My mother passed this recipe to me many years ago.  It is the richest cheesecake that you can make.  I save it for special occasions when I want to share a show-stopping dessert that tops off a dinner or a party.  I have included a recipe for a pineapple glaze, or you can thickly spread sour cream on top. Or, if you want to make this for Christmas as I did this year, I put candied cranberries on top. Either way, this cheesecake is the star of the show!

Crust:

1 cup sifted flour, King Arthur Flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 egg yolk

1/4 cup butter, softened

Filling:

5 pkg. (8-oz) cream cheese softened, Philadelphia cream cheese

1 3/4 cups sugar

3 tablespoon flour

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

1 1/2 grated orange peel

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

5 eggs, plus 2 egg yolks

1/4 cup heavy cream

Pineapple Glaze:

2 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoon cornstarch

2 cans(8 1/4-oz) crushed pineapple in heavy syrup, undrained

2 tablespoons lemon juice

Sugared cranberries

Preheat over to 400F.  Grease the inside of the 9-inch springform pan(3 inches high). Remove side.  Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, lemon, peel, and vanilla.  Make well in the center; blend yolk and butter with a fork.  Mix with fingertips until smooth. Form half of the dough into a ball and place it on the bottom of the springform pan. Place wax paper on top; roll the pastry to the edge of the pan.  Remove paper. Bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden.  Cool.

Meanwhile, divide the rest of the dough into three parts.  Between waxed paper rolls, each part is 2 1/4 inches wide and 9 inches long. Assemble the springform pan with the crust on the bottom. Line the sides of the pan with pastry strips overlapping ends. Remove waxed paper.  Preheat oven to 450F.

Filling: In a large mixer bowl, blend cheese, sugar, flour, peels, and vanilla at high speed.  Beat in eggs and yolks, one at a time: beat until smooth, occasionally scraping the bowl with a spatula.  Beat in cream.  Pour into pan.  Bake for 10 minutes. Lower oven to 250F. Bake 1 hour longer.  Remove the pan and rack it to cool for 2 hours. Make glaze.

Glaze: In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Over medium heat, bring to boiling, stirring; boil for 1 minute or until thickened and translucent.  Cool.

Spread the surface of the cheesecake with glaze; refrigerate for 3 hours or overnight.

To serve: Loosen pastry from the side of the pan with a spatula.  Remove the sides of the springform pan.  Top with either Pineapple glaze or sugared cranberries. Serves 16

Enjoy!