Classic American Cheesecake - cooking recipe

Ingredients

2 lbs cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 lemon, zest of, of finely grated
Crust
1/3 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups dry cookie crumbs, such as gingersnaps or 1 1/2 cups graham crackers
3 tablespoons sugar
melted butter, for brushing pan

Preparation

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Brush a 9-inch springform pan generously with melted butter.
For crust: Melt butter, stir in cookie crumbs and sugar.
press the mixture into the bottom of the pan, spreading evenly with the back of a spoon.
Bake until lightly toasted- about 13-15 minutes.
Remove from oven and cool.
For the cheesecake: In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, beat cream cheese on low speed until soft and smooth.
Add sugar, vanilla and salt and continue beating until light and creamy- 3-4 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, beating until smooth and scraping down the sides after each addition.
Stir in zest.
Pour batter into springform pan and bake until done (center will be slightly jiggly)- 1-1 1/2 hours.
Turn oven off and leave door slightly open for 1 hour.
Transfer to refrigerator and chill overnight.
Remove sides of springform and cake on pan base.