Cheesecake (New York)

New York cheesecake is the pure, unadulterated cheesecake with no fancy ingredients added either to the cheesecake or placed on top of it. It is made with pure cream cheese, cream, eggs, and sugar. New York-style cheesecake, made famous by Lindy's and Junior's Deli, relies upon heavy cream, cream cheese, eggs and egg yolks to add a richness and a smooth consistency. Also called Jewish-style, it is baked in a special 5-6" tall spring-form pan in many restaurants. Some recipes use cottage cheese and lemon for distinct texture and flavour or add chocolate or strawberry to the basic recipe. New York style cheesecakes are cream cheese mixtures baked without a water bath and are unique because the baking starts at a high temperature (which is quickly reduced) producing a rich interior and light brown exterior. New York deli man Arnold Reuben claimed he was the first to serve cheesecake. But it was his competitor, Leo Lindemann, who hired away Reuben's pastry chef to re-create the dessert at his place, Lindy's, and made it an icon. Lindy's is gone now, but the cheesecake recipe remains.

Crust:
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed
¼ cup sugar
1 tsp. lemon zest, freshly grated
¼ tsp. sea salt
1 egg yolk
½ vanilla bean, seeds scraped and reserved

Filling:
5 (8 oz) pkgs (2½ lbs) cream cheese, softened (1.13 kg)
1¼ cups sugar
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour, unbleached
1½ tsp. orange zest, freshly grated
1½ tsp. lemon zest, freshly grated
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
5 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ cup heavy cream

For the Crust:
Combine flour, butter, sugar, zest, salt, yolk, and vanilla seeds in a bowl; rub with fingers until dough forms. Form dough into 2 rounds; wrap each in plastic wrap. Chill for 1 hour. Press 1 dough round onto bottom of a 9" springform pan; pull off pieces from remaining dough and press around sides of pan. Set aside.

For the Filling:
Beat cream cheese, sugar, flour, zests, and vanilla in a large bowl on medium-high speed of a hand mixer until smooth. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating after each addition, until smooth; stir in cream.

Assemble and Bake:
Pour filling into pan, and bake until top begins to brown, about 15 minutes.

Reduce heat to 200°F (90°C), and bake until just set, about 1 hour more.

Transfer to a rack, and let cool completely. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight. Remove cake from pan and cut into slices to serve.

Makes 8-12 servings.