You Can Learn To Make This Yummy Carrot Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting - Even If You Think You Can’t Bake!

I adapted this recipe from a recipe for carrot cake that I got from my wonderful cousin Janie Hindes Miller.  I have so many wonderful childhood memories associated with Janie; she was my closest childhood friend.   Janie is a wonderful cook and baker, but much more than that, Janie is a wonderful person.  For as long as I can remember, Janie has been making this carrot cake for yearly family  gatherings, and everyone goes crazy for it.   For me it was love at first bite when I tasted it, probably back when Janie and I were about 16 or 17 years old.  This carrot cake is a breeze to make, especially if you bake it in a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  This is a wonderful recipe for a novice  baker.

for the cake:

• 1 pound peeled and grated carrots (use organic if possible)
• 2 cups granulated sugar (I have now reduced the sugar to 1 3/4 cups- you will not detect the difference)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups light olive oil, canola or corn oil (or reduce to 1 1/4 cups- I like the cake more with this reduced amount- June 1, 2010)
• 2 cups unbleached flour (I prefer to use King Arthur organic unbleached flour, and you do not sift it for this recipe!)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

for the icing:

• 8 ounces Philadelphia brand cream cheese at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine at room temperature (best-using unsalted butter- June 1, 2010)
• pinch of kosher salt (only if you are using unsalted butter or margarine)
• 1 pound of confectioners sugar, sifted to get any lumps out
• 1  teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 ounces chopped- not too finely - pecans or walnuts- or mixture of the 2 (optional)(June 1,2010)- nuts make the cream cheese frosting better
• 1- 8 oz. can of drained crushed pineapple in natural juice (optional)- but I prefer icing now without pineapple and only with the nuts!- June 1/10)

for the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Spray or grease sides and bottom of  a 9 x 13 inch nonstick baking pan; set aside.  In a large mixing bowl, measure flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.  Wash, peel, and grate carrots using a hand grater or a food processor fitted with the grater attachment- I use the food processor- it takes no time at all!); set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, by hand using a whisk, mix eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla, just until completely blended.  Then add dry ingredients to the wet batter, and mix just until blended.  Add carrots and fold them in with a rubber spatula.  Pour batter into prepared baking pan.  Bake for 30-35 minutes on a rack in center of oven until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.  Cool on wire rack, or refrigerate covered with plastic wrap until you are ready to frost it.

for the icing: (wait till cake is completely cool before you ice it)

Using an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese with the butter just until mixture is smooth.  Sift confectioners sugar right in the bowl,  add pinch of salt, and blend on low speed just until blended.  Add vanilla and blend.  Use rubber spatula to mix in nuts by hand if you are using them.  If you are adding the crushed pineapple, be sure to squeeze as much moisture as possible out of the pineapple and then blend it in with a rubber spatula because you don’t want to add any extra liquid to the frosting.  Spread frosting on cooled cake.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until you serve.

Note #1:  You can bake this in  a 9 x 13 inch pan or 2- 8 or 9 inch round pans to make a layer cake.

Note #2:  You can buy Diamond brand prechopped walnuts that come in a bag and can be found on the baking aisle in the supermarket.

Note #3:  Do not squeeze moisture out of carrots (I have never done that!)

This cake can be baked one day ahead and refrigerated until served.

This is a very simple, but perfect recipe for blueberry muffins.  I adapted this recipe from one I got from a mother of one of my daughter Randi’s friends when Randi was in the second grade.  So I’ve been making this recipe for about 17 years.  And in all that time, I have never tasted a better muffin than this.  I have given this recipe out to countless friends and family.  One of my mother’s and my wonderful friends, Sherill, who is a marvelous baker, adores this recipe.  Whenever she sees me, she thanks me for giving her this recipe.  If you bake a batch, you will discover the wonderful taste and texture of these muffins, and you will be hooked, too!

