Classic Cheesecake

Cheesecake is loved all around the world for its sweet and creamy taste. This dessert dates all the way back to Ancient Greece, in 2,000 BC. It was served to athletes of the first Olympics and it was commonly served at weddings. Now cheesecake is known worldwide and there are many different variations. This recipe is the best cheesecake I have every made and I hope that you enjoy it too.

 Every now and then my Dad will go away on business trips for his work. This time he got to go to sunny Arizona for a week. How awesome is that, while Ma and the rest of my family where stuck in the cold March weather, he got to be tanning in Arizona! I wanted to make him a welcome home cake and he loves cheesecake so I decided to try this one out! He loved it. We all did!

Yields: 1 cake
Prep time: 10 minutes
Total time: 90 minutes

Ingredients
For the Filling
2 8 oz. packages of cream cheese, softened
2/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Crust
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup crushed graham crackers
1/2 cup butter, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9-inch pie dish with cooking spray. 

2. In a small bowl mix together brown sugar, graham cracker crumbs and butter. Combine until the crumbs have absorbed all of the butter. Press the crumbs onto the bottom of a 9 inch glass pie dish with the bottom of a cup.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, mix together cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla until smooth. Pour into prepared pie dish and bake for 30 minutes.

5. When the pie is done, let it cool completely before you add any topping. 

6. For the toppings you can cut up fresh fruit or you can keep it simple with canned cherries that I used here.

Inspired by: http://www.ehow.com/way_5285248_easy-cheesecake-recipe-cream-cheese.html