Almost Monk’s Coffee shop Cheesecake (Seinfeld’s)

Ingredients:

• Crust:
• 2/3 cup graham crumbs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• Cheesecake:
• 3 eggs, separated
• Pinch salt
• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup sugar, finely ground
• 1/4 cup milk
• 4 tablespoons Clabber Girl Cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons bottled lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• Topping:
• Warm apricot jam or preserves
• Confectioners' Sugar

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 325 F. Have a roasting pan half filled with water and place in the oven (it should be able to accommodate an 8 inch layer pan). Spray an 8 inch layer cake pan with non-stick cooking spray. Line the inner sides of the cake pan with greased parchment paper strips to make a collar.

For the crust, toss ingredients together on the cake pan bottom and pat down. It does not have to evenly cover the entire bottom. In a mixer bowl, fitted with the whisk attachment, whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff and glossy. Set aside but keep whisk in place (after scraping it off). In the mixer, slowly blend the cream cheese, sugar, milk, egg yolks, cornstarch, vanilla extract, lemon juice and butter. Blend well, on slow speed for about 3-5 minutes. Fold egg whites into cheese batter. Gently spoon into prepared pan and place in the water bath in oven. Bake 35-50 minutes or until cake just begins to color and seems firm to the touch and is barely beginning to edge away from the sides.

Chill 4- hours or more. Smear with warm apricot preserves or dust with confectioners' sugar or leave plain.

Serves 6-8