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Pies and Tarts
cheesecake
Cheesecake (with cream cheese, sour cream and lemon juice; topped with whipped cream, blueberries, strawberries and almonds)
Originated from: North America and Italy
Occasion: Any time & special times
Contributed by: Mary Melfi (a friend's recipe)

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Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted, cooled

Filling:
2 packages Philadelphia cream cheese (500 grams)
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup sour cream
3 eggs
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping
Whipped cream, finely chopped almonds, fresh blueberries and fresh strawberries



Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees.

To make the crust -- combine graham cookie crumbs and melted butter. Press into the bottom of a springform pan (One can use the bottom of a glass to flatten the mixture).

Combine cream cheese, sour cream and eggs until smooth.

Add sugar and mix very well, making sure there are no lumps.

Add vanilla.

Add lemon juice and zest. Mix well.

Bake until the crust is golden, and the middle of the cheesecake is firm to the touch -- about 50 minutes.

Turn off oven and let it stay in the oven for about 15 minutes.

Remove.

Cool before removing from pan.

Keep in fridge.

Before serving, decorate with whipped cream, finely chopped roasted almonds and fresh blueberries and strawberries, or any other topping of one's choice.






Notes

This recipe seems to be rather traditional -- i.e, traditional to the United States of America. It's hard to say whether Italy's famous Easter ricotta pies inspired American chefs to come up with their delicious cheesecakes, but there is no doubt of one thing -- ancient Romans were cooking up honey-sweetened cheese pies over 2,000 years ago, proving that in the kitchen anything new is old. Photo: by the contributor.

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