Ingredients:
1 package graham crackers or equivalent amount of cookies for crust
3 Tbl melted butter
2 Tbl sugar
2 lb cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
Juice of one lemon
2 Tbl flour
2 tsp vanilla
1 pint of heavy cream
7 eggs, separated and at room temperature
½ tsp cream of tartar

Method:
Preheat oven to 400. Crust can be made from graham crackers or any kind of hard cookie such as shortbread or chocolate wafers. Put cookies into the bowl of food processor and pulse until a fine meal. Add sugar and melted butter and combine. Press evenly onto the bottom and up the sides of a 10-inch spring form pan.

Bake for 5 minutes to set. Reduce oven temperature to 350. Let crust cool and then wrap bottom of pan with foil to come up the sides (this is to prevent any leaks when baking in hot water bath). Using an electric mixer, cream together cheese and sugar very, very, well (this is the secret to good cheesecake).

Add egg yolks one at a time beating well after each addition. Add flour beating well. Add lemon juice, beat again. Add heavy cream and vanilla, beat some more. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks form. Fold egg whites into cheese mixture with a spatula. Pour batter into crust-lined pan leaving no less than ¼ in. of space from the top of the pan.

Place a roasting pan in middle of oven. Set spring form pan in the roasting pan and pour hot water around it to reach half-way up the sides of the spring form pan. Bake at 350 for 65 minutes. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Do not peek at the cheesecake. Open the oven door, marvel at your creation, and leave it for another 30 minutes. This cheesecake can be topped with fresh fruit of your choosing, but it is excellent just plain!

(You may have some batter left over. This recipe also can be made with a 9 in. pan and you will definitely have batter left over which can be used to make individual cheesecakes.)