The Perfect Cheesecake

We had our first post-college snow day today. What did we do with it? We frolicked in the snow, watched Mississippi Burning and made a delicious cheesecake from scratch. This recipe is from my husband's Aunt Dori. Not only is she an excellent baker, but I hear her key lime pie is a must to try. I'm quite a diaster in the baking side of the kitchen, so my husband did the nitty gritty work. I just made the crust and snapped some photos. I highly recommend this recipe, so tasty!

Traditional New York Cheesecake

Crust : 1/4 cup butter, melted
            1 1/4 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (35 cookies approx)

Cake : 2 pkgs ( 8oz) cream cheese, room temp
          1 tsp vanilla
          1/8 cup cornstarch
          1/8 tsp salt
          1 cup, 2 tbsp sugar
          2 eggs
          1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream
       
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Brush bottoms and sides of a 9" pan with 1 tbsp of the melted butter
3. Stir remaining melted butter into vanilla wafer crumbs in a bowl until crumbs are moistened. Place crumbs mixture in pan and press evenly onto bottom and sides with fingers.
4. In a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese on med speed until smooth, no lumps.
5. Beat in vanilla, then add cornstarch and salt, beat until smooth.
6. Add sugar beating on low until blended, add eggs beating just until combined then stir in heavy cream with spatula.
7. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50 min.
8. Turn oven off, open door slightly and leave cheesecake in the oven for 15 min. Then remove cake and run a knife around side of cake to loosen from pan and let cool completely.
9. Cover, refrigerate and enjoy!