This is a cheesecake. (Forgive the shoddy slicing job; I pretty much forsook any amount of patience and just dove in.) This cheesecake is not just any cheesecake however.

It's the best cheesecake I've ever eaten.

I'm not kidding. Don't believe me? Well, that's just rude. But ask my friends. Emily couldn't think of anything to say, so she just giggled and screamed "Yaaaay!!!!" after her first bite. I think that sums it up. It's the perfect cheesecake. Full of flavor, light texture, not terribly hard to make, and the perfect thing to take to the family Christmas dinner. Where did it come from? Chaos in the Kitchen kindly shared her secret family recipe for the cheesecake and the crust. Give this chick a medal.

I've made a couple of changes just to suit my family's taste (less sugar, more lemon, more crust), but you will never make another cheesecake again. I guarantee it. The best cheesecake recipe EVER.

The Best Cheesecake Ever

The crust...

• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. graham cracker crumbs
• 1/3 cup plus 1 tbsp. brown sugar
• 5 tbsp. melted butter

Mix the ingredients together in a small bowl. A fork worked pretty well to break up the brown sugar. Cover a 10-inch springform pan (a round pan made of two pieces - the bottom and sort of a thick hoop with a buckle that can be taken off once the cake is cooled) with heavy duty aluminum foil so the bottom is covered and it goes mostly up the outside of the pan. This is to keep the water out during cooking. Why water? That comes later.

Press the crust to evenly cover the bottom of the pan and a little up the sides. Just use your hand and be gentle; don't overthink it. You shouldn't see the bottom of the pan; that means you have a hole in your crust. And that's just sad. And, yes, that is my real skin color.

Bake the crust in a preheated 325 degree oven for 5-8 minutes. You just want a slight golden color. Remember, the crust will bake again with the cheesecake filling, so there's no need to bake it to death.

While the crust bakes and cools, work on the filling.

• 2 1/2 bars of cream cheese (20 oz.) left out at room temperature to let soften
• 1 1/2 cups of granulated (white) sugar
• 2 t. vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 3 T. cornstarch
• 2 cups heavy cream or heavy whipping cream (whichever your store has; same difference pretty much)
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. lemon zest

In a mixing bowl (with a paddle attachment if you have a stand mixture), mix together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until it's combined and creamy looking. Next add the eggs one at a time. Make sure the first egg is incorporated before adding the next one. Then add the cornstarch and cream, and mix it together until the cream is mostly worked in. Then turn the speed to high and beat for several minutes until the mixture is nice and fluffy. Last, add the lemon juice and zest, and mix until it's just combined.

Now let your eyes roll into the back of your head as you lick the beaters. Now get a spatula and scrape the filling into the cooled crust. Now lick the spatula. You're making it easier to wash your dishes, so don't skip these licking steps. Unless of course you're pregnant or have a thing with eating dough with raw eggs. (Just covering my bases.)

Now comes the part that weirds people out but doesn't need to. The water bath. It helps keep the cheesecake moist and from cracking. Get your big roasting pan from your Thanksgiving turkey or just get a big casserole dish. Set your springform pan inside, and carefully pour hot water into the pan until it's about halfway up the sides. I say carefully because you don't want it to splash into the cheesecake... like I did the first time. Now carefully slide the pan into the 325 oven for about an hour.

Here comes another tricky part. How to know when a cheesecake is done. It's different than most baked goods in that it should be jiggly. Really jiggly. It'll firm up as it cools down and chills in the fridge, so don't be afraid to pull it out of the oven before you think you're supposed to. Here's a tip I read somewhere. A good definition of jiggly is that it should jiggle like Jello, not wave like water.

So once the cheesecake is jiggly like Jello, turn off the oven, and leave the pan inside with the door open for about 15 minutes. Then pull it out, and let it cool for awhile. After an hour or so, take the cheesecake out of the water and set it on a towel to dry the bottom a bit. Carefully remove the foil, and then cover the top with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge overnight or for at least four hours. Serve to your friends, and be prepared for them to offer you their firstborn in exchange for a piece to take home. I'd be ready with a more appropriate counter-offer.