Junior's Famous No. 1 Pure Cream Cheesecake
from Welcome to Junior's!,
William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1999.

THIN SPONGE CAKE
1/2 cup of cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon of baking powder
pinch of salt
3 extra-large eggs, separated
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
3 drops of lemon extract
3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon of cream of tartar

Preheat the oven to 350º F and generously butter a 9-inch springform pan. Wrap the outside of the pan with foil, covering the bottom and extending up the sides. Sift the cake flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium-sized bowl.

Beat the egg yolks together in the bowl of an electric mixer on high speed for three minutes. With the mixer still running, gradually add the 1/3 cup of sugar and beat until thick light-yellow ribbons form, around five minutes more. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extracts. Sift the flour mixture over the batter and stir it in by hand until no more white flecks appear. Blend in the butter.

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar together on high until frothy. Gradually add the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Stir about 1/3 cup of the whites into the batter, then gently fold in the remaining whites.

Evenly spread the sponge cake batter on the bottom of the pan and bake just until set and golden, about 10 minutes. Cool.

CREAM CHEESE FILLING
4 8-oz. packages of cream cheese, at room temperature
1 2/3 cups of sugar
1/4 cup of cornstarch
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
2 extra-large eggs
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream

Beat one package of cream cheese, 1/3 cup of the sugar, and the cornstarch on low until creamy, about 3 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat in the remaining 3 packages of cream cheese.

Increase the mixer speed to high and beat in the remaining 1 1/3 cups of sugar, then the vanilla. Blend in the eggs, one at a time, beating the batter well after adding each one. Blend in the heavy cream. At this point, be careful not to overmix the batter.

Gently spoon the filling over the baked sponge cake layer. Place the springform pan in a large shallow pan containing hot water that comes about one inch up the sides of the pan. Bake at 350º F until the center barely jiggles when you shake the pan, about 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack for one hour. Cover the cake with plastic wrap and chill until completely cold, at least four hours or over night.