To Do

Completed January 2001

I’ve found that much like mashed potatoes, it’s not so much the recipe for cheesecake that you use as it is the technique.

You have to be sure to beat the room-temperature cream cheese first – when there’s nothing else in the bowl – until it’s smooth and fluffy so that it blends nicely with the other ingredients. You have to be sure to bring the eggs and any other refrigerated ingredients to room temperature too – so that they don’t make cold hard lumps in your soft, fluffy cream cheese. You have to use top-quality vanilla (don’t even get me started on imitation vanilla – never buy that stuff) – straight from the bean whenever possible.

And you have to bake it low and slow in a bath of warm water. You’ll be hard-pressed to find a recipe for cheesecake that doesn’t come out divine if you use this technique.