Tuesdays with Dorie – Tall & Creamy Cheesecake

I served this cheesecake to a group of friends the other day.  One of them asked me, “So what goes into cheesecake?”  And I started responding, “In this one?  Two pounds of cream cheese, a cup and a half of cream..” and then I stopped.  Yes, the ingredient list actually borders on repulsive to me – while the cake is HUGE and can feed an army, I still think it’s best not to think of  the ingredients; and best to instead just focus on how good it tastes. 

This cheesecake was simply delicious.  It was deceptively light and fluffy, despite the heavy ingredients.   The filling had a beautiful, smooth texture and was very comforting and soothing to eat.  I used all heavy cream instead of sour cream; and was glad with my decision – to me, it was just right.  And yes, this cake was tall!  It made for beautiful slices to serve and present.

Even though this recipe takes some time to get ready (1.5 hours to bake and another hour after the oven’s off, plus all that chilling time required), it’s very simple.  Simple ingredients and simple process.  My arm was pretty tired after beating all that cream cheese with my hand mixer (though my in-laws just bought me a KitchenAid stand mixer for Christmas, so I’ll be sure to use that next time around!) but it was a cinch to make.  I was a wee bit worried about the water bath (as the last time I used a water bath, even though I wrapped my springform in foil, water still got in somehow); but was delighted to see that no water made its way into my double (ahem, more like quadruple) layer of foil.  I was also delighted to see no cracks at all on top of my cheesecake.

I think this is going to be my staple cheesecake recipe, whether plain or embellished in some way.  I don’t think it can get any better!  Please visit the Tuesdays with Dorie page to see more bakers’ success with this cake, and visit Anne Strawberry for the recipe!