American Cuisine
Crust ingredients:
- 2 cups ground gingersnap cookies.
- 6 tbsp (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted.
Filling ingredients:
- 5 packages (8 oz) cream cheese, room temperature.
- 2 cups sugar.
- ¼ tsp salt.
- 7 large eggs.
- 3 cups (24 oz) sour cream.
- 2 tbsp (packed) finely grated lemon peel.
- 3 tbsp fresh lemon juice.
Crust directions:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Stir cookie crumbs and butter in medium bowl until evenly moistened.
- Press mixture onto bottom of 9 inch diameter removable bottom cheesecake pan with 3 inch high sides.
- Bake crust until deep golden, about 12 minutes. Cool completely.
- Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.
- Stack 3 large sheets of foil on work surface. Place same cake pan in center. Gather foil snugly around pan bottom and up sides to waterproof.
Filling directions:
- Using electric mixer beat cream cheese in large bowl until smooth and fluffy.
- Gradually beat in sugar, then salt.
- Beat in eggs, 1 at a time.
- Beat in sour cream, grated lemon peel, and lemon juice.
- Pour filling into pan.
- Place wrapped cake pan in large roasting pan.
- Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of cake pan.
- Bake cake until filling is slightly puffed and moves only slightly when pan is shaken gently, about 1 hour 25 minutes.
- Remove cake pan from water bath; remove foil. Cool cake in pan on rack 2 hours.
- Chill uncovered until cold; cover and keep chilled at least 1 day and up to 2 days.
- Cut around pan sides; carefully loosen pan bottom from sides and push up pan bottom to release cake.