Cheesecake Revelations

Looking to make something sweet to share with your sweetie this Valentine's weekend? A look back in our archives revealed a once-secret family cheesecake recipe that is too good to keep under wraps. The story about Nancy MacDonald and her cheesecake recipe can be found here.

Nancy's Top Secret Cheesecake

Crust
1/2 cup melted butter
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 Tbs. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
(Optional) 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans

Filling
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese
6 extra-large eggs
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 pint (2 cups) sour cream
2 Tbs. flour

Preheat oven to 350°F. Fill a round pan with water and place on lower rack in oven, under where the cheesecake will bake.

Crust: Melt one stick of butter in bowl in microwave at 50% power for 1.5 to 2 minutes. Stir with a fork to finish melting. Mix together butter, graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and nuts. Reserve a little of the mix for the top of the cheesecake. With remaining mix, line bottom and 2/3 up the side of a 9” or 10” springform pan. Refrigerate, unbaked, until ready to fill.

Filling: Allow cream cheese and sour cream to reach room temperature. In a large bowl of an electric mixer or in a food processor, beat sugar and cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs—one at a time—beating well after each. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour and mix. Keep speed low to medium; do not beat in a lot of air. Remove bowl and fold in sour cream. Pour mix into prepared pan and sprinkle with crumb mix. Place in oven on rack above water pan. Pan will collect any butter that drips out—saving your oven and the steam helps keep the cheesecake from cracking.

Bake in 350° oven for 40 minutes. Turn off oven—but do not open door—and let sit 60 more minutes in oven. Remove and place on a wire rack. After 15 minutes, loosen sides of springform pan. Cool at room temperature 5 hours. Retighten sides of pan and refrigerate. Move cake after 24 hours to a cardboard round, and box or serve.