Classic New York Cheesecake

Method

1. Take the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs out of the fridge 1 hour ahead. Cold cream cheese stays lumpy, and the long beating needed to smooth it whips in air that makes the top crack. Line the base and sides of a 12 cm springform tin (for 1 serving, a large ramekin) with baking paper and preheat the oven to 175 °C for 10 min.

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2. Put the crackers in a zip bag and crush them with a rolling pin to fine crumbs. Mix the crumbs with the melted butter (20–30 seconds in the microwave) and a little of the sugar (about an eighth) until it looks like wet sand. Tip into the tin and press down firmly and evenly with the bottom of a glass, then bake in the oven for 8 min, until it smells toasty and has darkened slightly. Let it cool and lower the oven to 160 °C.

   Add in this stepGraham crackers (or digestive biscuits) 70 gUnsalted butter, melted 25 gGranulated sugar 6.6 g

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3. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed for 2 min, until completely smooth with no lumps. Add the rest of the sugar, the cornflour and the salt and mix on low. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a spatula now and then.

   Add in this stepFull-fat block cream cheese, at room temperature 180 gGranulated sugar 48 gCornflour (cornstarch) ½ tspSalt 1 pinch

4. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla and lemon juice on low. Add the beaten eggs in 2 or 3 additions, mixing on low only until no yellow streaks remain. Beating fast or long whips in air, so the cake puffs up in the oven and then cracks.

   Add in this stepSour cream, at room temperature 45 gVanilla extract ½ tspLemon juice 1 tspEggs, at room temperature, beaten 1

5. Pour the filling over the crust and tap the tin on the worktop a few times to pop air bubbles. Put a roasting tray with about 2 cm of hot water on the lowest shelf (the steam helps prevent cracks) and the cake on the middle shelf, and bake in the oven at 160 °C for 40 min. It's done when the outer 3 cm is set and slightly puffed and the centre wobbles like jelly when you nudge the tin. If the centre ripples like liquid, give it 5 more minutes at a time.

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6. Switch the oven off, prop the door open the width of a wooden spoon and let the cake cool slowly inside for 1 h; sudden temperature changes are the main cause of cracks. Then run a thin knife around the edge so the cake can shrink away from the tin without tearing.

7. Cool completely to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate for at least 6 h, ideally overnight. Unmould and slice with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry, cleaning it between cuts for neat slices.