Easy to make, this cheesecake is sure to please.

Use a 9-inch springform pan. Grease with butter. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Crust:

• 2 cups chocolate graham cracker crumbs (about 12-16 whole crackers) or the equivalent amount of chocolate cookies or chocolate wafers
• 1 ½ sticks of butter, melted

Break the chocolate graham crackers or cookies into crumbs. You can put into a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin, or put them in the food processor. Combine with the melted butter, and push into the bottom and sides of the springform pan. Chill the crust in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Filling:

• 4 packages of cream cheese (8 oz each, total of 32 oz)
• 1 cup white sugar
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 5 large eggs
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon lemon zest
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat the cream cheese, sugar and flour together in a large bowl using an electric mixer. Do not overbeat, as you do not want to incorporate too much air or the cheesecake will be more prone to crack when baked. Beat in the eggs, one at a time.  Add the cream, lemon zest, and vanilla extract.

Pour filling into the crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees, then lower the temperature to 250 degrees and bake for another hour. Shut off the oven, but leave the cheesecake in the oven so that it continues to bake in the still-warm oven for another hour or so.  Slow baking and avoiding overcooking will help prevent the cheesecake from cracking on top.

Wrap with plastic wrap and chill for several hours, preferably overnight.

Strawberry topping:

• 1 pint strawberries
• ½ cup white sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla

Clean and hull the strawberries, and cut about 1/3 of them in half, leaving the rest whole.  Combine strawberries, sugar and vanilla in a saucepan and cook for about 5 minutes over medium heat.  Remove from heat. In a blender, puree about 1/3 of sauce, then mix back into remainder so there is a nice blend of whole strawberries, strawberry pieces and the sauce. Chill. Serve over the chilled cheesecake.