Creamy Birthday Cheesecake

In addition to making Christmas gifts during my blogging hiatus, we also had a birthday to celebrate. Kirk's birthday is just a few days after the New Year, a decidedly un-fun time of the year: Everyone is back to work and school, and the whole world is more interested in dieting and exercising than having even one more day filled with cake. 

Still, we always celebrate Kirk's birthday with a special extra-creamy cheesecake, and this year was no exception. He's been having this since he was a kid when his mom made it for him, and it's the best cheesecake you will ever eat. It's super creamy and custardy rather than dry and cake-y like a New York-style cheesecake. 

That's because it uses eggs instead of flour.

With an assist from Rachel and Sally (pictured) and Louisa Catherine (hiding), I got three very fresh eggs to whip this up:

These eggs turned out to have some incredibly orange yolks, so the finished product was more yellow than it ever has been in the past. Your mileage may vary.

Creamy Birthday Cheesecake

For the crust:

1 1/2 cups Graham cracker crumbs

1 Tbs. sugar

6 Tbs. butter, melted

For the filling:

16 oz. Philadelphia cream cheese (at room temperature)

2/3 cup sugar

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. vanilla

For the topping: 

1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 Tbs. sugar

1. To make the crust, stir sugar and Graham cracker crumbs in a small bowl, then mix in melted butter. Press crumbs into a standard pie plate:

2. Bake crust for 8 minutes at 350 degrees, then remove to a cooling rack.

3. In a large mixing bowl, stir cream cheese until fluffy, then add sugar and beat until combined. Add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla:

4. Pour the filling into the crust, gently spreading across the top to spread it out. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes:

5. Allow the cheesecake to cool for 20 minutes. While it cools, mix the topping ingredients in a medium bowl and beat until smooth. Spread topping gently over the cheesecake:

6. Bake for an additional 10 minutes. Allow to cool, then chill for several hours before serving. 

When you slice it, it briefly looks like this, but will disappear fast:

As you can see, it's very creamy. The sour cream topping adds a tangy, slightly citrusy flavor, which keeps it all from being too sweet. This cake doesn't need anything else with it, except maybe a nice, hot cup of coffee. 

We usually don't even bother with birthday candles and singing, preferring instead to dig right in.