New York Cheesecake with Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce. . .

Hey everyone!

Hope all is well in your neck of the woods! Things have been busy here leading up to the fall. School starts next week, which means I'm super scared, or I mean, I'm helping my child gear up. See my oldest starts Kindergarten next week. He is so excited and looking forward to it. Me, I'm sitting at home baking to try to cope and eating all my baked goods...lol. But last night we were invited over to my friend Katrina's house for supper with the kiddos. {You should head over to Katrina's blog: Sota Is Sexy...she is absolutely hilarious and posts some pretty read-worthy posts...}

Anyways, I brought some Cheesecake over to her house and was trying to be all secretive about it just in case it didn't turn out...well, long story short, it did turn out. Incredibly well. Too well. In fact I ate more cheesecake at her house than I did actual food. So knowing me and the fact that if I brought this entire cheesecake home, I would eat it all. It actually reminded me of the episode of friends where they steal the cheesecake and then the one time they dropped it off the floor and continued to eat it...this was that good, in where I knew if I dropped it on the floor, I would still eat it...lol. Anyways, so I left half of it with them, and this morning, I had a sliver, and by sliver, I mean chunk for breakfast! Oh the horror of my ways, now I've got to hit the gym big time, but the gym is closed, so may as well eat another slice of cheesecake! What's another slice right?!?!?! Ok, I'll be quiet now and just give you the recipe so you can test it out for yourself!!! Good luck...and when I say good luck, I mean, if you gain 20 extra pounds after eating the entire thing yourself, I had nothing to do with it! LOL...I didn't come up with the filling recipe on my own...found it in a magazine, so in truth, it really wouldn't be ALL my fault...hehehe

New York Cheescake:

Crust
8 oz. Cinnamon Graham Crackers, crushed
6 Tlb. Melted Butter
1 Tlb. Sugar

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees, lightly grease a 9" spring form pan, layer onto a baking sheet.
2.  Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until crumbly.
3. Dump crumbs into a prepared spring form pan and press on bottom and sides.
4. Bake for 10-13 minutes. Allow to cool 10 minutes then put in the fridge until ready to use.

Filling
5-8 oz. Packages of Cream Cheese @ Room Temp
Pinch of Salt
1-1/2 c. Sugar
1/3 c. Sour Cream
Juice of 1 Lemon
2 tsp. Vanilla
2 Egg Yolks & 6 eggs @ Room Temp {I used Extra Large Eggs, but I'm sure you could use large}

1. Turn heat up to 500 degrees after baking the crust.
2. Mix cream cheese in a stand mixer for 3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Add Salt & Sugar and mix for 1 minute.
3. Add sour cream and lemon juice and mix for 1 minute.
4. Add Vanilla and mix for 1 minute.
5. Add yolks and mix for 1 minute. Add remaining eggs 2 at a time and mix 1 minute after each addition, be sure to scrape sides after each addition as well.
6. Remove pan from fridge and pour in your batter. Don't be scared because the batter will literally go to the top of your pan. That's why you have the baking sheet under it...to catch any overflow if that were to happen!
7. Bake at 500 degrees for 10 minutes, without opening the door, reduce oven to 200 degrees and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes - 1 hour 40 minutes depending on oven temp.
8. Don't panic because your cheesecake will be about 1/2 over the top of your pan...let cheesecake cool on counter for 3 hours. Then refrigerate for 3 more hours to get things set. Allow to rest at room temp for 30 minutes before serving.
9. You can use any topping that best suites you for this cheesecake...but for me, I love a fruity topping and I topped with a Strawberry Rhubarb Sauce which is included below...

Strawberry & Rhubarb Sauce
2 c. Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb
1/4 c. Water
1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. Strawberry Rhubarb Jam
2 lbs. Strawberries, sliced
Juice of 1 Lemon

1. In a medium saucepan, heat Rhubarb, Water & Sugar over medium heat. After 10 minutes and the sauce is bubbly, start breaking down your rhubarb with a wooden spoon.
2. After everything is cooked down {about 20 minutes}...add the jam and let it cook until no longer foamy {about 3 minutes}...Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
3. Slice strawberries and add them to a bowl and mix with the lemon juice.
4. Add strawberry and lemon mix to rhubarb mix. Serve warm or cold...Would make a great ice cream topping as well!!!

Until Next time!!!