Basic Cheesecake

Ingredients

3 low-fat honey graham crackers, broken into pieces
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1 pound low-fat cream cheese, at room temperature
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325º F.

Wrap the bottom and sides of a 7-x-3-inch springform pan in a sheet of oversized aluminum foil. There should be no seams in the foil, and it should come up to the top of the pan. Cut off any excess. Insert the metal blade. Process the graham crackers until they are fine crumbs, add the sugar and the butter through the feed tube and process until the butter can no longer be seen. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Put in the freezer until ready to fill.

Wipe out the work bowl with a paper towel. Insert the metal blade. Process the cream cheese until smooth, about 20 to 30 seconds. Add the sugar and vanilla through the feed tube and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the work bowl. With the machine running, add one egg, process to incorporate, about 5 to 10 seconds, scrape down the sides of the work bowl. Add the second egg, process to incorporate, 5 to 10 seconds, scrape the work bowl, process for 5 seconds longer. Do not over process.

Carefully pour the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan. Place in a roasting pan, and set on the rack of the oven. Carefully add hot water to the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. This is called a bain marie or water bath. Bake the cheesecake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes. The cheesecake will still look jiggly in the center. Do not worry.
Remove the cheesecake from the bain marie, remove the foil and place on a rack. Cool completely on a rack, then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
The cheesecake is best made a day ahead. If desired, garnish with fresh fruit.

Nutritional Information Per Serving

This recipe can be prepared using the following Cuisinart® products:
Prep 9™ 9-Cup Food Processor
Pro Custom 11™ Food Processor
Prep 11 Plus™ 11-Cup Food Processor