Since the weather here in the Central Valley has finally cooled down, I am ramping up my oven. Since baking is one of my favorite past times, I thought I should share another recipe I fall back on when I’m the mood for something sweet: cheesecake.

I love cheesecake, but over the years I have become a little picky about it. I prefer a less sweet, graham cracker crust. I’m not a huge fan of the sweetened sour cream topping some bakers throw on top of the cheesecake, either. It’s great for aesthetics but my palate, not so much. Also, I do not care for the taste of flour in my cheesecake. It is in a lot of plain cheesecake recipes, but it’s really only necessary (I think) when adding more wet ingredients, like pumpkin.

Below is my personal favorite cheesecake recipe which I found on the side of a box of generic graham crackers I bought at my local Grocery Outlet, way back in the early 2000’s. It’s the first cheesecake recipe I ever tried and all these years later it remains my go-to.

As often happens with recipes I go back to, I make changes. Now, a double recipe is standard. So is a spring form pan and a water bath. The crust is simple and perfectly sweet. I love that it calls for brown sugar. You can use regular or chocolate graham crackers, too.

Mom’s Favorite Cheesecake:

YOU’LL NEED:

1. Prep-work: place eggs, sour cream and cream cheese out on the counter, for at least four hours or until they reach room temperature. Everything you throw in this cheesecake should be at room temp to avoid lumps.
   • HACK: if you’re in a hurry, place the desired amounts of cream cheese and sour cream in a large, microwave safe bowl. Then heat in 30-45 second bursts, stirring in-between, until you get a smooth, creamy consistency.
   • DO NOT add eggs until mixture cools down.
2. CRUST:
   • Coat your pan with non-stick spray.
   • In a small bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs and brown sugar. Once incorporated, add the melted butter and mix with fork. Evenly spread mixture over the bottom of spring form pan and press down.
   • Fully cover bottom and sides of cheesecake pan with foil to prevent water from leaking into pan.
   • Set Aside
3. FILLING:
   • In a large, microwave safe bowl, combine the cream cheese and sour cream. Mix well (if there are lumps, follow previous instructions under “hack”). When mixture fluffy and smooth, add sugar and cinnamon, eggs and lemon juice. Blend with whisk all ingredients are fully incorporated and mixture is smooth and creamy.
   • Pour filling over crust and smooth out with rubber spatula.
4. BAKING:
   • Place cheesecake pan inside pot or on baking sheet on the center oven rack.
   • ADD WATER to outer pan after they’re in the oven to avoid spills.
   • Pour about 2 cups water to the second pan, making sure to keep the water level lower than the folds on the foil to avoid water leaking into your crust.
   • Bake 50 – 60 minutes, depending on how thick your cheesecake is. Oven times vary, so check your cheesecake and water level as it bakes. When it’s done, the edges of the cheesecake to be firm, but not browned. The center should still jiggle.
5. COOLING:
   • TURN OFF the oven and leave the door ajar (by placing a wooden spoon in the doorway) for about 60 minutes. The cheesecake will keep cooking, so if you think it’s not really jiggling anymore, skip to next step.
     • Cheesecake needs to cool slowly so it doesn’t crack.
   • Remove cheesecake from oven. Remove water bath separately to avoid spills.
   • Place cheesecake on the counter and carefully remove foil from bottom of pan. Cool for at least two hours. Once it reaches room temp, cover top with foil set it in the refrigerate for at least four hours before serving.

I hope you give this recipe a try. If you have any questions or recommendations, be sure to leave them in the comments section!