When I was a child my Mom would make something called the Hollywood Two-Tone Cheesecake. This was what I could only describe as a delicious, semi-dense, and very cheesy cheesecake. I don't know what made it better than any other cheesecake, maybe the process?
Anyway, one day I was admiring Mom as she made it and asked her how she ever came up with the recipe. I thought Mom was a genius! In her humble way, she looked at me and said: "My dear friend, Julia, gave it to me." Then she went back to cooking. For many years I wondered why we never met this dear friend, Julia. Then one day, on PBS reruns, I saw Julia Child making Mom's cheesecake. And then I knew Mom's secret!
To this very day, Julia's cheesecake remains a hit with everyone!
First, make the Crust:
- 1 1/4 cups crushed Zweibach (if you can't find it, you can use biscotti)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup melted butter, cooled
- Butter the bottom and sides of a spring pan.
- Mix together pressing into a spring pan, with 1/4 inch at the bottom and working halfway up the sides.
- Chill for one hour.
- 1 lb cream cheese, full-fat room temperature
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 tbsp vanilla
It's very important that your eggs and cream cheese be at room temperature. Otherwise, you have to beat it like crazy which results in too soft of a filling and it won't set up properly.
Mix all of the ingredients together and pour into the crust. Bake for 20 minutes at 375 and cool for one hour after removing and finishing.
The third fill or top tone:
- 1-pint full-fat sour cream
- 1/4 cup sugar
- pinch of ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla
- Increase temperature to 475.
- Mix all of the above together and pour over the cake and bake for 10 minutes.
This cake doesn't need a decoration but you can if you like. The main thing is to chill it overnight, a minimum of 10 hours, before serving.