My Favorite Cheesecake

I'm kind of known for my cheesecake, and many of my friends and family already have the recipe since I've given it to anyone who's asked over the years, but I thought I'd share it here.  It is a really good cheesecake if I do say so myself.  I spent a long time trying many different cheesecake recipes until I came up with a recipe that I think is perfect.  It's pretty close to a recipe from allrecipes.com, but I've changed the recipe just a little as well as the cooking technique.  The cheesecake pictured is topped with a can of raspberry pie filling, which would be beautiful for Valentine's day, but obviously strawberry would be perfect as well.

 

 Favorite Cheesecake

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup butter, melted

5 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1 3/4 cups white sugar 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/8 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Place a large roasting pan filled up with about an inch of water in the bottom rack of the oven.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Mix the graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup of the white sugar, and the melted butter together. Press mixture into the bottom of one 9 or 10 inch springform pan.

In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, eggs and egg yolks; mix until smooth. Add the remaining 1 3/4 cups white sugar, the vanilla,  the flour and the heavy cream. Blend until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.

Place cheesecake in preheated oven on center rack above the rack with the pan of water.

Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 minutes, then turn oven temperature down to 250 degrees F (100 degrees C) and continue baking for 1 hour, or until filling is set. Cheesecake will still jiggle slightly in the center and be lightly browned around the edges when it is done. Do not over-bake. Let cheesecake cool, then refrigerate. This cheesecake is excellent served plain or with your choice of canned (or homemade) pie filling.  It's also a nice addition to grate some lemon zest into the batter.  You can also add mini chocolate chips before baking and drizzle with caramel. Let me know if you come up with any other great variations!