Cheesecake

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Quite a number of years ago, a friend shared a recipe that purported to be Lindy's cheesecake - from a restaurant in New York. There are a number of similar recipes on the internet with the same name; this one has a little less sugar in the filing. I've tried it, and it's exceptional.

I've attached a PDF of the recipe, as well as the plain text here.

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Lindy's Famous Cheesecake


Crust:

1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg, yolk
¼ cup soft butter or margarine

Filling:

5 packages (8 oz size) soft cream cheese
1¼ cups sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1½ teaspoons grated lemon peel
1½ teaspoons grated orange peel
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
5 eggs
2 egg yolks
¼ cup heavy cream

Strawberry Glaze, below.

1. In medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, lemon peel, and vanilla. Make a well in center; add egg yolk and butter. Mix with fingertips, until dough cleans side of bowl.

2. Form into a ball; wrap in waxed paper; refrigerate about 1 hour.

3. Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease bottom and side of a 9-inch spring-form pan. Remove side from pan.

4. Roll one third of dough on bottom of spring-form pan; trim edge.

5. Bake 10 minutes, or until golden.

6. Meanwhile, divide rest of dough into 2 parts. Roll each part into a strip 2¼ inches wide and about 10 inches long.

7. Put together spring-form pan, with baked crust on bottom.

8. Fit strips to side of pan, joining ends of strips to line inside completely. Trim dough so it comes only three-fourths way up side. Refrigerate until ready to fill.

9. Preheat oven to 500°F. Make Filling. In large bowl of electric mixer, combine cheese, sugar, flour, lemon and orange peel, vanilla. Beat, at high speed, just to blend.

10. Beat in eggs and egg yolks, one at a time. Add cream, beating just until well combined. Pour into spring-form pan.

11. Bake 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 250°F; bake 1 hour and 20 minutes longer.

12. Let cool in pan on wire rack. Glaze top with Strawberry Glaze. Refrigerate 3 hours, or overnight.

13. To serve, loosen pastry from side of pan with spatula. Remove side of spring-form pan. Cut cheesecake into wedges.

Makes: 16 to 20 servings.


Strawberry Glaze

1 pkg (10 oz) thawed frozen sliced strawberries, undrained
¼ cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 quart large fresh strawberries, washed hulled, and drained

1. Put thawed frozen strawberries with their juice through coarse sieve, or blend in electric blender, to make a puree.

2. In small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch, mixing well. Stir in strawberry puree.

3. Bring to boiling, stirring over medium heat; boil 1 minute--mixture will be thickened and translucent.

4. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Stir in juice, cool completely.

5. Arrange fresh strawberries with points up, over cooled cheesecake. Spoon glaze over strawberries.

NOTE: If fresh strawberries are not available, make the following glaze:

1. Thaw 2 packages (1-lb size) frozen whole strawberries. Drain well, reserving 3/4 cup liquid from berries.

2. In small saucepan, combine 2 tablespoons sugar and 1-tablespoon cornstarch, mix well. Stir in reserved liquid.

3. Bring to boiling, stirring, over medium heat; boil 1 minute--mixture will be thickened and translucent.

4. Remove from heat; let cool slightly. Add 2 teaspoons lemon juice; let cool completely.

5. Arrange strawberries, with points up, over cooled cheesecake. Spoon glaze over strawberries.