Tasty and relatively healthy cheese-cake recipe.

[Yulia_R]

Hi mamas,
My husband decided that he wanted to make a cheese cake. He told this to the kids (it was about a month ago). He never baked before. The kids keep asking him, but he keeps saying that he just can’t find a good recipe. I said I’d find it for him. Can anyone please help me with a recipe of tasty (yet relatively healthy, not very sweet) cheese-cake?

Thanks in advance,
Yulia

[cristeen]

I usually start with about 2 pounds of cream cheese, beat it until smooth. Add 4-5 eggs beating after each addition. Stir in honey to taste (less than a cup), a cup of sour cream and some vanilla.

I don't use a springform pan because I like to bake in a waterbath for a creamier texture, so I use a glass cake pan. Bake at 300 in a water bath for about 60 minutes or until the center inch or so just jiggles when you shake the pan. Crack the oven door open, turn off the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before eating.

Cheesecake is actually really easy if you don't mind the aesthetics. If you want it to look perfect, then there are all sorts of things to do/not do. I'm far more interested in taste, myself.

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I usually start with about 2 pounds of cream cheese, beat it until smooth. Add 4-5 eggs beating after each addition. Stir in honey to taste (less than a cup), a cup of sour cream and some vanilla.

I don't use a springform pan because I like to bake in a waterbath for a creamier texture, so I use a glass cake pan. Bake at 300 in a water bath for about 60 minutes or until the center inch or so just jiggles when you shake the pan. Crack the oven door open, turn off the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before eating.

Cheesecake is actually really easy if you don't mind the aesthetics. If you want it to look perfect, then there are all sorts of things to do/not do. I'm far more interested in taste, myself.

Thank you so much! I have a couple of questions.

What do you mean by waterbath? And second, where do you buy cream cheese? Does it come pre-packed?

[Drummer's Wife]

I make it like Cristeen but use sugar instead of honey (I know sugar is bad, and I want to try it with honey next time )

Cream cheese comes packaged - usually it's near the yogurt, sour cream, milk, etc.

Does he want a crust? He could make it (easy) or buy the store bought ones

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

I make it like Cristeen but use sugar instead of honey (I know sugar is bad, and I want to try it with honey next time )

Cream cheese comes packaged - usually it's near the yogurt, sour cream, milk, etc.

Does he want a crust? He could make it (easy) or buy the store bought ones

He said that he doesn't mind a crust, but it doesn't have to be.

Can you mix cream cheese, eggs and honey in blender?

[cristeen]

Don't use a blender. Firstly, cream cheese will just gunk it up, secondly a blender is moving so fast that you will beat too much air into the mixture. You want as little air mixed in as possible. Usually when I'm making cream cheese I use a hand mixer for the cream cheese and the first egg, and then I switch to a spatula. If you don't have a hand mixer, use a spatula or a wooden spoon. It'll take some work to get the cream cheese smooth (let it come to room temperature before working with it), but you want it to be as smooth as possible before adding the eggs.

Oh yeah, I completely forgot some people put crusts on cheesecakes. Not something I ever do anymore.

And a waterbath is exactly what it sounds like. Just take a roasting pan or cake pan that's bigger than the pan you'll be using for the cheesecake, place your cheesecake pan inside it, and put about an inch of water in the bigger pan. You want it to come about halfway up the sides of the cake pan. This helps the cheesecake cook more evenly and gives it a smoother texture. Just be careful getting it in and out of the oven that you don't slosh water into the cheesecake.

[Yulia_R]

Thank you so much, ladies!

Now we know how to make a cheese cake !(I have never done one either)

Waterbath sounds pretty complicated for us; we do have a glass baking tray, but nothing that would be larger than for the waterbath. Would it be still ok if we just bake it in the oven? If so, how long do I need to bake it? Also, do I need to put any oil/flour on the bottom on the tray so the cake won't stick?

Thanks!
Yulia

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by Drummer's Wife

Does he want a crust? He could make it (easy) or buy the store bought ones

Do you mind sharing the crust recipe just in case?
thanks!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Yulia_R

Waterbath sounds pretty complicated for us; we do have a glass baking tray, but nothing that would be larger than for the waterbath. Would it be still ok if we just bake it in the oven? If so, how long do I need to bake it? Also, do I need to put any oil/flour on the bottom on the tray so the cake won't stick?

For the cheesecake itself, I usually use a 9 inch pan, either round or square. For the waterbath I usually use my roasting pan - the one I use for meats.

But, if you don't have one, you don't have one, and that's fine. The next best thing you can do is put another pan on the lower rack with water in it - it helps prevent drying out. But even if you can't do that, it will still work - it just will have a slightly different texture, and for a first cheesecake, you probably won't even notice the difference.

And no, you don't need to grease the pan.

Honestly, if you've made paskha, then cheesecake isn't all that different in preparation, except it's sometimes baked. I've been known to cook my paskha just to get a better texture from the tvorog.

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by cristeen

For the cheesecake itself, I usually use a 9 inch pan, either round or square. For the waterbath I usually use my roasting pan - the one I use for meats.

But, if you don't have one, you don't have one, and that's fine. The next best thing you can do is put another pan on the lower rack with water in it - it helps prevent drying out. But even if you can't do that, it will still work - it just will have a slightly different texture, and for a first cheesecake, you probably won't even notice the difference.

square 9 inch glass tray is what we have. The problem with our large frying pan (the one we use for meats) is that it's cast iron, so no water allowed. But I can tatally put a larger tray with water underneath, so it won't dry out. Thanks so much for the ideas!

[Yulia_R]

Originally Posted by cristeen

I usually start with about 2 pounds of cream cheese, beat it until smooth. Add 4-5 eggs beating after each addition. Stir in honey to taste (less than a cup), a cup of sour cream and some vanilla.

I don't use a springform pan because I like to bake in a waterbath for a creamier texture, so I use a glass cake pan. Bake at 300 in a water bath for about 60 minutes or until the center inch or so just jiggles when you shake the pan. Crack the oven door open, turn off the oven and let it cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight before eating.

Cheesecake is actually really easy if you don't mind the aesthetics. If you want it to look perfect, then there are all sorts of things to do/not do. I'm far more interested in taste, myself.

We made the cheesecake yesterday. It came out SO GOOD! Thank you so much for the recipe! We put 1/2 c of honey.