New York Cheesecake from the Tomb Raider Cookbook

I was very excited to make the next dish from the Tomb Raider Cookbook, which was New York Cheesecake. One of my favorite desserts, and one I don't have very often, I saved it for last among the North American recipes so I could savor it.

In Tomb Raider Chronicles, Lara Croft visits New York City to infiltrate the headquarters of Von Croy Industries in search of the Iris artifact that was taken from her. In Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword, a Game Boy Advance spinoff, Lara pursues a sword that was stolen from the Museum of Antiquities in NYC. In the comics, she offers her services to the Metropolitan Museum of Art after a pendant belonging to Cleopatra is stolen.

Before baking, I had to take several ingredients out to come up to room temperature: the cream cheese, eggs, sour cream and raspberries. The latter is cooked into a sauce, and so technically I could have foregone thawing, but thawing makes it cook down quicker, so I did. Since I was cooking this in that time of year between fall and winter, and it was cold, I kept everything in the basement to warm up faster until I was ready to use them.

The cheesecake recipe is much like what you'd expect: a graham cracker crust that bakes first, a cream cheese filling you pour in, a water bath and foil wrapped around the springform pan the cake is in, and resting in the oven with the door ajar after it's baked before chilling it in the fridge. I had to time the resting with a meatloaf planned for dinner the same night. Fortunately, the cheesecake was done in enough time where I could still cook the meatloaf, and have it ready for consumption.

Confusingly, the recipe says to use 15 graham crackers, while not being clear as to if that means sheets of crackers or individual crackers, nor how big they are. I decided the equivalent of 15 graham crackers from a bag of pre-ground crumbs is 1 1/2 cups. I made the crust, then the filling, and then had a kettle boil enough water for the water bath. It was much quicker than if I’d boiled it on the stove.

A little water made it into the cheesecake pan despite my best effort to foil wrap it. I left the springform pan, with the cheesecake still inside, on a towel for a bit to absorb some excess water, and that helped. There wasn’t that much water and it didn’t affect the structural integrity of the cake, which was a relief.

I tried a slice later that tonight and it was like eating an edible cloud, it was so lovely. It’s even better with the raspberry sauce, which thickened considerably after chilling in the fridge. Cheesecake can be a production, but most of the work is done by the oven and your fridge. When you can make it, why not do it?

If you want to make this recipe for New York Cheesecake yourself, you can find it in Tomb Raider: The Official Cookbook and Travel Guide.