Cheesecake [from ad hoc at home by Thomas Keller]

I'm not a hardcore baker and I normally don't like to tempt myself with sugar, butter, cream and such. But with my recent obsession of Thomas Keller's work and the holiday craving, This is the first dessert that I tried from his recipes. It was a big success and super easy to make. One great quote from him that made me laugh and shared with everyone was "Please don't substitute low-fat anything here... If you want to reduce fat, cut a smaller piece!" What a great advice! The one thing that I adjusted a bit was the oven time. I think due to the nature of my oven, I had to bake it for 1.5 hours.

Ingredients:

Crust
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons (2.5 oz) unsalted butter, melted

Filling1 lb. cream cheese(not reduced-fat), room temperature
8 oz mascarpone cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
4 large egges
2 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons heavy cream
Grated zest of 1 lemon

Steps
1. Preheat the oven to 325F
2. Combine the graham crackers and sugar, stir in the melted butter to moisten the crumbs evenly. Press the crumbs over the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 mins. Remove from the oven and set on the cooling rack.
4. Bring a large pot of water to simmer for the water bath.
5. Combine the cream cheese, mascarpone, and sugar and beat at low speed to mix, then raise the speed to medium and beat for about 3 minutes until the mixture is lightened and smooth.
6. Lightly beat the eggs, egg yolks and vanilla together in a small bowl. Add lemon juice. Slowly add the mixture to the cream cheese mixture, beat till well combined. Slowly pour in the cream.
7. Stir in the lemon zest.
8. Put the springform pan on a double layer of aluminum foil that is large enough to come up to the rim of the pan. Put the pan in a deep larger pan. Pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan. Pour simmered water into the larger pan to come halfway up the sides of the cheese cake.
9. Place everything in the oven and bake for 1 hour or until the cheesecake is set and a light golden brown. (Wiggle the cheesecake, the filling should be set.)