Cheesecake

Ever since my friend Glenn mentioned pie I've had this hankering for some of the delectable stuff.  I haven't perfected coconut cream and I didn't want to get into the whole crust thing (which is an art in and of itself) so I chose instead to go with an old favorite...

Crustless Sour Cream Cheesecake

Amazing stuff and at under $8 to make an entire 9" pie you can't go wrong!

So ingredients in hand I whipped up this beauty just a few minutes ago.  It may not look like much but the taste is over the top dee-lish!  The ingredients are minimal (recipe below), you can put it together and have it in the oven in less than 5 minutes, and the taste is to die for.  At least that's my opinion on the matter, which is why I may just hog the whole thing myself :)

One thing that makes this cheesecake unique is that it's crustless.  Or rather, it kind of makes its own crust as it bakes.  This side view picture shows it pretty well (yay for Pyrex pans) and you can also kind of see the sour cream topping, which is another thing that makes it so yummy!

Here's the recipe in case you want to try it.  Indulge and enjoy!

16oz cream cheese - brick style, not tub (I use the regular.  You can also use low fat but it's not as good and fat free doesn't work well at all)
3 eggs
2/3 c Sugar (I usually cut this down to 1/2 cup because I don't like it to be so sweet but less than that and it messes with the texture)
1/2 tsp Almond Flavoring

Preheat the oven to 350°

Soften the cream cheese then put all the ingredients in a bowl and beat until thick and yellow.

Spray a 9" pie pan with cooking spray and pour in the batter.

Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until the sides and edges are nice and brown.  This is one reason I use a glass pan - so it's easier to see when it's done.  The cheesecake will puff way up while baking.  Don't worry about it - this is exactly what you want it to do.

Take it out of the oven and cool for 20 minutes (the top will shrink down during this time)

While cooling mix up the topping:

8oz Sour Cream (I use regular but low fat works.  Fat free doesn't work well at all.)
3 1/2 Tbls Sugar (I use 3 then throw in a little extra without measuring)
1 tsp vanilla flavoring

Pour on top of the cooled cheesecake and spread around, then pop back in the oven (which is still at 350°) and let it go another 10 minutes.

Take it out of the oven, let it cool, then chill in the fridge until ready to cut and serve.  I like it with fresh strawberries but I haven't gotten far enough to take a picture of that because it's still sitting on the stove cooling :^)

Let me know how you like it!