• 1 1/2 cups unbleached flour (Sometimes, I use 1 cup organic unbleached King Arthur flour plus 1/2 cup organic white whole wheat King Arthur flour, or 3/4 cup of each but my daughter uses all whole wheat- the 1 1/2 cups.  I prefer the mix of the two.  When I do this, I add a little more milk, just maybe a tablespoon to adjust for the heavier flour). 5/31/85- I added about 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice too, as I had the extra lemon- very nice, but not necessary.
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (I’ve been reducing this to a little less than the 1/2-somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 now)
• 1 extra large egg
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use corn, canola, or extra-light olive oil, but light olive oil is my preference)
• 1/4 cup whole milk (You can also use lowfat or skim if that’s what you have on hand)
• 1/4 cup orange juice (no pulp, and not from concentrate- I have also squeezed juice straight from an orange)
• about 2 cups fresh- preferably or 1  1/2 cups frozen blueberries, rinsed and then dried with a paper towel, dusted with flour before adding to mixture

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and put muffin cups into a standard 12 muffin tin.  In a large mixing bowl, put flour,, baking powder, and salt. Whisk by hand just to blend the dry ingredients.  Set aside.

Measure the oil into a one or two cup pyrex measuring cup, add the 1/4 cup milk to the oil, then the 1/4 cup orange juice.  Crack the egg in, then dump the sugar, and mix carefully with a fork to blend.

Make a well in the dry ingredients.  Pour the wet ingredients in; fold the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula only until they are just blended.  Do not overmix! When the mixture is still lumpy, gently fold in the blueberries.  Spoon the batter into the muffin cups- about 3/4 cup full.  Bake them about 25 minutes until they are browned on top.  Cool the pan on a wire rack until the muffins are cool enough to take out.

Note- I make another variety by using jam instead of blueberries.  I spoon a little batter in each muffin cup.  I use a miniature ice cream scoop to measure out enough batter just to cover the bottom of the muffin cup.   Then I put about a teaspoon or so of either raspberry, strawberry, cherry jam on top of the batter.  Then, I top the jam off with another scoop of batter.  Just pop these jam muffins in the oven.  Your children will love these as much as mine do!

Another variation is to leave the berries out, and mix in about 6 oz of semi-sweet chocolate chips with the batter. 

I developed this brownie recipe for Passover because I believed that it was possible to bake Passover brownies that would be just as delicious as regular brownies.  I took one of my regular brownie recipes, and then I just played with it, using Kosher for Passover ingredients, until it was perfect.  This recipe is so beloved by my children, family, and friends, that I actually use it all year round.  These brownies are so delicious that when I serve them for Passover, noone believes they are actually Kosher for Passover brownies.  I love to serve these brownies restaurant style - warm out of the oven with vanilla ice cream and my homemade hot fudge.  Serving them this way transforms an ordinary dessert into a spectacular dessert that everyone loves.

• 3/4 cup matzo cake flour, sifted (I use Manischewitz)- sift first, then measure
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 large or extra large eggs at room temperature
• 4 ounces or squares of unsweetened chocolate (I use Baker’s or Nestle’s)
• 1 ounce (1 square) semi-sweet chocolate (I use Baker’s or Nestle’s)
• 2 sticks butter or margarine (I usually use Fleischmann’s salted margarine)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• optional 1/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules (this is absolutely not essential to use, but it does intensify the flavor of the chocolate)
• optional, 1 - 1 1/4 cups roughly chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease the sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 pan with butter or margarine.  Sift the cake flour, and then measure it and set it aside.

In a double boiler or in a saucepan over a very low heat, start to melt the margarine.  Then add the squares of chocolate.  Keep moving the chocolate around so that it doesn’t burn.  When the chocolate and the margarine are totally melted, take them off the heat.  Throw the sugar into the pan, and mix with a rubber spatula to blend.  Crack in the eggs, and mix them in one at a time just until blended. Mix in the vanilla. If you are adding the instant coffee granules, then crush them with your fingers, and add at this time.    Then add the cake flour and the salt, and fold it in with a rubber spatula, just until it is blended.  Add optional nuts.  Do not over-mix.  Spread the batter in prepared pan.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs attached or clean.  The brownies will also feel firm to the touch and will have started to separate from the sides of the pan.  Serve warm immediately, or at room temperature.

