Basic baked cheesecake

I have also made this in a 30 x 20 cm slice tin.

I use butternut or Marie biscuits.

What’s the secret to a perfect cheesecake crust?

Make sure you use the right biscuits. A plain sweet biscuit like Arnott’s Nice or Marie works well. If you use a biscuit that already has a lot of fat there’ll be too much butter and it will ooze out of the springform pan. Process the biscuits until sandy (or if you don’t have a food processor do it the old way and put the biscuits in a bag and bash with a rolling pin until crushed). After pulsing in the butter, tip the mixture into the prepared tin. Use a straight-sided glass to spread and press the biscuit mixture firmly over the base and side of the pan. Using a glass helps keep an even thickness of crust around the side and base. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill. If you’re struggling to get the mixture to stick up the side, just cover the base. It will be thick but the side of the pan is greased so the cheesecake will still come out of the pan easily.

Why did my cheesecake crack?

Both are based on the same basic ingredients, but New York cheesecakes have the addition of sour cream and often more eggs or egg yolks making it richer and denser.

Are cheesecakes better baked or unbaked?

It’s all a matter of preference. No-bake cheesecakes don’t have eggs and instead rely on the chill of the fridge along with gelatine or a combination of whipped cream and lemon to set. The benefit of a no-baked cheesecake is no cracking, instead it has a smooth, nearly mousse-like texture, and not turning on the oven makes it a perfect Summer dessert. Choosing a no-bake cheesecake recipe by adding eggs to the mix and then baking changes the texture completely, a texture that many believe to be far superior.

Why do some baked cheesecake recipes use a water bath?

Some cooks believe baking your cheesecake in a water bath is a sure-fire way to ensure a perfect filling, while others think it’s a waste of time. Believers insist that using a water bath stabilises the oven temperature, helping avoid cracking and that the steam created by the water prevents the cheesecake from drying out. If you want to give it a go, wrap the outside of your springform tin with a double layer of foil, scrunching it up around the top. You want to make it watertight. Place a clean tea towel on the base of a roasting dish (this will help prevent the tin from slipping). Place the cheesecake-filled tin onto the tea towel. Pour boiling water into the roasting dish so it comes about halfway up the side of the cheesecake tin, and cook as usual.

The BEST Cheesecake recipe! If there’s one thing I know how to make it’s a perfect cheesecake, it’s long been one of my all time favorite foods! This always comes out with an unmatched perfectly rich and creamy flavor and a silky smooth and melt-in-your-mouth luscious texture.

Perfect Easy Cheesecake Recipe

Simple and rich ingredients and a good method make the best classic cheesecake.

That includes using a generous amount of cream cheese, along with sour cream and heavy cream. I’ve tried several different blends but this trio of decadence is the one I always come back to.

And when it comes to cream cheese stick with Philadelphia. Not sponsored I just think it’s the most consistent in flavor and texture.

Ingredients Needed for Cheesecake

Graham crackers – how many graham crackers make a cup of crumbs? I use 2 sleeves or 8 full sheets (per Honey Maid brand) to make 2 cups crumbs.
Granulated sugar – this is used in both the crust and filling. Just stick with standard cane sugar.
Butter – I’ve use unsalted or salted here, it just depends on if you like that lightly salty flavor to pair with the sweetness.
Sour cream – don’t use light! This is cheesecake, not a diet plan.
Heavy cream – no substitutes! Don’t use half and half or milk or filling will be too runny.
Vanilla – use real vanilla for best flavor.

How to Make Graham Cracker Crumbs

There are 3 ways to make graham cracker crumbs:

Break into pieces to fit in the food processor. Cover and pulse in bursts until you get fine crumbs.
Place graham crackers in a gallon size resealable bag. Seal bag and crush with a rolling pin to fine crumbs.
Buy pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs. Not really making them but the 3rd option.

How to Make Cheesecake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the crust mixture: in a medium mixing bowl stir together graham crackers with granulated sugar. Pour in butter and stir until evenly moistened.
Bake to set: Bake in preheated oven 9-minutes, remove and let cool on a wire rack.
Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.

How to Make Cheesecake Continued

Blend in eggs: Mix in eggs 2 at a time, mixing just until combined after additions. Scrape down bowl.
Prepare pan with foil: wrap 2 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil snuggly around outside and up to the top of springform pan (be careful not to tear foil).
Pour filling over crust: Pour cheesecake filling over graham cracker crust, wiggle pan to level. Place cheesecake in a roasting pan large enough to fit springform pan with extra space around all sides. Place in oven then carefully pour in enough boiling water around cheesecake to fill halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Let cool and chill: Remove from oven let cool at room temperature 1 hour then transfer to refrigerator and chill 8 hours.

How to Avoid Cracks?

