Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Spray a 10'' Springform pan with cooking spray.

Fill a roasting pan ¼ full with HOT water. Put greased Springform pan in the water bath. Wait for a few minutes to see if your Springform pan is watertight. If there are leaks, wrap the bottom of your Springform pan in aluminum foil, and test again. I did have to wrap mine in aluminum foil.

Next, start the cheesecake filling. Add one block of cream cheese to a large mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Make sure your cream cheese is room temperature.

Add remaining cream cheese bricks one at a time. In between each addition, mix until there are no lumps remaining. 

Add eggs one at a time, again, mixing briefly in between each addition.

Add sugar, sour cream, salt, lemon extract, vanilla extract and nutmeg, mixing briefly between each addition.

Once all ingredients except poppy seeds are added, beat the batter slowly for about 7 minutes.

Add poppyseeds to the batter and fold in gently with a spatula. 

Pour cheesecake batter in greased Springform pan and bake for 10 minutes at 400F.

Lower the oven temperature to 375 Fahrenheit and bake for an additional 50 minutes. DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN.

After 50 minutes, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool a bit with the oven door open. Bringing the oven temperature down gradually will help reduce cracks in the surface and allow the middle of the cheesecake to set properly.

Remove the cheesecake and let it finish cooling on a wire rack. Once cooled, place in refrigerator before slicing.