Note:  You can prepare the batter, put it in the baking pan, and refrigerate it until you are ready to bake it.  When I bring these to a friend’s or family member’s house, I prepare the batter that day or a day in advance, put it in the prepared cake pan, cover it with foil or plastic wrap and refrigerate until I leave my house.   Then I put them in the oven 30 minutes or so before I want to serve them.  This way, I can serve them warm out of the oven with some vanilla ice cream and my homemade hot fudge.

No One Will Believe This Cake Is Not From Scratch! 

This is a simple chocolate cake to make when you don’t feel like baking one totally from scratch.  My mother made this cake often, and she’d cut it in half and freeze it for company.  I loved this cake.  You have to understand that my mother usually didn’t just bake things and let us eat them.  Almost everything was made and then saved for a particular occasion.  Well, I would know that this cake was in the freezer.  And no one was allowed to touch that cake, except for my mother.  But I’d want some of the cake.  I would crave a piece of the cake.  So this is what I’d do.  And I did this many times, probably every time my mother baked this cake.  I’d sneak down to the basement with a sharp knife.  I’d take out the bag with a half of the cake in it from the freezer.  I’d put it on the ironing board, and take it out of its plastic bag and I’d unwrap it from the aluminum foil.  Then I’d lay the cake on its side, and proceed to slice some very thin slices off the bottom of the cake.  I’d then eat those very thin slices.  Then I’d wrap the cake up, and put it back in the plastic bag and then back in the freezer.  Nana never caught on to my cake theft.  I do remember a few times when she took the cake out to slice it for company,  and she’d comment that she didn’t understand why the cake looked so much smaller.  Of course, I said nothing- I didn’t want to sabotage my future prospects for stealing some cake.   Boy, when it came to food, nothing could stop me! 

• 1 box dark chocolate cake mix (I use Duncan Hines Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix)
• 1 box Jello brand instant chocolate pudding
• 4 extra large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup canola, corn, or light olive oil
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease sides and bottom of a 10 inch tube pan with removable sides.

Put cake mix, instant pudding, eggs, oil, sour cream, in the bowl of an electric mixture fitted with a paddle attachment.  Mix on medium speed, scraping down the bowl once or twice during mixing, until mixture is well blended, about 2 or 3 minutes.  Mix in the chocolate chips by hand with rubber spatula. 

Pour the batter evenly into prepared pan and bake it in the center of the oven 45-55 minutes until the sides of the cake have separated from the pan and a toothpick comes out clean  Cool on a baking rack for 60 minutes.  Then run a sharp knife around the edges of the pan and around the tube.  Lift the cake up by holding the tube.  Cut the cake in half, and then lift halves off the pan using a metal spatula.  You may place it on a serving platter whole, but I think it looks prettier if you slice it and then place your slices overlapping each other on a round platter. 

Note:  This cake freezes extremely well, and is great to keep in your freezer to have on hand for when you have company or you want to bring something over to a friend’s on the spur of the moment.  

 This Marble Cake Will Satisfy Any Craving For Chocolate Or Sugar!

This is another recipe that came from Adele Hochheiser.  Adele Hochheiser was my mother’s wonderful best friend, and she was like a second mother to me.  Adele was a terrific  cook and baker.  I have wonderful memories of going over to the Hochheiser house, walking into Adele’s kitchen, and smelling the enticing aroma of either something cooking or baking in Adele’s oven.  My mother loved Adele’s marble cake, and of course my mother got the recipe from her.  This became one of the standard recipes that my mother baked for the Jewish New Year holiday of Rosh Hashana.  My father and I really loved this cake, but my mother adored this cake.  When I ask my mother which cake recipe is her all time favorite one, she always says, “The marble cake.”  This cake is  a little on the heavy side, but it is GOOD.  My mother and I have had some great laughs through the years about how much we love this cake despite its slightly heavy and dry texture. We always say, “But it just tastes so good!”   My mother and Adele baked this cake in a 9 x 13 pan, but I when I started baking it, I discovered the cake came out moister when I baked it in a tube pan.  So that’s the pan I use.  When I bake it, I usually cut it into thirds, wrap it, and of course deliver some to my mother.  She keeps it in the freezer, and takes it out sparingly, because she doesn’t want to use it up.  I’m feeling guilty right now, because I know her supply is running out, and I need to replenish it.  I’d better get on the job!

