I’m sure everybody out there has someone in their life that really likes their birthday. I mean really likes their birthday. That person in my life is my mom and yesterday we celebrated her birthday, which usually goes on for an entire week in her world. This must be where I got my love of birthdays from. I spent yesterday with my mom and family serving them a lunch of stuffed shells and cheesecake for dessert. I’ve never made cheesecake and I was more nervous than ever for this thing to actually turn out. I even picked up some of that Marie’s Strawberry Glaze to make it fancy. (Next time I’ll work on my own glaze.) At any rate, this turned out delicious and I would definitely make it again! You can make this cheesecake and top it with any fruit or chocolate that you’d like and I definitely recommend whip cream to top it all off!
Preheat the oven to 325°.
In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients for the crust and use a fork to mix it together until it forms a crumble. Press the mix into the bottom of a springform pan lightly sprayed with cooking spray and press down firmly with a flat bottom cup. Place the pan in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
In your stand mixer whip the cream cheese until there are no lumps. Blend in the eggs 1 at a time. Gradually add in the sugar and continue to beat for 2 minutes. Add in the sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla, periodically scraping down the sides and the beaters. Pour the filling over the crust and smooth out the top.
Place the pan on a sheet of aluminum foil and fold the foil around the pan. Place the pan into a roasting pan and fill the pan with boiling water until it’s halfway up the sides. The foil will prevent water from seeping into the cake. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let sit in the roasting pan for 30 minutes to cool. Store in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours before serving.
Loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan with a thin knife before opening the springform sides. Transfer the cheesecake to a plate and then cover with fresh strawberries and whip cream.
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