If you’ve baked for very long, chances are you’ve had a cheesecake or two crack over the years. There are several things that can cause this including airy batter and big air bubbles, uneven baking, over-baking and un-greased pan. So the solutions:

Don’t over aerate the batter New York style cheesecake is meant to be dense so don’t over-whip it. This is one reason why it’s very important to start out with well softened cream cheese so it’s not lumpy and blends well.
Adding too much air to the batter also can cause the cheesecake to rise and after baking, it falls, which equals cracks.
Using a bain-marie (water bath) helps the cheesecake cook more evenly and reduces risk of cracking. The steam it creates also creates a moist environment which is great for cheesecakes and custards.
Over-baking is one of the number one reasons cheesecakes crack. It will seem under-cooked by the time it’s done, so often we think it needs to cook longer. Keep in mind that it will still be quite jiggly once done, the edges should just be starting to set up a little.
Grease pan. I wait to do this until after I’ve baked the crust, so crust doesn’t slip down the sides. I just spray the exposed area with non-stick cooking spray (and rub around the edges) before I pour in the filling. This way when the filling wants to fall a little as it cools it doesn’t stick to the sides and crack in the center.
Let it cool in the oven so it doesn’t deflate quickly and crack.

What is a Bain-Marie (Water Bath)?

In terms of baking, a bain-marie (or water bath), is simply a pan filled with hot or boiling water in which a pan is placed within. It’s purpose is to create gentle heat and more uniform cooking around the food. It works well for cooking custards and other delicate foods like cheesecake.

How to Store Cheesecake

Store cheesecake in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 4 days. Enjoy well chilled or for an even softer texture you can let it rest at room temperature for up to 1 hour.

Can I Freeze Cheesecake?

Yes! Cheesecake freezes really well. Let cool completely in the fridge first, then wrap in plastic wrap and foil and store in airtight container up to 2 months in freezer. Thaw in refrigerator overnight.

Possible Variations

Of course this cheesecake is perfect as is, but after you’ve tried it plain once you can mix things up add try it with fun mix-ins like these:

Lemon zest or orange zest
Cinnamon
Vanilla bean or vanilla bean paste
Almond extract and rainbow jimmies (birthday cake flavor)
Crushed Oreos
Mini chocolate chips

What to Serve on Cheesecake?

Berry sauce – my favorites are raspberry sauce (make double), strawberry sauce, and blueberry sauce and I’m wanting to create a mango sauce.
Whipped cream
Salted caramel sauce
Fruit curd – lemon, passionfruit, grapefruit etc.
Toasted coconut
Chocolate ganache
Fresh fruit
Pie filling (preferably homemade)
Toasted nuts
Nutella, Biscoff or natural peanut butter

More Delicious Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love

I kind of have a thing for cheesecake. If you loved this cheesecake recipe be sure to try some of the other favorites:

For the Crust

(8 oz) pkgs. softened through or at room temperature (preferably Philadelphia)
at room temperature**

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Make the crust: in a medium mixing bowl stir together graham crackers with granulated sugar. Pour in butter and stir until evenly moistened.
Bake in preheated oven 9 minutes, remove and let cool on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees***.
Mix in eggs 2 at a time, mixing just until combined after additions. Scrape down bowl.
Prepare pan: wrap 2 layers of heavy duty aluminum foil snuggly around outside and up to the top of springform pan (be careful not to tear foil). Spray inside exposed area of pan with non-stick cooking spray and rub around with finger to coat.
Pour cheesecake filling over graham cracker crust, wiggle pan to level. Place cheesecake in a roasting pan large enough to fit springform pan with extra space around all sides.
Place roasting pan in oven then carefully pour in enough boiling water around cheesecake to fill halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
Remove from oven (pull cheesecake from water bath) let cool at room temperature 1 hour then transfer to refrigerator and chill 8 hours.
Cut into slices, serve with a fresh fruit sauce and whipped cream or other desired topping.

*To crush graham crackers place in a food processor and pulse to very fine crumbs. If you don’t have food processor place in a gallon size resealable bag, seal bag and crush with a rolling pin to a fine texture. You can also buy pre-crushed graham cracker crumbs.
**To bring eggs to room temperature quickly you can place in a bowl, cover with warm water and rest 10 minutes.
**If you’d prefer top to not brown so much on cheesecake reduce oven rack one level below center (which is what I do).

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value*

Saturated Fat 23g

Vitamin A 1531IU

Vitamin C 1mg

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Jump to recipe if you like, but be sure to read the whole post for instructional photos & other tips.

Learning how to bake the perfect cheesecake is all about quality ingredients, an uncomplicated recipe and mastering the simple method.

How to Bake the Perfect Cheesecake

I recently had a conversation with one of our readers who was so nervous about baking a cheesecake for her husband’s birthday. She had previously encountered a couple of cheesecake disasters.

Understandably, she was not relishing the thought of ruining the centrepiece of the birthday celebration. I convinced her to do a practice run with a “just a vanilla cheesecake” to get a feel for the process of baking the perfect cheesecake.

The advantage of learning with “just a vanilla cheesecake” is that it is very simple to prepare with uncomplicated ingredients. Also, you get a good feel for the proper consistency of a cheesecake batter.

It is also relatively easy to tell when a vanilla cheesecake is done. If the top of this cheesecake begins to brown at all, in all likelihood it is fully baked.