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or Fleischmann’s margarine, at room temperature (I usually use butter)
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 4 extra large eggs, at room temperature
• 3 cups unbleached flour, sifted (sift, then measure)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3 oz. unsweetened chocolate (I use Baker’s or Nestle’s squares)
• 1 1/ 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a tube pan with removable sides well with butter or margarine.

In mixing bowl, put flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.  In a small microwave safe bowl, put the squares of chocolate, and then melt on a low power level in the microwave.  Add the 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract to the melted chocolate, and mix with a rubber spatula.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream butter or margarine.  Add the sugar and cream until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition.  Add the 1 remaining teaspoon vanilla, and mix, just until blended.  Add the dry mixture alternately with the milk in three or four additions, scraping down the bowl one or two times.

Take out about 1/3 of vanilla batter and put in a bowl. Add the melted chocolate to it, and mix with a rubber spatula.

Pour all of vanilla batter into prepared tube pan.  Then put dollops of chocolate batter on top of vanilla until you have used up the chocolate batter.  Take a knife and swirl the chocoate batter through the vanilla batter.   Do not overswirl at this point, because you want the chocolate cake to be chocolate, and you want the vanilla cake to be vanilla.  Bake about 50 minutes until the cake just starts to separate from the sides of the pan and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool the cake on a wire rack about 1 1/2 hours until completely cool.  Run a knife around the edge of the pan and around the inside tube.  Then lift the cake up off of the sides holding the tube.  Then cut it in half, and with a metal spatula, lift each half off the bottom of the pan  onto a serving plate.

Note:  This cake freezes well.  Wrap it in halves or thirds in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil, and then put in plastic freezer bags.  When you have company, take out 1/3 or 1/2 , slice it, and put slices in an overlapping pattern on a serving plate.   

When I was growing up, I lived around the corner from the Kobb family in Plainfield, New Jersey.  Sherill Kobb was someone I loved spending time with, even though she was basically my mother’s friend.  Sherill was (and still is) a marvelous baker and cook, and this recipe was a recipe she had gotten from one of her mother, Molly.  I remember sitting and talking to Sherill one day in her kitchen when I was about 16 years old.  She had just baked this recipe, and she gave me one of the cakes.  I went wild for it.  Sherill wrote down the recipe for me right then and there.  I started making it after I got married.  These delicious treats are great to include in a dessert assortment for a party, or to bring to someone’s house.  They are rich and delicious.  The flavor of the cake is outstanding. 

• 1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter or margarine - I use Fleischmann’s salted margarine
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 extra large or jumbo eggs
• 2 cups unsifted, unbleached flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 pint fresh blueberries
• sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling

Note:  For some reason, I think the taste of the cake is even richer when you use margarine instead of butter.  Also, there is no vanilla in this cake, so don’t worry about the fact that vanilla is not on the list of ingredients.  The cake tastes much better without it.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees amd grease the sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 Pyrex dish or non-stick metal pan with butter or margarine.

Wash the blueberries and then set aside to dry on some paper towels.  In a medium bowl, put your flour, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk by hand just to blend.  Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter or margarine with the sugar on medium-high speed for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Crack the eggs into a small bowl.  With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing.  With mixer on low speed, add your dry ingredients just until blended.  Spread the batter evenly with a rubber spatula into your prepared pan.  Sprinkle the blueberries evenly over batter in a single layer.  Sprinkle the top lightly with sugar and cinnamon.

Bake in the center of the oven for 40-50 minutes until the cake is lightly browned around the edges and slightly browned on top and a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool on a baking rack for 50-60 minutes.  Cut into 24 squares and put on a serving dish.  Serve at room temperature.

****As another variety, spread batter in a 10 inch springform pan, and top with about 14 prune plums, cut in half along the longer side of the plum, and pitted, skin side down.  Then sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar and bake about 60 minutes until  lightly browned around the edges and on top, and a toothpick comes out clean.

Forget The Cheesecake Factory!  You Can Learn To Bake The Most Amazing Cheesecake In The World!  

