A year later, I was working at the Casbah, cooking nightly specials and making that very cheesecake. Making a couple dozen a week changed my attitude. I didn't eat cheesecake recreationally for several years, though when I lived in New York, I liked to think I would find the ultimate cheesecake. But excellent cheesecake is rather elusive. It's rarely good at restaurants.
Few places make it in-house, and often it's too gussied up.
Making cheesecake at home, though ludicrously easy, doesn't always work out the way you want. This classic recipe makes a firm but smooth cake, my favorite texture. To make it soft and creamier, like tester No. 1 likes it, bake the cake in a hot water bath. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with the butter, then sprinkle with crumbs.