Here's the best I ever made or tasted....you can do it in a graham cracker crust, but the pastry crust is better.
and if you really want to go over the top, top it with lemon curd....the recipe is at the enc of the cheese cake recipe.
I wish someone would make me a cheese cake on my birthday!!
Linda C

Secret Lindy's-Style New York Cheesecake

Cookie Pastry Crust
1/4 lb. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 c. sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 c. flour

Beat the butter and sugar in a medium mixing bowl with electric mixer on
medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 mins.
Add the egg and flour and mix until a smooth dough is formed.
With your hands, shape it into a ball and flatten it into a disc.
Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until it's firm.
Remove the sides from the springform pan and press one third of
the pastry evenly over the bottom.
Place on baking sheet and bake in 400F oven for 6 mins. or until golden.
Remove from the oven and cool.
Increase oven temperature to 500F.
Butter the sides of the springform pan and attach it to the bottom.
Press the remaining pastry about two thirds up the sides.

Filling
5 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese, room temperature
1 3/4 c. sugar
3 T. flour
2 t. lemon peel
1 1/2 t. orange peel
1/4 t. salt
1/4 t. vanilla
5 eggs plus 2 egg yolks, room temperature
1/4 c. sour cream

Beat the cream cheese in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed
until smooth and fluffy, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally.
Gradually add the sugar, flour, lemon and orange peel, salt and vanilla, beating constantly.
Add eggs and yolks one at a time, beating well after each egg.
Scrape the bowl one or two more times.
Add in the sour cream; the mixture will be thin.
Pour it into the pastry-lined springform pan.

Put it together

Place the pan on a baking sheet.
Bake it in the oven at 500F for 8 mins. or until the top is golden.
Reduce the oven temperature to 200F (don't open the oven!) and continue to bake it
for 1 hour or until the center jiggles slightly.
When finished cooking, shut off the open, prop the door open,
and let the cheesecake sit in the oven for about 3 or 4 hrs.
Once it's finished cooling, wrap it with plastic wrap and refrigerate it several hours or overnight.

Serve it up!

Remove the sides of the springform pan.
Now you can add whatever glaze, ganache, or other spread you desire over the top of the cheesecake.
Keep it refrigerated until serving time!

Lemon curd

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated fresh lemon zest
1/2 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 stick butter cut into bits

Preparation
Whisk together juice, zest, sugar, and eggs in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Stir in butter and cook over moderately low heat, whisking frequently, until curd is thick enough to hold marks of whisk and first bubble appears on surface, about 6 minutes.

I don't have the recipe here to copy for you, but I've made one from Cooking Light that was wonderful. It's from a few years back, and I've served it at a couple Easter dinners. The lemon curd recipe with it is quick, easy & delicious.

The friend who recommended it to me said she substituted 1/2 of the Neufchatel it calls for with real cream cheese. I did the same when I made it.

I found it online, and apologize that I have never learned how to do "links."

I just did a quick search to see if the recipe was easiy found. If you search "Lemon-Swirl Cheesecake" Cooking Light, you'll find it.

I saw that it actually called for fat free and low fat cream cheese. My friend and I substituted low fat for the fat free amount and regular cream cheese for the low fat. Neither of us likes the flavor of fat free cream cheese. This substitution makes it a little lighter than typical cheesecakes, but you still get the desired creaminess and flavor, IMO.

This is a cheesecake I make often. And last year I tried swirling my favorite lemon curd through the cheesecake. Bonus.

Sol

Sol, that looks so good that I'm going to make it for our anniversary dinner on Tuesday! Unfortunately my brand new Hobart mixer is out being fixed, but my lovely hand mixer should be up to the job! Thanks for posting this ... guess I don't get to your blog often enough.