By I spent this week reading applications for next year's AP English class, which means I spent this week reading the most earnestly ambitious writing produced by sixteen-year-olds who want to impress me. Some of it is good. Some of it is trying to be good, which I value more than good, because trying means the student cares, and caring is the prerequisite for everything I can teach them. One girl wrote about her grandmother's kitchen and how the smell of adobo was the smell of being loved, and I sat at my desk at Oceanside High and thought: this girl understands. She already understands. I wrote "See me in September" on her application and meant it as the compliment it is.
The blog continues to grow in ways that surprise me. I have readers now — real readers, not just Rebecca and the three colleagues I pressured into subscribing. A woman named Linda from Connecticut writes me emails that are longer than my posts. She says my brisket essay reminded her of her mother, who was Irish Catholic and made pot roast every Sunday, which is not brisket but is the same impulse: take a tough cut of meat and give it time and heat and patience, and it will surrender into something tender. I wrote back to Linda. We have been corresponding for two weeks. She is seventy-one and a retired nurse and she makes soda bread that she says is to the Irish what challah is to the Jews. I believe her. Bread is bread. Love is love. The oven doesn't care about your denomination.
Marvin and I went to a movie this week — an actual movie, in an actual theater, which we haven't done in months because Marvin claims every movie made after 1975 is worse than the ones made before, a position I find indefensible but also mildly charming. We saw something forgettable about people falling in love in an improbable way. Marvin held my hand in the dark, which is a thing he has done at every movie since our first date, and which I never take for granted because some gestures improve with repetition. He fell asleep during the third act. I did not wake him. Sleeping beside me at the movies is, in its own way, a declaration of trust.
I am making cheesecake this weekend. New York cheesecake — the definitive article, dense and creamy, the kind that should probably require a prescription. My cheesecake is famous in Oceanside, which is a small fame but a real one. Mrs. DeLuca says it is better than anything she had in Italy. I believe her. I also believe that Mrs. DeLuca is kind, and kindness and accuracy don't always overlap, but in the case of my cheesecake, they do.
There is something about a week like this one—Marvin’s hand in mine in the dark, the small ordinary faithfulness of it—that makes me want to bake something worthy of the moment. New York cheesecake is my answer to contentment; it is not a humble dessert, and it does not pretend to be. Here is how I make it.
New York Cheesecake
Prep Time: 30 minutes | Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes | Total Time: 6 hours (includes cooling and chilling) | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- For the crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 12 full crackers)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- Pinch of kosher salt
- For the filling:
- 32 oz (four 8-oz packages) full-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
Instructions
- Prepare the pan. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan tightly in two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. This keeps water out during the water bath. Lightly grease the inside of the pan.
- Make the crust. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter, and salt in a bowl and mix until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared springform pan, using the flat bottom of a glass to compact it. Bake for 10 minutes, then set aside to cool slightly.
- Beat the cream cheese. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a hand mixer), beat the room-temperature cream cheese on medium speed for 3 to 4 minutes until completely smooth and free of lumps. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl thoroughly.
- Add sugar and flavorings. With the mixer on low, gradually add the sugar and beat until combined. Add the sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix until just incorporated. Scrape the bowl again.
- Add the eggs. Add the eggs and yolks one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition just until the yellow disappears. Do not overmix—overmixing incorporates too much air and will cause cracking. Scrape the bowl one final time and give it a few folds with a spatula by hand.
- Prepare the water bath. Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Set the foil-wrapped pan inside a large roasting pan. Pour hot (not boiling) water into the roasting pan until it comes 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan.
- Bake. Bake at 325°F for 70 to 80 minutes. The cheesecake is done when the edges are set and the center 2 to 3 inches still jiggles gently when the pan is nudged. It will continue to set as it cools. Do not wait for the center to be fully firm or you will overbake it.
- Cool gradually. Turn off the oven, crack the door open about 1 inch, and let the cheesecake rest in the oven for 1 hour. This slow cool prevents cracking. Remove the pan from the water bath, discard the foil, and run a thin knife around the inside edge of the pan to release the sides. Let cool completely on a wire rack, about 1 more hour.
- Chill overnight. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, though overnight is strongly preferred. The texture improves considerably by the next day—denser, creamier, more itself.
- Serve. Remove the springform ring. Slice with a sharp knife wiped clean between each cut. Serve as-is or with fresh berries. Do not apologize for the portion size.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 520 | Protein: 9g | Fat: 36g | Carbs: 42g | Fiber: 0g | Sodium: 340mg