Mascarpone Cheesecake

This cheesecake manages to be both ultra-creamy and deceptively light, and it owes it all to mascarpone, the thick, buttery cow’s-milk cream cheese that originated in Italy’s Lombardy region. A topping of sour cream adds a slight tang, but the overall effect is of gentle sweetness. We have the restaurant Syrah in Santa Rosa, California, to thank for this marvelous recipe. Serves 10-12.
(from Gourmet Today cookbook.)

For Crust:

8 ½ ounces vanilla wafers (70 cookies), finely ground in a food processor (2 1/3 cups)

1 stick (8 Tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled

For Filling:

2 ½ (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup (8 ounces) imported Italian mascarpone cheese, at room temperature

¾ cup sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon salt

Make the crust: Put a rack in middle of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Invert bottom of 9-inch spring form pan (to make it easier to slide cake off bottom), then lock on side. Butter bottom and side of pan.

Stir together cookie crumbs and butter in a bowl. Pat crumbs onto bottom and 1 ½ inches up side of spring form pan (about 1/8 inch thick). Bake crust until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely. (Leave oven on.)

Meanwhile, make the filling: Beat cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer (fitted with paddle attachment if using a stand mixer) at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla, lemon juice, and salt and mix at low speed until combined.

Pour filling into cooled crust. Bake until cake is set and puffed around edges but still trembles slightly when pan is shaken gently, 25 to 30 minutes (cheese cake will continue to set as it cools). Cool slightly in spring form pan on rack for 20 minutes. (Leave oven on.)

Make the Topping: Stir together sour cream, sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and salt in a small bowl. Spoon topping over cheesecake, spreading gently and evenly, leaving  ¼ inch border all around. Bake until topping is set, about 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around edges of cheesecake to help prevent cracking.

Refrigerate cheesecake, loosely covered, for at least 8 hours before serving.

Cook’s Notes:

-The cheesecake can be refrigerated, loosely covered, for up to 3 days.

-Cut the cake with a long thin sharp knife dipped in a tall glass of hot water and wiped dry.

-You could reserve ¼ cup cookie crumb mixture to sprinkle on top of cheesecake before chilling.