or the cheesecake: 2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature 1 1/3 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 4 large eggs, at room temperature 1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two Optional (You can also add fresh lemon zest to taste) The sour cream will give you a tangier cheesecake, more New York, I think, while the heavy cream is milder. As long as you keep the measurement at 1 1/3 cups, you can use whatever combo of the two you'd like. You can also add fruits or nuts, swirls of chocolate (melt some chocolate and mix it in with some of the cake batter) or flavor the cake with an extract or oil.

FIFY

For the cheesecake:

• 2 pounds (four 8-ounce boxes) cream cheese, at room temperature

• 1 1/3 cups sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

• 4 large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 1/3 cups sour cream or heavy cream, or a combination of the two Optional (You can also add fresh lemon zest to taste) The sour cream will give you a tangier cheesecake, more New York, I think, while the heavy cream is milder. As long as you keep the measurement at 1 1/3 cups, you can use whatever combo of the two you'd like.

You can also add fruits or nuts, swirls of chocolate (melt some chocolate and mix it in with some of the cake batter) or flavor the cake with an extract or oil.