Say Cheese!

Ah! Cheese cake
Childhood memories of happier times.

Silvia's Cheesecake

3 packages of Cream Cheese
4 eggs
3 Half pint Containers of Sour Cream
Graham Crackers (or Maria Crackers)
1.5 Tablespoons of Butter
1 cup Sugar
Vanilla Extract

Separate eggs
Beat in low speed the cheese and 3/4 cup of sugar
add one yolk at the time
add 1.5 Teaspoons of Vanilla Extarct and continue to beat.

Prepare a mold spring or otherwise by covering the inside with butter
Layer a crust of crumbled cookies and butter on the bottom.

Beat the egg whites to a Merengue (Soft peaks)
Fold these egg whites whipping the first wet mixture,
incorporating the merengue gradually as you fold the batter.
DO NOT beat or you will loose the air and end with a flat dense cake.
Pre heat oven 350º
bake 20 min keep checking for firmess

Beat Sour Cream, Remaining Sugar and Vanilla
pour over top of the cake and return to oven
5 min.
take out and let cool.
Serve refrigerated.

I like to serve it with Dark Chocolate Covered Lemon Leafs as a garnish.

Make Dark bitter chocolate Ganache melting it very slowly in water bath.
Carefully as not to incorporate any of the water it will ruin the whole Ganache.
Use fresh lemon leaves when and were available. May use Bay leaves but cover them first in a thin layer of Lemon Essence and Butter. Lemon leaves naturally release their oils and essence as the warm chocolate covers them molding to each vein and creating a copy of the leave in the process. Once cooled separate the leaves and use the chocolate leafs as decorations.

You can also choose to do a sweeter milk chocolate ganache and cover the whole cake, drawing patterns by drippings of white chocolate!