simple new york cheesecake

this is my go to dessert when i've been assigned the dessert dish for potlucks and family dinners...especially in the summer. i initially got the recipe off of a box for cheesecake crust. i ended up never using the instant crust mix, but have always used the recipe i found printed on the box. it's nothing fancy, but everyone loves it and people are usually shocked that it's not store bought.

1/4 c. butter (room temp)
16 oz. cream cheese (room temp)
1/2 c. sugar
1 lg. egg
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 tbs. cornstarch
1/2 c. sour cream
1 keebler™ ready crust
assorted berries or fruit of choice

1. chill ready crust in freezer and preheat oven to 450°F

2. beat cream cheese, butter, and egg.

3. whisk in egg, vanilla and cornstarch.

4. fold in sour cream.

5. pour mixture into chilled ready crust and make sure it's smoothed out on top.

6. bake for 10 minutes at 450°F.

7. reduce heat to 200°F.

8. bake for 45 min.

9. turn oven off and open oven door a crack...leave in oven for 3 hours.

10. keep chilled in refrigerator and cover with fruit topping before serving.

Tips: the biggest concern when making a cheesecake is the temperature. overheating the cheesecake and/or cooling too quickly can cause cracks in the cheesecake. the taste isn't necessarily affected, but if you plan to use a sauce as a topping then it's important to have a cheesecake without cracks in it for the presentation. i also recommend starting with room temperature ingredients and try to avoid having to microwave anything to soften it. the other thing that can cause cracks is overbeating. so, that's why i have the three different stages of beating. i use a beater for the butter, cream cheese and sugar, then i use a whisk when i add the egg (whisked before adding), vanilla and cornstarch, then i use a spatula to fold in the sour cream. and of course i usually end up with cracks anyway, so that's why i prefer a fruit topping :)

this one turned out almost perfect...no cracks, so it wasn't over beaten and it cooled down at a good rate. the surface is a little over cooked, and happened when i had to go from 450°F to 200°F. i suggest keeping the oven open for about 1 minute when lowering the temp to make sure the temperature decreases quickly enough.

waaaaay too many cracks in this one. the temp was perfect, but what i did wrong here was over beat the filling. i used a beater to mix the entire time instead of using the whisk and spatula i mentioned under the tips. the reason this causes cracks is that when you overbeat too much air gets into the mixture.

and that's why i like the mixed fruit topping!