Recipe courtesy of Liz Burrell from the Big Green Egg Culinary Center
Ingredients
- 4 (8-ounce) packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups of sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 ⅓ cups of sour cream
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tbsp lemon extract
- 3 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp pure vanilla extract
- Yellow food coloring
- 1 lemon
- 2 ½ cups finely crushed graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¾ cup melted butter
Instructions
Equipment
10 inch springform pan (wrap aluminum foil around the bottom of the spring form pan, this helps prevent leaking)
Big Green Egg convEGGtor
Method
Set your EGG for indirect cooking with a convEGGtor at 350°F/177°C
Crush the graham cracker crumbs until there are no large pieces left. Add ¼ cup sugar to the crackers and mix, then add the butter. The graham cracker mixture should stick together easily.
Pack the crust on the bottom of the pan and about 1-inch up the sides; make sure there are no air holes in your crust. Place the pan in the EGG and cook for 10-15 minutes until the edges are just golden brown – you don’t want to overcook the crust otherwise it will burn later.
Once the crust is finished, remove it from the EGG and let it cool about 30 minutes. Lower the temperature of your EGG to 325°F/163°C.
While the crust is cooling, prepare the filling. Beat the softened cream cheese with a heavy-duty mixer on medium speed until creamy, about 5 minutes. Gradually add 1 ⅓ cups of sugar, beating until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until the yellow disappears after each addition.
On low speed, mix in the sour cream, cornstarch, lemon extract, honey, vanilla extract and a few drops of yellow food coloring.
Once the filling is finished, pour into the crust – the filling must be completely smooth before pouring into the pan. Drop a few drops of yellow food coloring on the top of the filling. Take a toothpick and swirl the food coloring to decorate in a swirl pattern.
Set the cheesecake in the EGG. Add a small bowl (metal or heat resistant glass) of water next to the cheesecake – this keeps the cake moist and helps prevent cracking. Bake for approximately 1 hour or just until the edges are golden, and the middle is still slightly jiggly. The cheesecake will continue to cook while it rests.
Carefully remove the cheesecake from the EGG. Let it cool uncovered without moving it for 2-3 hours until it is at room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in the refrigerator for 24 hours.
Release the spring form pan; top with lemon slices as a garnish and serve!