Vanilla Cheesecake (S'mores Cheesecake)

Ingredients:

For The Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups (4 1/2 oz/140 g) graham cracker crumbs
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup (2 oz/60 g) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for greasing 

For The Filling:

• 4 packages (8 oz/250 g each) cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 table spoons plain all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/4 cups (8 3/4 oz/270 g) sugar
• 1/2 cup (4 oz/125 g) sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 1 package mini marshmallows (optional)
• 1 Hershey's milk chocolate bar (optional)

Directions:

Gather ingredients

To make the crust, preheat the oven to 400F (200C).

Lightly grease a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, cinnamon, and melted butter. Stir until the mixture is well blended and the crumb are evenly moist. Pour into the springform pan and press evenly onto the bottom and about 1 1/2 inches (4 cm) up the sides of the pan. bake until lightly golden and set, about 10 minutes. Let cool on rack. Reduce the oven temperature to 300F (150C) The crust may seem like it isn't moist enough, but it is. You can use a cup or a mug to press the crumbs into the bottom, and up the sides of the pan. Don't worry about the circles it makes, you are going to cover it with the filling anyways.

To make the filling, in a large bowl, combine the cream cheese, flour and salt. Using a mixer in medium-high speed, beat until very smooth and fluffy, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl frequently. Add the sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Beat well until blended, again scraping down the sides frequently. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour into the crust. It is important that the cream cheese is room temperature because it is much easier to mix when it has been left out for a bit. Scraping down the sides often is also very important. 

Bake the cheesecake until the filling is set but the center still jiggles slightly when the pan is gently shaken and the edges are slightly puffed, 60-70 minutes. The filling will firm as it cools. Let cool on rack to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled (over night is best). I baked mine for about 65 minutes, but the middle didn't set all the way, so I sugget a little longer than what I did.

I wanted to spice up my cheesecake a little bit, so I decided to roast some marshmallows and grate some chocolate over it. You will need a blow torch to do this.

What you do is put some marshmallows on the center of the cheese cake, this can cover any cracks in the top, or add something to the pain cheesecake. 

Next, you use a baking torch to roast the marshmallows, trying not to get the flame too close to the cheesecake until golden brown. Then you can use the small side of a grater to grate chocolate over the marshmallows, and there you go!

My Experience:

This was my first time making cheesecake. It wasn't so bad. I didn't bake my cheesecake long enough, and I didn't let it cool to room temperature before refrigerating over night. The only problem was the middle didn't set up right, but it was still good. I would definitely recommend this recipe to anyone! It's pretty easy, and delicious! 

Enjoy! xx