Sooo....the "Italian Cheese" cake is exactly the same as the fluffy cheesecake with the addition of a pound of ricotta. I often make cheese cake for Easter.....and serve it with a choice of lemon curd and fresh strawberries. The cheesecake I make is a very traditional New York style cheese! Dense, cheesy....delicious! Like you find at high end restaurants.... 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!

You can do as Claire mentioned but it can be baked again like, Lucy and Linda : Or you can bake another right away. I keep pushing my Light and Fluffy Cheesecake that I finally got right after a couple of months. A couple of members have tried it and said it was good. I'll put in the feedback if you want but I'd have to get permission first. Thanks , LOU Here's the recipe. LouÂs Cheesecake - Light and Fluffy Ingredients: 6 eggs- Xtra Large , Separated 2 Packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese ( 16 0zs. ) 3/4 cup of Vanilla Ice Cream 1 ¼ cups of Sugar 1 stick of Butter - ¼ lb. ( softened ) 1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice 6 tablespoons of Orange Juice and grate fine, the skin of 1 orange 1 teaspoon of Vanilla flavor 2 heaping Tablespoons of Flour ¼ cup of Cornstarch Add into a large bowl, 6 egg yolks, cream cheese, Vanilla Ice Cream, ¾ cup of sugar, Lemon Juice, ( save the ½ cup for the egg whites) Orange juice, Grated orange skin, Butter, Vanilla and Flour. Beat until creamy smooth, no less than 3 to 4 minutes, with a hand mixer. Add the Cornstarch and beat slow for 1 minute or until it is just blended. In another bowl, beat the egg whites ; with clean beaters, until they hold soft peaks and then add remaining ½ cup of Sugar, one tablespoon at a time, at Medium speed, for1 minute. Increase the speed for 2 to 3 minutes ,or until whites hold stiff peaks. add this to the Cheesecake Batter 1/3 at a time, folding easily but thoroughly. I buttered a 9 in. x 12 in. SS pan and dusted it with flour, poured the batter into it and leveled it slightly by shaking. I placed this SS pan into a slightly larger pan, filled with water about ¾ inches deep. This was put into the 325 Deg. preheated oven , on the middle shelf and baked about 45 to 50 minutes or until the top is a light Golden Tan. DonÂt overcook to Dark Tan or it will be dryer. Your favorite crust can be used instead of a floured pan. This mix fills the pan to the top while baking 2 1/2 inches, it will settle to 1 3/4 inches high or a little less when cool. Turn off the oven but leave the cake in until it cools down a little, donÂt disturb. It will settle and be slightly recessed upon cooling. When cool, cover the top of the pan with Aluminum Foil and refrigerate, for at least 1 hour. It can be refrigerated for at least 3 days. I tested a piece for freezing . After thawing, it didnÂt seem to affect it. You can add a fruit topping of your choice after refrigerating. ( Pineapple , Peach, Strawberry , Cherry, etc. ,made into a Sauce)

Lou, I checked this thread to try your gravy, a friend says sauce, another says gravy, I always thought gravy, too! I'll be trying this, it looks so good! Copied and pasted. but I'm so sad to hear about your wife! You are both in my thoughts and prayers. (((LOU)))

lowspark/May, I had to grin at "platitudes". Unfortunately, though, I can't use it on Elery because he didn't eat it. We're both doing this Weight Watchers thing and so no dessert for either of us, all leftovers went home with other people... You did make me turn to the ultimate authority, though, my copy of "Larousse Gastronomique", who defines cheesecake as: "A cake made from soft cheese. Creamy and dense, baked cheesecake consists of a base made from flour, butter and sugar. This is covered with a mixture of soft cheese, eggs and sugar, with lemon zest and/or dried fruit. The cheesecake is baked, cooled and served lightly chilled. There are many examples of baked cheesecakes from Scandinavia, Russia, Europe and the USA. Eastern European countries, in particular, make traditional rich baked cheesecakes. Traditional chilled cheesecakes include pashka, a moulded cheese mixture prepared for Easter and Italian ricotta desserts. Chilled set cheesecakes on a biscuit base are the modern version: they may be rich and dense, or light. They are often served with fresh fruit or a fruit coulis." So now I have to try Pashka, because I've never had that! Annie