I adapted this recipe from one that was given to my mother and to me by another one of our wonderful neighbors, Lenore Velinsky.  Lenore was a marvelous cook.  She really loved cooking for her husband Arthur, and for her three boys, Richard, Ira, and Jimmy.  This was her cheesecake recipe, and it was amazing.  I have baked it many times, and it has always come out perfectly.  For me, this is the quintessential cheesecake. This cheesecake is light yet creamy. It has undertones of lemon and only a hint of vanilla. The taste is so wonderful, that the only topping I like to put on is a sprinkling of cut up strawberries or nothing at all.  I love to make this cheesecake recipe for special celebrations or bring it to family gatherings. Everybody goes wild for this cheesecake! Please try it.  I know you’ll agree that it’s the dreamiest cheesecake ever. If you bring this cheesecake with you to a gathering of friends or family, you will be the Next Cooking Star.  I know you’ll agree that this cheesecake is nothing less than heavenly!

For the crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 1 stick melted butter or margarine (try reducing to 6 tablespoons next time)

• 1/2 cup  finely chopped pecans (optional) (I like addition of nuts to crust)

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional) (cinnamon adds flavor)

For the filling:

• 2 1/2 pounds Philadelphia brand cream cheese (5- 8 oz. packages, at room temperature (I often use 3 packs of the Philadelphia 1/3 Less Fat- Neufchatel, and 2 packs of the regular, but you may use all regular) 6-1-10- this time I used all regular, and it definitely is richer and maybe a little heavier- so I think I like it better with 2 of the light and 3 of the regular or 3 of the light and 2 of the regular.)

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

• 5 extra-large eggs, separated at room temperature

• 1 pint sour cream (not light)

• pinch of salt

• Juice of 1 large lemon or 2 smaller lemons (about 3 tablespoons fresh or in a pinch 1 1/2 tablespoons frozen Minute Maid lemon juice)

• 1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the topping (optional):

• 1 quart fresh strawberries sliced and piled on top (or served on the side), but optional

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

To make the crust, grease a 10 inch springform pan, bottom and sides. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, melted butter and chopped pecans in a bowl. Then pour some crumbs into the bottom of your pan. With your hands, press the crumbs into the bottom. Then turn the pan on its side. Keep adding crumbs, turning pan until you have used up all the crumbs. The crumbs should go almost up to the top of the pan. Bake for 8 min. Put in the refrigerator to cool while you are preparing the filling.

To make the filling, first separate your eggs, and set aside.  Cream the cream cheese in the large bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-high speed until lightened and as lump free as possible, about 5 minutes.  Add the sugar on medium speed and blend.  Add the yolks on low speed, one at a time, just until blended. Scrape down the bowl and beater as necessary. On low speed, add the lemon juice, the vanilla, and the salt. Then on low speed, add the sour cream, just until blended.  Whip egg whites in a separate bowl using electric mixer on highest speed with the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Then pour the whipped egg whites into your batter, and fold in by hand. Pour batter into the cooled crust.

Note:  If you have 1 large bowl and 1 smaller bowl for your electric mixer, you can use the large bowl to mix your batter, and the smaller bowl to whip the egg whites.  If you only have 1 bowl for your mixer, whip the egg whites first, then transfer them to another bowl, wipe the bowl dry, and proceed to make the batter.  Your egg whites may deflate a bit though if you do this, but it shouldn’t affect the cake. I do like to whip my egg whites last so they don’t lose any volume.

Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Turn oven off. Open oven door slightly. The cake will not be completely set in the center. Let cheesecake sit in oven for 1 more hour with the oven door slightly ajar.  Then take the cheesecake out of the oven and allow it to sit at room temperature for another 2-3 hours until completely cooled.

Run a knife around the outside of the cake. Then release the outside of the springform pan, and carefully lift the sides of the pan over the cake to remove them. Leave the cake on the bottom of the springform pan and place it on your serving platter. Cover the cake with good plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.

When you are ready to serve it, slice up 1 quart of strawberries and pile them on top of the cake or serve on the side if desired. But this cheesecake is so delicious, that it will stand on its own with no topping!

Note: This cake is creamier and even better if made 24 - 30 hours before you serve it!

Hint:  I enjoy serving this cheesecake with no topping, because only then it is really possible to totally savor the incredible taste and texture of this cake, so that is why I actually recommend that if you want to serve it with strawberries, cut them up and serve them on the side. 

