Caramel Marble Cheesecake!

Happy belated Mother's Day everyone! i made my mommy cheesecake, since it's her all-time favorite :]

this cheesecake came out so perfect: the way the batter came together, the baking process, the cooling...ahh it was all smooth sailing :]

Here's what i did!

Ingredients

30 graham cracker squares

1/2 cup butter

3 packages (8 oz.) cream cheese 

1 cup and 2 tablespoons of sugar (my mom stores her sugar in a Pirouette container.) 

3 eggs

1 cup heavy whipping cream 
*make sure all ingredients are room temperature! 

 butter the sides and bottom of the pan

in a mixing bowl, add the crushed graham crackers, the 2 tablespoons of sugar, and the stick of butter (i didn't melt the butter this time, i just waited until it was soft and started mixing. i felt that it made the graham crackers stickier, which helped them stay put on the pan more efficiently)

pat the 2/3 of the graham cracker mixture onto the pan, making sure there's enough to cover the bottom (i used my hands. so much easier than using something heavy to pat it down)

blindbake it at 350 degrees for 10 minutes!

 beat the 3 packages of cream cheese by itself until it's a smooth consistency

add the cup of sugar and beat it!

now add your eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing it into the batter each time, just until there are no streaks of yellow. don't overmix!

i added juice from one small tiny lemon and a drop of vanilla extract...

 add the heavy cream and mix

 now it's ready to pour into the pan! and make sure the crust is cooled!

 to make the marble effect, make a swirl with the caramel like this...(i added too much..oops)

 and then run your knife up and down along the radius of the circle

 put the cheesecake in the preheated 350 degree oven next to a waterbath with steaming, boiling water.

then lower the temperature to 275 degrees and leave the cheesecake there for 1 1/2 hours!

 after 1 1/2 hours, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in there until it stops the jiggles. (i left it there for four hours because i was out)

leave it out to cool to room temperature and run your knife along the edge of the pan so it won't stick to the pan if it shrinks.

 refrigerate it overnight! (haha, it looks like i photoshopped "sliding shelf" on the bottom left-hand corner. i didn't.)

the end. :]

oh yeah, use the extra graham crackers for the sides of the cheesecake!

 mmm..my mom said it tastes better than store-bought cheesecake!!
a perfect cheesecake for a perfect mom :] i love you, mommy.