Use the Tyler Florence Ultimate cheesecake recipe here there is a video of it somewhere. He has a pretty smile so that cheers me up when cooking it.

Substitute the 2 pounds of cream cheese with 1/3+1/3+1/3 mascarpone, neufchatel, and regular cream cheese plus a few tablespoons only of sour cream. Do not use Vermont Creamery mascarpone, it is too loose. You want a dense, thick mascarpone like BelGioioso or Polenghi which are both sold in 8 ounce containers, so that is close to the 9.3 ounces or 1/3. This is why I add the tablespoons of sour cream, to make up the difference. Do not use non-fat. Full fat Breakstone's sour cream, please.

Zest the lemon over the mixing bowl with a rasp or microplane so the essential oils go into the batter.

Put a cotton or linen kitchen towel in the bottom of the pan the springform pan sits in before you place the cheesecake and pour the hot water around it. I use my Thanksgiving turkey roasting pan. Boil water in a kettle, and add the hot water (bain marie) to the pan that the springform cheesecake pan sits in. Make sure the springform pan is covered tightly in aluminum foil on the bottom in case it leaks.