Although as the recipe states, it need not brown at all to be fully baked. I give the pan a little shake to test how much it wobbles after about an hour.

It is best to treat a cheesecake like a large baked custard which it really is. Residual heat will take care of any slightly wobbly centre even after it comes out of the oven.

In my opinion, baking the perfect cheesecake requires the use of a bain marie during baking.

A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan. This helps the cheesecake bake more evenly.

I bake my cheesecakes in a 9 inch spring form pan that has the bottom and sides wrapped in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil. Therefore it forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in.

Pure vanilla extract is so much better than artificial.

The roll of aluminum foil that I use is about 16 inches wide. I use at least 4 layers of foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of my cheesecake.

The aluminum foil wrapped pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan; I use a 12 inch cake pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from 1/2 to 2/3 of the way to the top.

I find it best to pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven. Then, you are less likely to splash water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil.

I reuse the aluminum foil for several future cheesecakes, adding a couple of layers to it each time just to be safe.

I still recommend that you use the aluminum foil wrap around the cheesecake pan. The aluminum foil still offers a good buffer to the heat. High heat and baking too quickly is the main reason that a cheesecake becomes dense and not creamy.

The recipe for the Maple Apple Topping on the cheesecake above can be found here: Maple Apple Cheesecake

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How to Bake the Perfect Cheesecake Every Time or “Just a Vanilla Cheesecake” – Learning how to bake the perfect cheesecake is all about quality ingredients, an uncomplicated recipe and mastering the simple method.

1⅓ cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp sugar
⅓ cup melted butter

For the cheesecake batter

3 eight ounce packages ounces cream cheese, (3 cups)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
3 tsp vanilla extract, (or, even better, the seeds from one large vanilla pod)
1 cup whipping cream

Instructions

In a small bowl combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter.
Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased or parchment lined 9 inch spring form pan. (Grease bottom only!) Parchment paper is ideal here because it makes it very easy to release the cheesecake from the bottom of the pan.

To prepare the cheesecake batter

Cream together the cream cheese and sugar for 2 to 3 minutes until well combined.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Beat in the vanilla extract (or vanilla pod seeds. If using a vanilla pod, scrape all the seeds out and stir them very well into the whipping cream in the next step. This will help to break up the sticky vanilla pod paste and make sure the tint black seeds are evenly distributed throughout the cheesecake.)
Finally blend in the whipping cream well until the batter is very smooth. Using a rubber bowl scraper/spatula, scrape the bottom and the sides of the bowl as well as the electric beaters/paddle and give the batter a final beating for 1 minute on a higher speed. This final step ensures that there are no lumps in the batter and introduces a little air into the cheesecake to make it lighter.
Pour over the prepared base and bake in a bain marie at 300 degrees F for 60-70 minutes. (Oven temperatures will vary slightly. Mine takes the full 70 minutes and you can go to 75 if you feel you need to.)
Don’t be an compulsive oven door opener! Don’t open it at all in the first hour.
The cheesecake does not have to brown at all in order to be fully baked; the surface of the cheesecake should lose any shine when the cake is properly baked. It can still be slightly wobbly just at the center at this point.
Remove the cake from the oven and run a sharp knife completely around the edge of the pan. This will allow for the cheesecake to shrink as it cools and hopefully not crack (Allow the cheesecake to cool thoroughly on a wire rack at room temperature. (NOT in the fridge). Refrigerate after fully cooled.

Notes

In my opinion, baking the perfect cheesecake requires the use of a bain marie during baking. A bain marie is simply a water bath that buffers the direct heat from the sides and bottom of the baking pan to more evenly bake the cheesecake from the sides to the center. I bake my cheesecakes in a 9 inch spring form pan that has the bottom and sides wrapped in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil which forms a sort of boat that the cheesecake pan sits in. The roll of aluminum foil that I use is about 16 inches wide. I use at least 4 layers of foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of my cheesecake. The aluminum foil wrapped pan is then placed inside a larger baking pan; I use a 12 inch cake pan. Boiling water is then poured into the larger pan filling it from ½ to ⅔ of the way to the top.I find it best to pour the boiling water into the pan after it is placed on the rack in the oven as you are less likely to splash water onto the cheesecake or inside the aluminum foil. I reuse the aluminum foil for several future cheesecakes, adding a couple of layers to it each time just to be safe. EVEN IF YOU CHOOSE NOT USE A BAIN MARIE still use the aluminum foil wrap around the cheesecake pan. The aluminum foil still offers a good buffer to the heat. High heat and baking too quickly is the main reason that a cheesecake becomes dense and not creamy.

Yield

1/12 Amount Per Serving 15g 9g 0g 5g

The nutritional information provided is automatically calculated by third party software and is meant as a guideline only. Exact accuracy is not guaranteed. For recipes where all ingredients may not be used entirely, such as those with coatings on meats, or with sauces or dressings for example, calorie & nutritional values per serving will likely be somewhat lower than indicated.