Passover Version

Everthing remains the same, except the crust.

Passover crust

1 1/2 cups matzah meal

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter or margarine - melted

1/2 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

1/2 cup sugar

2-3 teaspoons cinnamon (necessary to cut bland flavor of matzah meal)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl.  Grease bottom and sides of large 10 inch springform pan.  Coat bottom and sides with mixture.  Bake at 300 degrees for 8 minutes.  Set aside to cool while you prepare the filling of the cheesecake.  Follow filling ingredients and instructions as well as baking time instructions above.

 Bake this incredible white cake with rich chocolate frosting for any special occasion! 

I have three children. Randi is my oldest; she’s 25 years old. Next is Danny- he’s 22. And last but definitely not least is Benji- he’s 18. When my children were little, I started the tradition of cooking a special birthday dinner for them, which of course had to include a birthday cake. I adapted this recipe from a recipe of my mother’s (Nana to my kids).   I have so many wonderful memories of all these birthday dinners that all ended with this amazing cake. The combination of the fluffy, buttery cake with the incomparable dark, glossy, chocolaty icing is so good, you will not be able to stop eating it! I know one thing for sure. To this day when I bake this cake, even though my kids are pretty much grown, they still fight over who’s going to get to lick the spatula or the bowl when I make the icing! I promise you - if you make this cake once for your family, you will want to start your own family tradition of making this cake for your children’s birthdays!

read more from "Judy’s Famous Birthday Cake - My Family’s All Time Favorite Cake!"

You Don’t Have To Be An Expert Baker To Bake Your Own Outstanding Cheesecake!

I adapted this recipe from a recipe for cheesecake that I got from my ex-husband Joe Kahn’s wonderful Aunt Helene. Aunt Helene is a wonderful cook and baker, and I was lucky to have the chance to eat some of her delicious homemade food. This recipe for cheesecake is one of her specialties. I make this recipe for cheesecake often. It calls for less cream cheese than my other recipe and it is a little smaller. You will be surprised when you see how easy it is to make homemade cheesecake. Say goodbye to Sara Lee!

for the filling:

• 1 pound (2-8 ounce bars) of Philadelphia brand cream cheese at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 pint (16 ounces) sour cream
• 6 extra large eggs (cracked and set aside in a bowl)
• juice of one fresh lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• dash of kosher salt (1/8 teaspoon)

for the crust:

• 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) melted margarine or butter
• 1/4 cup finely chopped pecans

to make the crust:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides going 3/4 up from the bottom of the pan of a 9 inch springform pan.

Mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted margarine or butter. Pat the crumbs into the bottom and 3/4 of the way up the sides of prepared pan. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Take out and cool.

to make the filling:

In large bowl of Kitchen Aid or other electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat room temperature cream cheese until it is smooth and as lump free as possible. Add the sugar and mix till blended. Then add the sour cream and blend on low speed. Pour in the eggs, the fresh lemon juice, the vanilla, and the dash of salt. Blend on low speed till filling is very smooth.

Pour filling into cooled crust. Place carefully in center of oven. Bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off. Let cheesecake sit in oven for at least 3-6 hours with door closed. Take out. Let sit on counter until it isn’t warm at all. Then take the sides off the pan. Place the cheesecake (which is still on the bottom of the springform pan) onto whatever cake plate you will be serving it on. Wrap the cheesecake well with plastic wrap, and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight. Serve the next day.

Serving Suggestion:

Slice 1 - 2 pints of fresh strawberries and pile on top of cake right before you serve it, or serve a bowl of sliced strawberries on the side.

Hint #1: If you like your cheesecake to be really light and fluffy, then separate the eggs first and set the egg whites aside. Add only the yolks to the cream cheese mixture initially. When you are done mixing all of the ingredients for the filling, whip the egg whites separately until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Then fold the egg whites in right before you pour the filling into the crust.

Hint #2: I start baking the cake around 4 or 5 in the afternoon the day before I plan to serve it because of how long the cake stays in the oven after it finishes the actual baking. Helene just keeps the cake in the oven overnight and refrigerates it the next morning. I don’t feel that is necessary, but I’m sure keeping it in the oven overnight won’t hurt it.