Junior's New York Cheesecake for Vlad's Birthday

Tuesday was my colleague Vlad's birthday. Vlad's favourite type of cake is cheesecake, which he makes known several times a year by asking when I am going to make cheesecake.  Accordingly, cheesecake is what I made.

The recipe I used was  Junior's New York Cheesecake, as published on the Epicurious website. I had wanted to make this cheesecake for ages - ever since I saw a travel article naming the author's top 5 New York cheesecakes. Junior's cheesecake was declared the best by the author, and from my research, he is not alone in that view.

This cheesecake was quite straightforward to make. I used the 9" crust with the 8" filling and was glad I did - the 9" pan was full to the brim once the cheesecake baked up in the oven.

I really liked the ultra-light, barely there sponge crust. I do like some form of crust on my cheesecake as a vehicle for the filling, and this sponge crust is perfect. I also enjoyed the light fluffy filling which the recipe authors aptly described as being like billowing clouds.

I wrote on the cheesecake with piped caramel filling.

I received heaps of compliments on this cheesecake at work - a sure sign it was better than average because people often say nothing about my baking because I do it so often.
Two people even asked for the recipe.

If you are a cheesecake lover, I highly recommend that you give Junior's recipe a go.