New York Cheesecake

I was walking down the bakery aisle of SuperStore and there out of the corner of my eye, I caught a little flash of something. So, with my crow-like instincts, I head towards the flash, almost running in slow-mo. And what to my wondrous eyes should appear but a glass bottomed spring form pan....***gasp***. How nice to NOT have to remove the cheesecake from the nasty, ugly tin spring form bottom. Oh yeah, baby! So, I snatched it up and into the cart it went. A DEFINITE steal at 7.99...go President's Choice!!! Of course after that, I had to swing by the cream cheese aisle to pick up ingredients.

Really, what is more exciting to a baker than a new pan?? I remember when I was about 9, my best friend, Judy Jordan got an easy bake oven. With it came 2 mini round cake pans, and a kind of swirly shaped muffin pan. The round pans were nice, but my eye was on the muffin pan. It was shiny...***caw, caw***, and so perfect. I had to have one.

I think it was that next Christmas, there under the tree was my very own Easy Bake oven, complete with the mini-muffin pan!! Man, the awe!!! So, I would whip up cornmeal muffins, cake mixes, white cake...whatever my mother would let me use for ingredients at that age. She was a brave, brave mother...lol.

When I needed to mix it up a little, outside it would go with me to the sandbank, to whip up the most beautiful little mud cakes, complete with flowers snitched from mom's garden to decorate the tops with. I would leave them dry in the sun, and somehow, they would pop out, hard as rocks from my little pan. I would put them on one of my mini Tupperware plates (more good times), and go the the garage to ask dad if he would like some. He always took several, telling me how beautiful they were.

I still have my mini muffin pan, hiding in the back of the bottom drawer of my oven. Every now and then I will sneak a peek of it, and it takes me back to the very day I opened the box and took mine out. The good memories of muffins, made of both flour AND mud will always be present with each glimpse!

So with the new pan comes the New York Cheesecake. Definitely a contender with the Turtle Cheesecake. I love this recipe. I have made it many times, with stunning results. It is really tall when sliced, super smooth, decadent and just amazing when topped with, yes, once again, Caramel sauce. My oldest sister, Annette swears there is none like it. She may be biased, though. Or, you could try it and see for yourself!

***Going to ogle my new pan again***

New York Cheesecake
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Crust:
1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons butter, melted

Filling:
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese (I used light)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup coffee cream
4 eggs
1 cup sour cream (I used light)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9 inch spring form pan. (I also lined the sides with parchment paper).
2. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press onto bottom of spring form pan.
3. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk and coffee cream and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off, and let cake cool in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until serving.

**I topped this with a chocolate ganache, but let me warn you, it is SUPER rich***

Chocolate Ganache
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INGREDIENTS

325 grams semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon dark rum (I used coffee)

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth. Stir in the rum if desired.
2. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.










Yep....it really is my very own mini muffin pan from back in the day!!!