Sandys New York Cheesecake Recipes

Steps:

• For the crust: Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.
• Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, brown sugar and salt in a medium bowl until evenly moistened.
• Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and halfway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake the crust until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes.
• Cool completely on a rack. Wrap the bottom and up the sides of the pan with foil and place in a roasting pan.
• For the filling: Add the cream cheese to a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed until smooth. Add the granulated sugar and beat, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add the cream, beating until combined. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the lemon zest and juice, vanilla and salt and beat just until combined, taking care not to over whip. Pour into the crust.
• Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Carefully place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out of the oven). Pour enough hot water in the roasting pan to come about halfway up the side of the foil-wrapped springform pan.
• Bake until the top of the cheesecake is lightly browned around the edges, but the center still jiggles slightly, about 2 hours.
• Remove the cheesecake from the roasting pan to a rack. Run a knife around the edges and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours and up to overnight.
• Bring the cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Remove the springform ring. Dip a knife in warm water and wipe dry before slicing each piece.

Steps:

• To make the crust: Butter a 9-inch springform pan - choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter left over) - and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil.
• Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don't worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway point on the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the over. (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.)
• Center a rack in the over, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• To make the cheesecake: Put a kettle of water on to boil.
• Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and creamy, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat for another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs, one by one, beating for 1 full minute after each addition - you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
• Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in a roasting pan that is large enough to hold the pan with some space around it.
• Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. The batter will reach the rim of the pan. (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small soufflé mold.) Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
• Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven's heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
• After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster - be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil - and remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
• When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, although overnight is better.
• At serving time, remove the sides of the springform pan - you can use a hairdryer to do this - and set the cake on a serving platter.

Steps:

• Make crumb crust as directed in separate recipe. Preheat oven to 550°F.
• Beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, and zests with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, 1 at a time, then vanilla, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated and scraping down bowl between additions.
• Put springform pan with crust in a shallow baking pan. Pour filling into crust (springform pan will be completely full) and bake in baking pan (to catch drips) in middle of oven 12 minutes, or until puffed. Reduce temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 1 hour more.
• Run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen and cool completely in springform pan on a rack. Chill cake, loosely covered, at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and transfer cake to a plate. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Steps:

• In a mixing bowl, mix together the biscuit crumbs and Demerara sugar. Add in the melted butter and mix well.
• Spoon the biscuit mixture into a 20cm spring-form cake tin lined with baking parchment. Use a metal spoon to press the biscuit crumbs down firmly and evenly. Chill in the refrigerator until set.
• In a large mixing bowl, using a whisk or a wooden spoon, beat together the cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla pod seeds or vanilla extract until well mixed.
• Fold in the double cream, mixing well.
• Spoon the cream mixture over the chilled biscuit base, making sure that there are no air bubbles. Smooth the top of the cheesecake with a palette knife or metal spoon.
• Chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator for 1 hour until set.
• To serve, remove from the cake tin and cut into slices.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 325 degrees.
• In the bowl of a food processor, combine graham crackers, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon (if using) and process until you've got fine crumbs. Transfer the crumbs to a medium bowl and add melted butter. Using your hands, mix well until no dry spots remain (crumb mixture should not be sandy or dry, but hold small clumps when pressed together).
• Press crust evenly into the bottom and at least 1 1/2-inches up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Use the bottom of a measuring cup to make sure the bottom is as even as possible. Bake on the middle rack until crust is set and just starting to brown around the edges, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Remove pan from the oven and set aside while you prepare the filling. Reduce heat to 300 degrees.
• Prepare the filling: Combine cream cheese, sour cream, sugar, vanilla and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a paddle attachment, beat on high until mixture is completely smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as necessary, about 4 minutes.
• Reduce speed to medium and 1 at a time, add eggs and yolk, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl after each egg is added. With the mixer on low, add flour and beat just to blend, until no lumps remain.
• Pour filling into prepared crust (if filling goes above the crust, that is O.K.). Bake until the edges of the cheesecake are completely set and the 2-inch inner circle of the cheesecake wobbles just slightly, 60 to 70 minutes.
• Turn heat off and let cheesecake remain in the oven for another 10 minutes. Remove cheesecake from oven and let sit on a wire rack to cool completely at room temperature. When cool, transfer to refrigerator until totally set, at least 6 hours, preferably overnight.

Steps:

• For the pastry, place the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor for 5 seconds.
• Add the butter, egg yolk, water, and vanilla and pulse until the mixture looks granular and lumpy; the butter should be in about 1/4-inch pieces.
• Add the flour and pulse rapidly 20 to 30 times, stopping occasionally to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, until the mixture almost gathers into a ball.
• Turn the dough out onto a piece of plastic wrap and press the dough into a 1-inch-thick cake.
• Wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
• Adjust an oven rack to the lower third position and preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
• Butter a 9-inch springform pan.
• Detach the sides; set aside.
• Cut off slightly less than one half of the dough.
• Break it into pieces, and scatter them over the springform bottom.
• Press firmly and evenly with your fingertips to make a thin layer.
• Set the bottom crust in the oven and bake until pale golden brown, about 8 minutes.
• Remove from the oven with a wide metal spatula and set on a cooling rack to cool completely.
• In- crease the oven temperature to 525 degrees.
• Shape the remaining pastry into a square.
• Roll it out on a lightly floured surface to a rectangle slightly larger than 10x6-inches.
• With a large sharp knife, trim away the edges so that the pastry measures 10x6-inches.
• Cut the pastry crosswise into five 2-inch strips.
• Reassemble the springform pan.
• Line the sides of the pan with 4 of the pastry strips, pressing the pieces firmly together where their edges meet and pressing the pastry firmly against the pan so that it will stay in place.
• Cut what you need from the last strip to fill in the last gap.
• Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
• For the filling, beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
• Add the sugar, flour, salt, zests, and vanilla and beat until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time, beating only until thoroughly incorporated, about 15 seconds after each.
• Beat for another 30 seconds.
• On low speed, beat in the heavy cream.
• Scrape the mixture into the pan and smooth the top.
• Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour longer; the top will be golden brown.
• Cool to room temperature on a rack.
• Cover loosely and refrigerate for at least 6 hours; overnight is best.
• For the strawberry sauce, if the strawberries are small, reserve 1 cup of the prettiest ones.
• If they are large, slice enough to make 1 cup.
• Set aside.
• Place the remaining berries in a medium saucepan and crush with a potato masher.
• Add the sugar, water, salt, and cornstarch.
• Stir well with a heat- proof rubber spatula, and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly.
• Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until the sauce is slightly thickened.
• Remove from the heat and add the butter, lemon juice, and reserved berries.
• Cool to room temperature, then refrigerate until chilled.
• (The sauce can be made a day ahead.) To serve, run a small sharp knife around the edges of the cake to release the pastry and carefully remove the sides of the pan.
• Rinse a knife in hot water, shake off the excess water, and slice.
• Serve each portion with a spoonful of the strawberry sauce.
• Refrigerate leftovers.