Festive New York Style Cheesecake

• Grease, a 9 inch spring form pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center of oven.

For Crust:

• In a medium sized bowl combine the graham wafer crumbs, sugar, and melted butter. Press the crumbs evenly over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the spring form pan. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

For Filling:

• In bowl of your electric mixer place the cream cheese, sugar, and flour. Beat on medium speed until smooth. This will only take a couple of minutes. As you are mixing, scrape down the sides as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the whipping cream and vanilla extract and beat until incorporated. Remove the crust from the refrigerator and pour in the filling. Place the cheesecake pan in the oven.
• Bake for 15 minutes and then lower the oven temperature to 250 degrees F and continue to bake for about another 60-90 minutes or until firm and only the center of the cheesecake looks a little wet and wobbly. Important: The baking time can vary due to the differences in ovens, so make sure to check that the cheesecake is firm with only the center being a little wet and wobbly. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack to cool.
• Let cool completely. I like to refrigerate this cake overnight for best results.

To decorate:

• Pour the whipping cream in the bowl of you electric mixer and add the sugar. Stir, cover and refrigerate for about 1/2 hour. Remove from fridge and mix on high speed until stiff peaks form. Remove your chilled cheesecake from the fridge and evenly cover the cake with whipped cram. Decorate with berries, mint leaves and chocolate shavings. Dust with icing sugar and there you have a perfect cheesecake!