Recipes from Aunt Lena’s Cucina

Lena’s Cheesecake

May 10, 2023 | Recipes

Lena’s Cheesecake 

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 2 hours

Serves 8-10

Aunt Lena’s Cheesecake is absolutely to die for! A.L. prefers it plain without any toppings, but feel free to dress it up any way you like. Perfect for impressing guests at your next dinner party, or to simply enjoy. 

Ingredients:

3 Lbs. cream cheese, softened 

8 Eggs 

1 + 3/4 Cups very fine sugar 

2 Tsp. vanilla extract/essence 

2 Oz. half and half 

A long-time family recipe from years of Italian heritage, Aunt Lena brings you the infamous cheesecake recipe! 

If a recipe could make pure joy, this would be it. After all, Aunt Lena is the expert on living life with audacious joy. A.L.’s life has been full of food and love. Passing on her passion and exuberance for life is the motivation behind creating her cookbook, Aunt Lena’s Cucina. We all need food, life, and love after all. 

Cooking Directions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. 
  2. Cream half the cream cheese with 4 eggs. Beat until smooth. 
  3. Add the rest of the cream cheese and eggs. Beat until smooth. 
  4. Continue beating until all is the same smooth consistency. 
  5. Grease a 9-inch springform pan. Pour in the cheesecake mixture. 
  6. Bake for 1 hour and do not open the oven door! 
  7. Turn off the oven, and leaving the door slightly open, allow the cheesecake to cool still inside the oven for another 1 hour. 
  8. Take the cheesecake out of the oven and let it rest for 1 hour, then place in the fridge. 
  9. Serve chilled once the cheesecake has been refrigerated for at least 30 minutes. 

Notes from the Kitchen:

  • A.L. prefers it plain without any toppings, but feel free to dress it up any way you like.
  • To prevent surface cracks, do NOT open the oven door while baking! 
Lena's Cheesecake recipe from Aunt Lena's Cucina the Cookbook

This recipe is from Aunt Lena’s Cucina, Anne-Louise and Aunt Lena’s very own cookbook! A.L.’s motto when it comes to food is Eat to Live and Live to Love, and that’s the underlying message of the wonderful collection of Italian-American recipes included.

Not surprisingly, these simple-to-prepare family recipes make perfect sense in a world where everyone is concerned about nutrition and a healthy way of life. Good food, good life, and love are intertwined in every recipe. We all need food, life, and love. Who better to give us all a helping hand than Aunt Lena herself?!

Contact Anne-Louise to inquire about getting your very own copy of Aunt Lena’s Cucina.