Grandpa Yaakov's Cheesecake

There are cakes that have no age, no date on the calendar, no holiday, no good day.
"Everlasting cakes," the cakes that must be in the fridge every day. This is the story of my father, Yaakov's, cheesecake.
Dad started his day at four in the morning.
Not with an alarm clock, with "Jacob's Clock"
Sometimes I would hear the gold folding watch he had received from Grandma Sally, ringing when he was already sitting in the kitchen with coffee and cake.
Yes, that's how Dad started his day. Coffee and cake from Mom's wonderful bakery. 
Cakes that no company has ever managed to bake before.
Only the cheesecake, white, tall, noble, didn't rise.
Tried and failed
Tried and failed 
And then… she passed her wand to me.

"I don't bake anymore" 

Mom's cake, from the few we photographed

Dad loves your cake so much, I can't do it, I just can't.
Dad maintained a very healthy lifestyle.
Eat well, try to swim, walk. 
And hence the issue of cakes was also moderate.
The cheesecake was and still is baseless.

"Just cheese," as he said.

When Mom saw that the cake was approaching a quarter, she rang the bell, giving an alert: "There are four more slices, four more days, get ready."
and so it was.

Mother passed away long before father, she was 57 years old.
All of Dad's treats have been passed down to me, and certainly the cheesecake. Dad has been gone for 13 years, but he is still with us.
In the legacy, in the stories of the child in the Holocaust, 
In the stories of the War of Independence, the Moriah Battalion,
In his clear legacy of how it is possible and how it is impossible to live in the Land of Israel, 
In my meetings in Sinai as the principal of a Hebrew school in Rafidim and my father, a reservist in the unit
Transportation in Sinai, which also opened another window to his world 
And… with his cheesecake that brings a big smile to all of us when it slides in so quickly.

And not just on Shavuot.

Yair from the younger kindergarten age always asked for cheesecake for his birthday. When I told him that on birthdays they bring a chocolate cake to the kindergarten. He emphasized and said: "It's my birthday and I decide what cake to bring.". And so it was and so it is now.

 Grandpa Yaakov's Baked Cheesecake Recipe

Ingredients:
750 grams of white cheese 5%
2 cups cream
1 ¼ cups or white sugar
7 eggs L
4 heaping tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons vanilla pudding
A little oil for greasing the pan

Process preparation:
Separate the egg whites and yolks into two work bowls:
In the first bowl: beat egg whites with ¾ cup of sugar.
In a second bowl: beat egg yolks well with ¾ cup sugar.
Add cream, whisk again and combine.
Add the cornstarch and instant pudding and mix vigorously with a whisk until all lumps disappear.
Slowly and gradually transfer the foam to the cheese bowl and gently fold to combine.
Preheat the oven to 210 degrees, not turbo.
Top and bottom heating.

Place a deep pan in the bottom of the oven and fill it with tap water to 1/2 of the height, (it is important to have water throughout the baking time. This is a pan that is one level below the cake pan.)

Grease the pan with a little oil on both the bottom and sides.
Smoothing the surface of the batter

Place the cake in the lower third of the oven and bake for 15 minutes, until the surface of the cake begins to brown. Reduce the temperature to 150 degrees, cover with baking paper (it is a good idea to open the oven door for a minute to help it cool) and bake for another 1 hour, until the cake is springy and firm to the touch (total baking time: 1 hour and 15 minutes).

Leave in the oven for at least an hour.

For coating:
1 sweet cream 
1 instant vanilla pudding
1 cup of milk

Enjoy a brief glimpse into my dad and the little stories behind his cheesecake.