Sherry’s Farmhouse Cheesecake

Farmhouse Cheesecake
I love this plain and simple recipe. But I do love a chocolate crust, too!

This past week I was surprised when I heard our granddaughter, Avah, soon to be eight years old, asking for cheesecake with strawberries for her birthday cake. I’m surprised, but maybe I shouldn’t be. The family has gone to the Cheesecake Factory for celebrations prior and she loves their cheesecake. So do I.

Many years ago when I was a new bride in 1975, I first made this fantastic cheesecake from a recipe in the cookbook Mom gave me as my wedding shower gift. I especially love the sweet cream topping smeared on the top of this version after it’s baked. It’s the tantalizing sweet and sour that rouses one’s taste buds. Yum. It beats a Jell-O brand instant cheesecake hands down.

Over the years, I never owned a spring form pan to bake it in as the recipe called for. Last summer, though, I just happened to find a new one at a yard sale for a dollar. So I snatched it up. After having one, I admit, “It’s all about having the right tool that makes a job easy.” A butter knife always was a substitute for a real screwdriver in a pinch when you can’t locate a screwdriver around my house, UGH, but when those battery packed screwdrivers came along it sure made it easy. And a spring form pan makes it easy to serve a lovely first piece of cheesecake by removing the tin sides. This way you present a lovely first piece instead of one that comes out destroyed! all cobbled up as you try to dig it out of a standard pie plate with a square spatula. (Yes, I’ve done that many times.) Get a pie spatula made for serving pies. I tell you it makes all the difference.

It took over 40 Years to finally buy waiting on that bargain!
A yard sale find for $1; new in the plastic bag.

Instead of a standard graham cracker crust I found this recipe for a dark chocolate crust. We girls like chocolate, don’t we? I read dark chocolate has many health benefits too. Don’t laugh…its true! I wouldn’t kid you. LOL. It can lower blood pressure among 6 other benefits, but the best is it just tastes so darn good. This recipe, with or without a spring -form pan, is delicious. Oh, and I might add, she picked Texas Roadhouse for her dinner celebration. All grown up. No Chucky Cheese for her. I think she likes throwing the peanut hulls on the floor and not having to clean it up! Go figure. I like that place, too. Love that girl!

Sinful Chocolate Crust

1 1/3 Cups chocolate wafer crumbs

1/3 cup butter

1/3 cup sugar

Stir together thoroughly. Press mixture evenly on the bottom of a 9-inch spring form pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.

Sherry’s Farmhouse Cheesecake

Reduce Oven Temperature to 300 degrees.

2 large and 1 small package of room temperature cream cheese.

1-cup sugar

2 teaspoons grated lemon rind; ½ teaspoon vanilla

3 room temperature farm fresh eggs

Cream together cheese, sugar, lemon rind and vanilla until fluffy.

If you don’t like the sour cream topping,
go with your choice, cherries, blueberries, chocolate drizzle?

Add eggs, one at a time. Pour over crumb mixture.

Bake 1 hour or until center is firm.(Don’t over bake. It will firm up when chilled.)

Cool to room temperature.

Topping

1-cup sour cream and 2 tablespoons sugar

Mix together then spread on top of cheesecake.

Chill for at least 3 hours. Serves 8 large slices or 12 skinny slices.

So Here’s the Thing…New is good. I like new. I like heated vinyl seats in cars, that’s new. An improvement for sure, especially on a cold winter’s day. I like all the many “new” and different varieties of cheesecakes. Did you know there is even a Red Velvet Cheesecake? I must try it soon. But truth is, I’m a simple farm girl from the sixties. I do, I do, I do, love the above cheesecake, plain and simple. I loved the original graham cracker crust initially, but when I heard dark chocolate is good for you, (I saw it on FB so it must be true) it was a no-brainer to change this recipe up. I mean, ,after all, cheese is good for you, eggs are good for you and dark chocolate is good for you. So, if ever there was a GOOD FOR YOU DESSERT, this is it.

Take Joy!

Sherry