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Individual Cheesecakes: Preheat your oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Crust: In a bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. (Can also do this step in a food processor.) Press a heaping tablespoon of crumbs onto the bottom of each muffin cup. Cover and refrigerate while you make the filling.

Filling: In the bowl of your electric stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), beat the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and lemon zest, on low speed, until creamy and smooth. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Add the sour cream and beat just until incorporated. Remove the crusts from the refrigerator and evenly divide the filling among the 12 muffin cups.

Bake for about 18 - 22 minutes or until firm but the centers of the cheesecakes still wobble a little. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack. Let cool completely and then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate (a few hours or even overnight).

To serve, gently peel off the paper liners and place on your serving plate. Can serve with a fruit sauce, fresh berries, or drizzle with melted chocolate. These cheesecakes can be covered and stored in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. They can also be frozen for about two months.

Makes 12 individual cheesecakes.

These Individual Cheesecakes are set in a graham cracker crust and have a deliciously smooth and creamy cheesecake filling. They are similar in taste and texture to a New York Cheesecake, only instead of one large cake, it makes 12 individual servings. Serve alone or with fresh berries or fruit sauces.

The most important thing to remember when making a cheesecake is to have all the ingredients at room temperature. And beat the cheesecake batter at low speed to reduce the amount of air incorporated into the batter, because the texture should be dense. I like to add a little grated lemon zest which enhances all the flavors. Cheesecakes are baked in a slow oven to prevent cracking and are done when the filling is set but still a little wet and wobbly in the center. Let cool completely before covering and placing in the refrigerator for several hours, or even overnight. They can be stored in the refrigerator for about 3 to 4 days, or they can be frozen.

You may not know that cream cheese is an American invention. Even though cheesecakes have been around since the 15th century it was not until the end of the 19th century that a New York dairy farmer came up with a rich cream based cheese that later became known as Philadelphia Cream Cheese. This creamy smooth, white and spreadable cheese contains at least 33% butterfat with gum arabic added to stabilize and to increase its shelf life.