Out of This World Cheesecake

From 1969-1971, my parents, sister and I lived in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Twice a year Aunt Selema and her family stayed the night with us en route from their home in San Antonio to Biloxi.

On July 20-21, 1969, their visit coincided with the first Apollo 11 moon landing and moonwalk. We (and half a billion other people) were all glued to the TV watching Neil Armstrong take his historic first step for mankind.

All except for my dad, who stuffed with all the good food Mama had spent days cooking, snored through the whole thing in his Barcalounger.

Mama woke him up when it was all over and told him that the astronauts had discovered little green men and that the moon actually was made of green cream cheese just like the Mardi Gras song, "If Ever I Cease to Love" says.

He believed her for about the three seconds it took for him to wake up.

Maybe he just had cream cheese on the brain because he had just eaten half of her famous cheesecake - which actually is out of this world.

It's a classic not-overly-sweet New York style cheesecake. My daddy liked it so well, he often had her make it for events he catered at the restaurant. I often requested it as my birthday cake. I lost the actual recipe during the hurricane, but I think this one is pretty close.

The zwieback crumb crust doesn't overpower the taste of the cheesecake as graham cracker crusts so often do. If you can't find zwieback in the cookie section at the grocery store, try the baby food aisle.

Mama's Out-Of-This-World Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/2 cups zwieback crumbs
2-3 T granulated (or brown) sugar
1/2 t cinnamon
6 T (3/4 stick) butter or margarine, melted

Batter:
1 1/2 lbs. cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups sour cream
1-3 T lemon juice
2 t vanilla extract
1/4 t salt
4 large eggs

Sour Cream Topping:
1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar or 3 T granulated sugar

Position rack in the center of over. Preheat to 350. Grease a 9" springform pan.

For crust, combine zwieback crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Stir in melted butter or margarine. Press into prepared pan. Chill.

For batter, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides often. Add sugar. Beat until light. Blend in sour cream, lemon juice, vanilla, salt. Beat in eggs one at a time. DO NOT OVERBEAT TO AVOID CRACKS IN BATTER. Pour into pan. Bake until firm around edges and slightly brown (about 1 1/4 hours). Turn off oven. Cool cake in oven for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely before adding topping.

For topping: Combine sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Spread over cooled cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight.