Matthew's Birthday Cheesecake

Matt was two or three years old when I baked this cheesecake for his birthday. It was my second try; the first I had to throw out because it didn't set properly--I also threw out the funky health-food-type cookbook that had that first recipe in it (it ticks me off when people publish recipes without trying them first). This recipe worked perfectly. I copied it onto a postcard Michael sent me when he and Takako (pictured in a previous post) were still living in Japan. Matt's birthday is tomorrow; he would have been 24.

Of course, Matt loved the cheesecake, but then he was never particularly fussy about food. He ate everything I put in front of him--except raw tomatoes.