How to Make a Cheesecake

Cheesecake Recipe
Christmas and New Year's is when I do most of my baking. My friends and family call

me to put orders in for four or five cheesecakes each. My cheesecake is also popular for

birthdays and other special occasions.

I started making cheesecake from scratch about thirteen years ago. Since then, I have

tried a number of different recipes and finally came up with one of my own taken from bits and

pieces of several recipes. The first piece of advice I have is to begin the baking process far

enough in advance so that the cheesecake will be able to sit in the refrigerator for at least twenty

four hours before you plan to serve it. Personally, I recommend making a cheesecake three to

four days in advance for the best flavor. Cheesecake ripens as it sits, so if you make it a few days

in advance, the flavor intensifies and the texture gets a little more solid. Now that you've had an

introduction on the basics, let's get started. The following steps must be followed exactly for a

cheesecake to turn out just right.

First, you should gather your materials and ingredients. A ten inch spring form pan is the

baking pan required for this recipe. You'll also need a hand mixer, a large mixing bowl and a

medium mixing bowl. A small pot or microwave safe bowl will be needed for melting butter in.

You'll also want to have a spatula handy for scraping the sides of the bowl, a rolling pin and a

gallon size zipper seal plastic bag. Make sure you also have your measuring cups and spoons

ready. The refrigerated ingredients need to be taken out to warm up to room temperature at least

thirty minutes before you start mixing them together. Take out three packages of cream cheese,

eight ounces each, and be sure to use regular cream cheese; if you use low fat or fat free, the

consistency of the cheesecake will be too soft. You'll also need eight ounces of sour cream, four

eggs and one tablespoon of