New York Cheesecake with Peaches and Amaretto |Cooking With Amanda

We all know I love cheesecake. Pretty much any kind. I even ordered a savory cheesecake at a restaurant once and then went home and tried to recreate it because I loved it so much.

I'm usually into lots of fun flavors and combinations but I thought since I'm still fairly new to Food Fanatic that I would share a classic cheesecake and put my own little twist on it. This way I'm giving you the practice of making a classic New York style cheesecake but also putting my own little signature twist in by adding Amaretto sour cream topping, and one of my favorite fruits - peaches.

Cheesecakes are funny in that they give off an air of being difficult or involved, but in my opinion they're one of the easier things to make. Once you've got a good, solid cheesecake recipe memorized you can start playing with it and adding the things you love the most. Like chocolate for example!

For this particular recipe, I'm using just a regular graham cracker crust. You really can't beat the simplicity. To get that super tall look that's specific to New York style you're going to use more cream cheese giving you more batter than usual. There's also the addition of a bit of flour, which is not the norm, and sour cream as well. I also add just a bit of lemon zest to give it some brightness.

One tip: Even though you're adding flour, don't be alarmed. This cheesecake really won't rise much at all. Make sure you use a water bath to bake it in, though. It will allow the cake to bake really evenly (and hopefully with no cracks) and that's exactly what you want. Enjoy!!

When you're feeling adventurous enough to try a more involved cheesecake, try Christy's hot chocolate cheesecake or Kate's copycat Cheesecake Factory red velvet cheesecake recipe.

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New York Cheesecake Recipe

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Ingredients

For the Crust:

13 crackers graham crackers
heavy pinch of salt
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted

For the Filling:

2 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
5 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon lemon zest

For the Topping:

1 cup sour cream
4 tablespoons amaretto, or more to taste, optional
4 tablespoons confectioners sugar
lemon juice, from one lemon
1 peach, sliced and tossed in lemon juice

Directions

Place your oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 375°F.
Butter a 10 inch springform pan generously butter both the bottom and sides thoroughly.
Pulse graham crackers in a food processor into fine crumbs with salt and sugar. Drizzle melted butter and pulse several more times to incorporate. Press firmly into the bottom of springform and bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove and allow to cool on a wire rack.
In a large mixer bowl beat cream cheese with sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add butter and sour cream and incorporate well. Beat in eggs one at a time then add zest and vanilla beating only until combined well. Transfer batter to springform.
Wrap springform pan in a double layer of foil. Place in a large roasting pan. Pour enough boiling water into the roasting pan so that it comes halfway up the sides of the springform.
Mix remaining sour cream with amaretto, lemon juice and powdered sugar until smooth. Set aside.
Bake 45 minutes, then reduce them to 325°F and continue baking about another 30 minutes until edges are set but center is still has a little jiggle.
Top with sour cream mixture and place back in the oven leaving the door ajar and the oven off. Allow cake to sit another hour in warm oven. Remove and allow to cool completely before refrigerating. Prior to serving slice peaches and arrange on top of cheesecake in a circular pattern.

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