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Junior's Style Cheesecake

Junior’s Style Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust and a cherry topping.
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Junior's Cheesecake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 16
Author Anna
Cost 5

Ingredients

Crust:

  • 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons granulated Sugar
  • 3 tablespoons butter

Filling:

  • 32 oz cream cheese, softened (4 8-oz packages)
  • 1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar divided use
  • ¼ cup cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon lemon extract optional
  • ¾ cup heavy whipping cream room temperature
  • 2 extra large eggs

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan.
  • In a mixing bowl, combine crumbs, sugar and butter. Press into bottom of pan.
  • Set pan on a large sheet of heavy duty foil. Bring foil and up and around the side of the pan and press it tightly into the sides to make bottom water-proof. Do this (at least) twice. Bake crust on center rack for 8-10 minutes. Let cool.
  • Place one 8-ounce package cream cheese, ⅓ cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch in a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, then beat in the remaining 3 packages of softened cream cheese.
  • Increase the mixer speed to high and beat in the remaining sugar, vanilla, lemon extract ( if using) and heavy cream. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, stirring only until completely blended. Over-beating the eggs contributes to cracking, so don’t beat too much air into the batter at this point.
  • Spoon the cheese filling on top of the crumb layer. Set the foil-wrapped pan in a larger pan and add hot water so that water comes about 1 inch up the sides of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan – 55 minutes to an hour.
  • Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 1-2 hours, then refrigerate until it's completely cold -- at least 4 hours or overnight.
  • Remove the sides of the springform pan and serve from pan bottom or transfer to a platter. Serve with fruit topping if desired.