Ingredients :

• Cream cheese (the bricks, not the tub) — Four 250g bricks — Philadelphia does the job very well. Bricks contain less water than spreadable cream cheese in a tub, which results in a dense and stable final texture. The low-fat version makes the cheesecake watery and characterless. Avoid it at all costs.
• Full-fat sour cream (crème fraîche) — 250g. This is what brings the slight acidity and that richness in the mouth that distinguishes a good cheesecake from a forgettable one. If you only have heavy liquid cream, it can work in a pinch, but the result will be a bit softer and less bold.
• Granulated sugar — Only 200g for 12 servings is intentionally low. The idea is for the cheesecake to remain slightly tangy, with that tangy/sweet interplay that defines the classic style. A cheesecake that is too sweet loses all its personality.
• Fresh lemon juice — Just 2 teaspoons, but they make a real difference. The lemon isn’t overtly detectable — it brightens the whole thing, like a pinch of salt in a chocolate cake. Fresh only, not the bottled juice that tastes like plastic.