Simple but elegant cheesecake

Cheesecake has always been an intimidating dessert for me. Every year we would always make small cheesecake tarts but the larger cakes are a whole different ball game. so when my father was on the east coast and we were taking care of some family I took advantage of his knowledge of cheesecakes. Everyone is always talking about all the different cheesecakes that he makes, peanut butter, chocolate etc. Though I do love a unique cheesecake that has a mix of flavors in it, the one that I always prefer is the simple one, just a plain cheesecake with fresh fruit topping. So my father and I set out to make a simple elegant cheesecake.

Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
4 TBL unsalted butter
1-1/2 TBL granulated sugar

Variants:Lorna dune shortbread cookies, Ginger snaps (use 2-1/2 TBL granulated sugar), Oreo Cookies (1 TBL granulated sugar)

Filling:
2-1/2 lbs cream cheese (room temp)
1-1/2 cups of sugar
1 tsp Vanilla
3 TBL flour (not fully necessary but does help if you want to make it gluten free)
5 eggs (room temp)
2 egg yolks (room temp)
½ cup of sour cream (room temp)
1 TBL lemon Zest

please note that if you are making gluten free you will have to use something else other than graham crackers, something i will defiantly look into for my gluten free friends.

Get cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350*
Put 1 pkg. Graham crackers (about 12) into food processor and process to a fine consistency. Pour into small mixing bowl. Add 4 tbl. Melted butter and 1 ½ tbl. of sugar. Mix well and then pour mixture into 9” spring form pan. Press crumb mixture evenly over bottom and about 1” up side of pan. Place in oven and bake for about 9 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Turn oven up to 425*.

Place cream cheese in large mixing bowl with the sugar. Beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the sour cream and flour and continue to mix. Make sure you scrape the sides of bowl often so that all the cream cheese gets incorporated into mixture or you will have a lumpy cheesecake. You now add the eggs into the mixture one at a time and mix at low setting. Next fold in the vanilla and the lemon zest.

Pour mixture into cooled crust and place in oven. Bake at 425* for 15 minutes and then turn heat down to 225* and bake for an additional 65 minutes. Cake will be set on the outer edges and will shake slightly in the center when done. Turn heat off in oven, open oven door, and let cake remain in the oven for about 30 minutes. Remove cake from oven and cool for 15 minutes on cooling rack. Run a sharp knife around the edge of the cake to free it from the sides and then cool completely. Remove side of spring form pan. Cover and refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.