Ruth Reich's Big New York Cheesecake

1 package Famous Chocolate Wafers

1½ pounds cream cheese

1 pint sour cream

1 3/8 cups sugar*

8 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted)

4 large eggs

2½ teaspoons vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

To make the crust, crush chocolate wafers until you have about a cup and a half (that will take about 6 ounces of wafers). Mix in a quarter cup of sugar, a pinch of salt, and the melted butter. Using your fingers, pat the mixture into the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan, making it even all around. Put the pan into the freezer for 15 minutes (it will keep here, covered, for a couple of months). Bake for 10 minutes, just to crisp the crust. Remove the pan and turn the oven down to 300 degrees.

Beat the cream cheese with a cup of sugar*, the eggs, and 1½ teaspoons of vanilla until you have a completely smooth mixture. Pour it into the crust and bake for 50 minutes, or until the cheese is set on the edges but still a bit wobbly in the middle. Remove the cake from the oven (leave the oven on) and cool for about 10 minutes on a wire rack.

Meanwhile, mix the sour cream with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Spread this mixture evenly over the cooled cake, then return it to the oven for about 12 minutes until the glaze is glossy and set.

Cool completely, then chill for at least 8 hours.

Serves 12.

Nutrition values per serving: 518 calories (66.6 percent from fat), 38.3 g fat (21.5 g saturated fat), 38.4 g carbohydrates, 31.7 g sugars, 0.5 g fiber, 7.3 g protein, 176 mg cholesterol, 352 mg sodium.

*Sugar substitute: Omit the one cup of sugar in the cheesecake batter and, instead, use 24 packets of organic stevia. You'll trim 774 calories (65 per serving) and 200 sugar grams (16.7 grams per serving) and no one will know the difference.

Ruth Reichl, "My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life" (2015, Random House).