Cheesecake

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1
  The ingredients for the cream should be at room temperature. Take the eggs and cheese out of the fridge in time, about 1 hour in advance.
• 2
  Grease a 24 cm springform pan very well with melted butter to easily remove the finished cheesecake. You can also line the bottom of the pan with a circle cut out of baking paper. For a solid pan, the paper is essential if you want to remove the finished cheesecake in one piece. Since you will be baking the cheesecake in a water bath, you must seal the springform pan. Place two 40 cm pieces of aluminum foil crosswise and place the greased pan in the center. Wrap the pan tightly with the foil from the outside.
• 3
  Start preheating the oven to 160 degrees, leave the fan off.
• 4
  Pour the cookies into a plastic bag, crush them with a rolling pin, and mix with melted butter. Convenient cooks can crush the cookies with a few quick pulses in a food processor with a double blade and then add the butter straight from the fridge. After another sequence of quick pulses, the cookie mixture will form clumps and is in ideal condition for transferring to the pan.
• 5
  Transfer the cookie mixture into the pan, spread it into an even layer across the bottom, and press it down firmly with a glass with a flat bottom. Place the pan in the fridge while you prepare the cream in the next step.
• 6
  Smooth the cream cheese or its alternative, again best done in a food processor with a double blade, this time at the lowest possible speed. Stop the processor several times and scrape the cheese from the sides with a rubber spatula. As little air as possible should get into the cream, so mix for the shortest possible time. Once the cheese is smooth, add the sugar and repeat the process, again achieving a smooth cream. Then repeat the same with the eggs, mixing them in one by one, and finally the yolks. The closer you get to the end, the less you should mix.
• 7
  Pour the cream onto the chilled cookie base and let it rest for 5 minutes to allow any air bubbles to escape.
• 8
  While the cream is resting and releasing bubbles, bring 1.5 to 2 liters of water to a boil. Place an empty baking dish in the oven, large enough to hold your prepared cake pan. Transfer the pan into it and pour in enough boiling water to reach about halfway up the sides of the pan. Close the oven and do not open it for 30 minutes.
• 9
  Try tapping the edge of the pan with a spoon. If the center of the cake jiggles like jelly but is no longer liquid, which you can tell with a gentle touch of a finger, it's done. If you continue, the cake will crack and overbake. If you still see a bit of liquid cream in the center, continue for another five minutes and repeat the test.
• 10
  Once the cake is baked, turn off the oven, open the door a few centimeters, and let the cheesecake cool slowly in the water bath. After half an hour, take it out onto the kitchen counter, remove the foil, and once it has completely cooled, transfer it to the fridge for further setting. After eight hours of chilling, it should be fully set and ready for serving.
• 11
  Remove the side of the pan, flip the cake upside down onto a greased plate, and carefully remove the bottom and then the paper with a circular motion. Flip the cake onto a serving platter and remove the auxiliary plate from the top.