New York-style cheesecake with graham cracker crust

Warm the cream cheese, eggs and sour cream: leave on the counter a few hours, or set in a bowl of lukewarm water.

Smash the graham crackers inside their bag without bursting it.

Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl, stir in the crumbs (some big pieces are good), then the sugar.

Press the crumbs into a thin solid layer in a 10-inch non-stick skillet.

Pre-bake at 350F / 180C for 10 minutes at most, until it smells like cookies and browns slightly; cool.

In the same bowl, mix the eggs, sour cream, cream cheese, sugar, cornstarch, vanilla, salt, lemon zest and juice until smooth; an electric mixer helps with the thick batter.

Fill the cooled crust to the brim.

Bake very low, three to four hours at 200F / 93C, until the center reads 165F / 74C.

Raise the oven to 500F / 260C and return the cake to puff and brown the top deep amber (here it burned instead).

variation: bake a second batch in a 9-inch springform pan at 350F / 180C for about 45 minutes, until brown and puffy but still jiggling in the center.

Turn off the oven and leave the cake in to finish and cool gradually for a few hours.

Chill the cakes overnight.

To de-pan the skillet cake, warm the skillet over low heat to melt the butter under the crust, then slide the cake out.

Dust the burned top with powdered sugar; serve the springform cake on its base.