Country Cheesecake Recipes

COUNTRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Dough:Sift together flour, confectioners' sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Sift again. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor. Add butter; pulse until largest pieces are the size of peas. Add egg yolks and sour cream; pulse until dough just begins to come together. If dough is too dry, add ice water, 1 tablespoon at a time, and pulse. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead until dough comes together. Form into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate until firm but pliable, at least 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees with rack in center. Lightly butter a 10-inch round springform pan. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 15-inch circle, about 1/8 inch thick. Fit dough into bottom and up side of pan. With a paring knife, trim dough to about 1/2 inch below the rim. Crimp edges with the tines of a fork. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.
• Line dough with parchment. Fill with dried beans or pie weights; bake until crust is firm and dry, 18 to 20 minutes. Remove parchment and beans; let cool completely. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees.
• Filling:In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together eggs and egg white on medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Gradually beat in granulated sugar to combine. Add farmer cheese, sour cream, lemon and orange zests, raisins, and vanilla; mix until fully combined. Transfer to cooled crust.
• Bake until set at edges but still slightly wobbly in center, 50 to 55 minutes (if cake is browning too quickly, tent edges of crust with foil). Transfer to wire rack; let cool completely. Refrigerate until cold, at least 8 hours; serve.

BASQUE-STYLE CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Lay one 16-inch piece of parchment across the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan and lay another 16-inch piece on top crosswise. Press the parchment into the bottom of the pan and crease along the sides, making it as flush as possible to the sides of the pan and allowing the parchment to come at least 2 inches above the sides. Put the pan on a baking sheet.
• Combine the cream cheese, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Beat on medium speed, scraping down the bowl once halfway through to ensure there are no lumps of cream cheese, until the mixture is very smooth and light, a full 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time with the mixer running, beating 30 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the bowl, turn the mixer to low and add the cream and vanilla; raise the speed to medium and beat for 30 seconds. Remove the mixer bowl. Sift the flour over the batter and fold the flour into the batter with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake until the cheesecake is deep golden brown on top but the center is still quite jiggly, about 2 hours. Let cool completely (the cake will fall dramatically as it cools).
• Release the pan to remove the cake and gently pull the parchment from the sides. Transfer the cake to a serving platter using an offset spatula.

CLASSIC CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• In a small bowl, combine cracker crumbs and sugar; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom of a greased 4-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack., In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in lemon juice and peel. , Pour over crust. Return pan to baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from the oven; let stand for 5 minutes (leave oven on). , Combine topping ingredients; carefully spread over filling. Bake 5 minutes longer. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan just before serving.

COUNTRY HAM CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
• Brush 9 inch diameter springform pan with 1 tbls melted butter.
• Finely grind crackers in processor.
• Mix cracker crumbs, parmesan and 5 tbls melted butter in a med bowl to blend. Reserve 1/2 cup of crumb mixture for topping; press remaining onto bottom and sides of prepared pan.
• Refrigerate while preparing filling.
• Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and eggs in a large bowl until smooth.
• Mix in remaining ingredients, pour filling onto crust.
• Sprinkle with remaining crumbs.
• Place cheesecake on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling no longer moves in center when gently shaken, about 2 hours.
• Cool 30 minutes.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

COUNTRY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• For dough, combine sifted flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
• With pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until coarse and crumbly.
• Beat egg yolks into sour cream then stir into flour mixture.
• Knead in the bowl until dough is well mixed and holds its shape.
• Refrigerate dough until easy to roll out, about 1 hour.
• On a floured surface, roll out to a 15 x 11 rectange to fit into a 13x9x2 pan.
• Fit dough into the pan so it comes about 2/3 of the way of the sides.
• For the filling: beat eggs and egg white at high speed with an electric mixer until thick.
• Gradually add sugar, beating at high speed until stiff, not dry peaks form.
• Press ricotta through a sieve and then fold into beaten egg mixture.
• Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly but gently.
• Turn filling into dough lined pan.
• Bake at 350 degrees until set, about 40 minutes.
• Cool completely before cutting in squares.
• Can be eaten plain or topping with your favorite cheesecake topping.

COUNTRY HAM CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 300°F. Brush 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 1 tablespoon melted butter. Finely grind crackers in processor. Mix cracker crumbs, Parmesan and 5 tablespoons melted butter in medium bowl to blend. Reserve 1/2 cup crumb mixture for topping; press remainder onto bottom and up sides of prepared pan. Refrigerate while preparing filling.
• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and eggs in large bowl until smooth. Mix in remaining ingredients. Pour filling into crust. Sprinkle reserved 1/2 cup crumbs over. Place cheesecake on rimmed baking sheet. Bake until filling no longer moves in center when pan is gently shaken, about 2 hours. Cool 30 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand 2 hours at room temperature before serving.)