Jarrett Family's Special Tropical Cheesecake

Crust Ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cups Graham cracker crumbs (~11 graham crackers)

  • 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar

  • 5 Tbsp Unsalted Butter (melted)

  • Dash of Cinnamon

Filling Ingredients:

  • 2 8 ounce packages of Cream Cheese (use regular fat for better taste)

  • 1 cup Granulated Sugar

  • 3 Eggs

  • 1 1/4 cup Greek Yogurt (secret ingredient, used instead of sour cream)

  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract

  • 1 tsp Almond extract (secret ingredient!)

Steps:

  • Take cream cheese and eggs out of fridge and let it get to room temperature (room temperature ingredients blend up smoothly so you don’t have a lumpy cake)

  • Put graham crackers into food processor and puree until it becomes crumbs

  • Grease a 9” springform pan

  • Mix graham cracker crumbs with sugar, melted butter and dash of cinnamon in a bowl

  • Press crust mix firmly into bottom of 9” springform pan and place in freezer until ready to bake

  • Cream the sugar together with the cream cheese until soft and creamy (use an electric mixer)

  • Add Greek yogurt, vanilla extract and almond extract and blend together. Finally, add eggs and beat just until combined (overbeating eggs will add more air into the mixture and cause cracks after baking)

  • Preheat oven at 350F degrees and bake crust for 10 minutes

  • Take crust out and pour the filling into the crust

  • Make a water bath for the cheesecake (to keep it moist and not crack while baking)

    • Wrap springform pan multiple times with heavy duty foil (covering the underside and edges) so water will not leak through (this is VERY important!)

    • Set wrapped springform pan into larger roasting pan and pour boiling water into pan around the cheesecake (depth of 1-2 inches)

  • Bake cheesecake for 50-60 minutes at 350F degrees. When it’s done, the center of the cheesecake will slightly wobble if you gently shake the pan. (Don’t open the oven while baking as drafts can cause the cheesecake to crack and bake unevenly)

  • Turn oven off and leave cheesecake closed in oven for additional 30 minutes, then crack the oven open halfway and leave in for another 30 minutes (this allows the cheesecake to cool slowly and avoid cracks and condensation)

  • Remove cheesecake from oven and water bath and cool it completely uncovered at room temperature. Then cover and refrigerate the cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight.

  • Best served 10-15 minutes after taking out of the fridge (at room temperature)

cheesecake
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