New York Cheesecake

1. 1Heat the oven to 160°C fan. Blitz the biscuits to crumbs, stir in the melted butter, and press firmly into the base of a 23 cm springform tin. Bake for 10 minutes and leave to cool.
2. 2Wrap the outside of the tin in two layers of wide foil, coming right up the sides. Springform tins leak, and a water bath will find any gap.
3. 3Beat the cream cheese on a low speed until completely smooth before adding anything else — lumps at this stage never disappear. Scrape the bowl twice.
4. 4Add the sugar, flour, salt, vanilla and lemon zest and beat on low until just combined. Keep the speed down throughout: air beaten in now becomes a soufflé that rises, cracks and sinks.
5. 5Add the eggs one at a time on the lowest speed, mixing only until each disappears, then fold in the soured cream by hand.
6. 6Pour onto the cooled base and set the tin in a roasting tray. Pour boiling water into the tray to come halfway up the sides. The water keeps the oven humid and the edges from setting long before the middle.
7. 7Bake for 60–70 minutes. It is done when the outer 5 cm is set but the middle 8 cm still wobbles as one mass when you nudge the tin. A firm centre now means a dry cheesecake later.
8. 8Turn the oven off, prop the door ajar with a wooden spoon, and leave it there for an hour. Then take it out, run a thin knife around the rim to release it, and cool completely before refrigerating overnight. That slow, staged cooling is the entire crack-prevention strategy.

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