comment much on the process. There are a lot of steps, aren't there? We did the bit in "Filling Step VI" where the springform pan sits in a hot-water bath. I happen to have a 14-inch round cake pan. That was helpful. The sponge-cake layer on the bottom is a big improvement over a graham-cracker crust, in my opinion.
Heads up: The recipe also calls for another pan big enough to hold your springform pan and an inch of water.
Junior's Famous No. 1 Pure Cream Cheesecake
Bottom layer:
½ c. sifted cake flour (used ordinary flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
pinch of salt
3 eggs, separated (you'll need to beat both yolks and whites with your electric mixer at different steps, so plan your bowl usage accordingly)
⅓ c. plus 2 T. sugar
1 tsp vanilla
3 drops lemon extract
3 T. butter, melted
¼ tsp. cream of tartar
I. Oven to 350◦.
II. Generously butter bottom and sides of 9-inch springform pan.
III. Sift flour, baking powder, salt into small bowl; set aside.
IV. Beat egg yolks for three minutes in large bowl with electric mixer on high. Gradually add ⅓ cup sugar. Beat an additional five minutes, until mixture forms thick yellow ribbons.
V. Add vanilla and lemon extracts.
VI. Sift flour mixture over batter and stir by hand until dry ingredients disappear. Stir in melted butter.
VII. In clean bowl, using clean, dry beaters, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until foamy. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
VIII. Stir small amount of beaten egg whites until batter, then gently fold in remaining whites. Spoon cake batter into prepared springform pan and bake until it springs back when touched (about 10 minutes). Cool cake in pan on wire rack and prepare the filling.
Cream Cheese Filling
4 8-oz packages of cream cheese
1⅔ c. sugar
¼ c. cornstarch
1 T. vanilla
2 eggs
6 oz. (¾ c.) heavy whipping cream
I. Place 1 package of cream cheese, ⅓ cup of sugar and the cornstarch in large bowl. Beat on low for about three minutes, then beat in remaining packages of cream cheese.
II. Add remaining sugar (1⅓ cups) and beat on high. Add vanilla.
III. Blend in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
IV. Blend in cream, mixing only until completely blended.
V. Spoon filling on top of baked cake layer.
VI. Place springform pan in large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about an inch up the sides of the pan. (We set the cake in the larger pan and then added the water until it was about an inch up the sides of the springform pan. I think that's the way you'll want to do it, too. You don't want the hot water to flood your cheesecake after all the work you've done!)
VII. Bake about an hour. Center should barely jiggle when you shake the pan. Cool cake on rack an hour and then refrigerate at least four hours. When you are ready to serve the cake, slide knife around the edges of the cake to loosen, then remove springform side.
Observations: Since I didn't do the preparation, I can't comment much on the process. There are a lot of steps, aren't there? We did the bit in "Filling Step VI" where the springform pan sits in a hot-water bath. I happen to have a 14-inch round cake pan. That was helpful. The sponge-cake layer on the bottom is a big improvement over a graham-cracker crust, in my opinion.