The Perfect Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 6 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 5 large eggs, slightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Remove rack in roaster oven. Pour 3 quarts hot tap water into insert pan. Cover and heat to 325°F. (Use 300°F for dark or nonstick coated pans.)
2. Generously butter bottom and sides of a 10-inch springform pan. Sprinkle crumbs evenly over bottom and sides of pan.
3. In a large mixing bowl at medium speed, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar and continue to beat until smooth. Slowly add eggs. Beat until smooth. Stir in lemon juice and vanilla extract. Pour into prepared springform pan.
4. Place pan on rack. Cover springform pan with aluminum foil. (This prevents condensation in roaster oven from dripping onto cake.) Carefully place rack and pan in roaster oven.
5. Bake 1 1/2 hours. Carefully remove cheesecake by lifting rack and from roaster oven. Cool covered with aluminum foil for 15 minutes. Remove foil and cool completely.
6. Refrigerate several hours or overnight. Top with cherry pie filling.

Serves: 14-16

Test Kitchen Tips:

• Let eggs warm to room temperature before adding to the batter. Eggs beat to a greater volume if they are between 65°F and 75°F when beaten. 
• Try topping your cheesecake with cherry pie filling
• Try using crushed vanilla wafers instead of graham cracker crumbs for the crust. Place vanilla wafers in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin until crumb consistency.