For a little variety, I have been making this Italian Ricotta lemon cheesecake with semolina and it is delicious. Light, not a typical "cheesecake", but very satisfying and goes nicely with berry sauces. http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1017240-migliaccio-lemon-ricotta-cake
two with strong cheese flavors, so a mix of sweet & savory.
Stilton & rhubarb, from Diva at the Met, Vancouver
Fig, pesto & mascarpone, Gourmet, Sept 1996.
Slightly different with American cheesecake, but I love the cotton Japanese cheesecake. It is very light, like eating cream cheese flavored clouds http://en.christinesrecipes.com/2011/02/japanese-cheesecake-fluffy-creamy.html
Great question!!!!!!!! I love to bake, and I love cheesecake, so my list is a little long... for plain cheesecake, The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook's New York Cheesecake recipe is fabulous and the best I've ever had. From Cook's Illustrated, the Lemon Cheesecake and Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Sugar and Bourbon Cream were both phenomenal. Seriously perfect. The Peanut Butter Butterfinger Cheesecake (Sally's Baking Addiction blog) was so peanut buttery-perfect. All four of the above cheesecakes were the best I've ever had. And still great (9 out of 10 stars) were Cook's Country recipes for Milk Chocolate Cheesecake, and their Icebox Oreo Cheesecake. Next up, I have several caramel-maple types I saw at the King Arthur Flour blog that I'd like to try!
Was just about to reply with Cook's Illustrated: the Lemon Cheesecake and Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake with Brown Sugar and Bourbon Cream. Both the best I've ever made (and eaten).
I can't seem to get a whole slice of cheesecake down, ever....but I LOVE yogurt pie such as the one found in Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. Has a lovely salty-nutty-sweet crust and the filling is amazingly light and creamy all at once. It's also really simple--yogurt, eggs, a little cornstarch, lots of sugar. I recommend using some pure maple syrup (maple goes nicely with anything creamy, so if you go all out cheesecake, try to work it in).
I'm not a fan of cheesecake, but my boyfriend adored the Icebox Lemon Cheesecake that I made him for his birthday. It's a Cook's Country recipe and it looks like it's from 2010 so they no longer offer the recipe on their website, but a whole lot of people have written variations of it on their blogs (http://www.melskitchencafe.com/2010/05/lemon-icebox-cheesecake.html is the recipe, but with a graham cracker crust rather than one made of crushed lemon cookies).
Anyway, if you're looking to maybe not have to deal with over-cooking and cracking and water baths and a hot kitchen it's really nice to only have to bake the crust. And I promise the texture is silky and cheesecakey rather than gelatinous and odd.
The best cheesecake I have ever had was made by Food52er inpatskitchen's mother! Nothing has ever lived up to it since I was a girl. I don't think Patti will mind my posting the link to the recipe since she posted it on her blog. http://inpatskitchen.blogspot.com/2010/12/moms-cheesecake.html
My favorite recipe is from a well-loved Better Homes and Gardens Dessert Book @1968, It calls for 5-8 oz pkgs of cream cheese and a load of cream! Its rich and for kicks I make 3 different toppings to satisify my family. A hot fudge sauce, blueberries, strawberries, and sometimes, mango and pineapple.
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Stilton & rhubarb, from Diva at the Met, Vancouver
Fig, pesto & mascarpone, Gourmet, Sept 1996.
Anyway, if you're looking to maybe not have to deal with over-cooking and cracking and water baths and a hot kitchen it's really nice to only have to bake the crust. And I promise the texture is silky and cheesecakey rather than gelatinous and odd.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pumpkin-Pecan-Cheesecake-4662
http://www.food52.com/recipes/11254_cappuccino_cheesecake