The Greatest New York Cheesecake with Cherry Topping

I was looking for one of my tried and true dessert recipes for a party the other day. As I've stated previously, I am not a baker. My ADD brain just don't enjoy having to be so precise. What I have done over time is find a couple of great dessert recipes that keep people coming back for more. So here is one of the best. Please note that if you are looking for a diet dessert, quickly click out of this page. By just reading the ingredients, you will gain at least a pound.

Crust

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

6 Tablespoons butter

3 Tablespoons sugar

Cake

5 packages (8 oz. each) cream cheese at room temperature

1 2/3 cups sugar

3 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

5 eggs

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup sour cream

1 can (21 oz.) cherry pie filling or topping

CRUST: Position oven rack in lower-third of oven; preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9" springform pan. Combine graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar; press into bottom and 2" up side of pan. Bake 10 minutes or until golden; remove from oven.

CAKE: Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees. At medium speed beat cream cheese until fluffy, about 4 minutes. At medium-low speed gradually beat in sugar. Beat in flour, vanilla and zest. At low speed beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time, until combined. Beat in sour cream. Pour batter into crust. Bake 8-10 minutes or until golden and edge is beginning to rise; reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees. Bake 1 hour. Turn off oven; leave cheesecake in oven without opening door (this is the hardest for me) for 20 minutes. Cool in pan on rack 30 minutes. Run small spatula around edge of cake to loosen. Refrigerate until completely cooled, at least 4 hours. Remove side from pan; transfer to serving plate. Top with pie filling.

Note: I don't know if this is really true, but I do it anyway. Someone told me to place a pan of water on a rack under the cheesecake rack while it's baking. It is supposed to keep the cheesecake from cracking to much because it adds moisture to the baking. Again, I really don't know if this is true, but that's what I do.

Makes 20 servings.

Your time in the kitchen: 30 minutes

Ready to serve in 6 hours