New York Cheesecake with Strawberry Sauce

Despite being well known amongst my friends and family for making all sorts of cheesecakes, I realized that I have never made the most traditional type: New York Cheesecake. Sure, I've made variations of it, but never a true New York Cheesecake. I decided that I would remedy that by making it for my birthday this year when my family came over to celebrate.

Normally when it comes to making cheesecake for family gatherings I use an 11" pan, my biggest one, and 2 lbs of cream cheese. This recipe used a 9" pan and 3 lbs of cream cheese. Not only that, but it also used 7 whole eggs and 2 egg yolks in addition to sour cream. As you can imagine, the resulting cake was super rich and extremely tall. In fact, when I was pouring the batter into the pan I was afraid of how full it was so I scooped about two cups out and made them into mini cheesecakes.

In my opinion, the perfect New York cheesecake is always accompanied by a fresh fruit sauce and the

classic is always strawberry. I have to admit that once I poured it onto the cake, the sauce kind of made it look sloppy because the strawberries had somewhat discolored and were breaking down. However the taste more than made up for it because it was delicious!

The cake was well received by my family and I was happy to cross such an iconic cake off my list. I don't know if I will repeat the recipe,  because it is truly an extremely rich cake, but I would definitely recommend it for its ease and simplicity.

New York Cheesecake

For the crust:

• 1 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 2½ tbsp unsalted butter, melted
• 1½ tbsp sugar

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and then transfer to a 9" springform pan. Gently press down all along the bottom and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 8 minutes. Set aside to cool.

For the cheesecake:

• 3 lbs (6 blocks) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1½ cups sugar
• 7 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
• 1 cups sour cream
• ½ tsp salt
• Zest of one lemon

1. Beat the cream cheese on medium-high speed for about a minute, until smooth.
2. Beat in the sugar and salt and then the sour cream. Scape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
3. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, at low speed. Beat in the lemon zest and continue mixing until everything is combined.
4. Pour the mixture into the cooled springform pan and bake for 60 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit using a hot water bath or by placing a pan of hot water on the lowest rack beneath the cake.
5. Without opening the oven door, turn off the oven and leave the cake to cool for 2½-3 hours inside the oven. Afterward, remove from the oven and cool to room temperature before refrigerating for at least 4 hours, though preferably overnight.

For the strawberry sauce:

• 2 lbs fresh strawberries, cut into halves or quarters
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup water

1. Combine the strawberries, sugar, and water in a saucepan and heat over medium heat until the berries start to break down. 
2. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue cooking for another 15-20 minutes while the sauce thickens. 
3. Remove from the heat and allow to cool before straining strawberries and spooning over top of the cheesecake. 
4. Optional: the leftover liquid strawberry sauce can be served on the side to pour over individual slices.