With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and splenda at slow to medium speed, scraping sides often. Add all other ingredients except eggs. When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating very slowly. When eggs are incorporated, do not mix any more. Over-mixing the eggs is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes. (The leading cause of cracking is over-cooking, so don't believe any one who tells you it is normal for a cheesecake to be cracked; it isn't.) Always treat the batter gently.

Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Place the pan on a very large piece of aluminum foil, and fold the foil up around the pan to create a watertight barrier around the cheesecake. Then place the barrier pan in an even larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree (150 C) preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and reduce heat to 200 degrees (100 C) for 1 more hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly. It may be beneficial to run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, separating it from the sides of the pan.

If your goal is to serve the cheesecake on a different dish without the bottom of the spring form pan, then the pan can be lined with parchment paper before the batter is poured in. Make sure to grease both sides of the paper. This will make for easy removal of the cheesecake later. It works best if the cheesecake has been refrigerated fully before trying to remove it from the bottom pan.

Rules:

1. Treat the batter gently. Making sure all the ingredients are at room temp. helps them blend easier. Mix it as little as possible and at a medium speed. The less air you whip in, the less tendency it will have to rise.

2. Bake your cheesecake in a water bath. This requires you to have a pan large enough to hold your springform pan and with sides high enough to cover half-way up the springform pan with water. A large roasting pan should do it. That's what I use.

3. Reduce the heat and lengthen the cooking time. I bake all my cheesecakes at 300 degrees for the first hour, then reduce the heat to 200 and bake for one more hour. The cheesecake will not rise, but instead bakes more like a custard and comes out very creamy and dense. Mmmmm...

4. Exercise patience. While the cheesecake is baking, DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. And leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool, also with the door closed. It's okay if it stays in there overnight. A great cheesecake is like a work of art...it takes time.

5. To keep the top from browning, place a sheet of foil on your top oven rack, just beneath the heat element. This will shield your cheesecake from the direct heat and keep the top pale and pretty. Especially important if you're doing a marbled cheesecake, you want those swirls to show through!

6. Refrigerate the cheesecake at least 12 hours before unmolding from the springform pan so that it's good and set. Run a dull knife around the sides and then release the pan.