Brooklyn Brokavore

There is a certain mystique surrounding cheesecake, particularly homemade cheesecake.  

“You MADE it?  From SCRATCH?! People can do that?” is a common response from friends and co-workers when presented with one of my cheesecakes.  At the risk of diminishing the benefit this mystique gives to my reputation as a baker, I’m here to dispel this myth.

Question: can you throw ingredients into a bowl and operate a mixer?

Congratulations, you can make cheesecake.  

Now, all you need is a good cheesecake recipe.  I made this cheesecake for a co-worker’s birthday last week.  It comes from my 1992 version of the Mrs. Field’s Cookie Book.  (Yes, the mall chain.  I believe someone bought this as a gift for my sister and me in the early 90’s, and we used it a ton back in the day).  As with anything else, the better quality the ingredients, the better the end product.

For the crust:

• 1 cup (5 oz.) chocolate cookie crumbs
• 2 Tablespoons salted butter, softened

For the filling:

• 16 oz. cream cheese, softened (really, you need to leave it out for a couple of hours or it’ll be much more difficult to make this)
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 cups (16 oz. sour cream)
• 3 large eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1 and 1/2 cups (9 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

This recipe will make enough for a 9 inch springform pan.  If you don’t have a 9 inch springform pan, it will also fill 2 standard-sized pie shells.  If you want to make this recipe even easier, you can use premade chocolate cookie pie crusts and skip steps 2 and 3.

Directions:

1. Turn the oven to 350F.
2. Grind the cookies in a food processor or blender.  Add the butter and blend until smooth.
3. Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan until it’s thoroughly compacted, then place the pan in the fridge to harden.
4. Using an electric mixer (or doing it by hand if you’re hardcore and want an arm workout), beat the cream cheese until smooth.  You’ll want to use a rubber spatula to keep scraping the mixture down from the sides of the bowls.
5. Blend in the sugar and sour cream.
6. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. 
7. Stir in 1 cup of the chocolate chips.
8. Pour the mixture into the springform pan/premade crusts and smooth out with the spatula.  
9. Lightly sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the top.
10. Bake 30-40 minutes.  The cheesecake is ready when it’s puffed up at the top and turned a slightly golden color.  
11. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake sit for an hour.  This step is important to ensure that the cake sets correctly.
12. Refrigerate until firm.