Cooks Illustrated Cheesecake Recipe

How to make it

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• Heat the oven to 500 degrees.
• Brush the sides and bottom of a 9’’ springform pan with butter. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs over the bottom of the pan and tilt it to coat evenly with crumbs.
• Beat the cream cheese in a standing mixer until very smooth. Gradually add the sugar and beat on medium speed until sugar dissolves (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating just until incorporated and scraping down the sides of the mixer bowl after each addition. Add lemon zest and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Remove bowl from mixer and stir in cream and sour cream with a wooden spoon.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cheesecake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 200, leaving the oven door open until temperature reduces. Bake until the cheesecake’s perimeter is set, but center jiggles when pan is tapped, about an hour (I did 65 minutes and it probably could have used another 5 minutes more). Turn off the heat and use a long-handled fork or spoon the hold the oven door open by about one foot. Let the cheesecake rest for an hour, then place it on a wire rack and let it cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake and refrigerate it until chilled, at least 4 hours.
• Mel's notes: I baked the cheesecake in a water bath (Bain Marie). I used a roasting pan with a baker's rack inside. Place the cheesecake on the rack and fill the pan with water up to about a third of the way up the springform pan. I also covered the bottom of the springform pan with foil to keep the cake in and the water out.