Spice it Up: What Not To Do With Cheesecake

My house tends to always have some form of baked goods thanks to a father’s love for sweets and a daughter’s love for baking. But, being the only one in the house to curve my father’s sweet tooth and having to balance baking with excessive homework, sometimes I get too busy, or just lazy, which is pretty much the same thing. These are the times when I turn to boxed mix, but there’s no denying that it can’t compare to something homemade.

I love cheesecake –  it’s a staple for me and no other dessert can compare to it. Having had a sweet tooth a week or so ago, I went looking for something quick to bake and found that we had a Duncan Hines No-Bake Cheesecake mix sitting in the pantry. Cheesecake sounded delicious, so I decided to satisfy my desire with it.

It was a bad idea. The cheesecake turned out very odd-tasting and too sweet. Even though it tasted decent, it just wasn’t that taste that I was looking for.

Moral of the story, boxed No-Bake Cheesecake mix is not something you should make when you want a good cheesecake.

So, instead of using something boxed, there’s the option of using this great recipe that I found.

The only things needed to make the crust are one cup of graham cracker crumbs, one tablespoon of sugar and three tablespoons of cold butter.

The cheesecake itself is also very simple, only needing four packages of softened cream cheese (eight ounces each), one and one-fourths cups of sugar, one tablespoon of lemon juice, two tablespoons of vanilla extract and three lightly beaten eggs.

Making the cheesecake is pretty simple too. First, combine the graham cracker crumbs and the sugar. Then, cut in the butter until it’s all crumbly. Grease the sides of a nine-inch springform pan, press the crust in to the bottom and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Now comes the slightly more complicated part: making the filling. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth, then beat in the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Finally, add the eggs and beat on a low speed until everything’s combined.  Pour filling onto the crust and bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool it for 10 minutes and carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen its contents. Then, cool for another hour. Refrigerate the cheesecake overnight and it’ll be ready to eat.

Now there’s a better cheesecake than what you would get from a No-Bake mix.