This includes making the curd from scratch. A friend of the family made it or I'd share how. (Correction, my daughter made it, my wife corrected me. It's been a few years and I'm old.)
It's a family secret on her mom's side of the family, she won't even tell me. I threatened to ground her, didn't work. Something about being an adult....
I'll give you mine from an old ass copy of the Joy of Cooking. Been making it for years and it's a big hit around the holidays. When Granny is begging for my recipe you know it's good.
2 1/2 lbs of cream cheese
1 3/4 cups of sugar
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract
5 large eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup of heavy cream
The crust is up to you but I usually do graham crackers and melted butter spread out over a spring form pan. That's another important part. Make sure you're doing this in a spring form pan. This is a thick cake.
It's as simple as mixing all the ingredients together until you get a smooth and creamy mix. Use a mixer. Start with the cream cheese and sugar. Then the eggs. Then the cream. Then the zest and extract. Cook at 500 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce to 200 for an hour. When done cooking let it cool to the touch then put it in the fridge for at least 8 hours. The cake will come out looking burnt and jiggly like jello. Trust me that's just the first layer. The liquidity is from it being hot. Once it cools down you should have a fluffy and creamy cheesecake.