The Greatest Cheesecake Recipe + Video!


This cheesecake recipe makes a basic, wealthy, ultra-smooth cheesecake. It’s significantly the very best and so creamy! Learn to make a basic cheesecake utilizing all my ideas for all the pieces from making the crust to establishing the right water tub.

A slice of homemade cheesecake with whipped cream and berries

An Simple Cheesecake Recipe for Freshmen

I’m an enormous fan of cheesecake and it’s no secret round right here. I’ve a ton of cheesecake recipes. However similar to with a vanilla cupcake, it’s tremendous necessary to nail the basic vanilla cheesecake! After making so very many cheesecakes, I can say that this one is arms down the very best!

This easy cheesecake recipe is as easy because it will get for a baked cheesecake. I daresay it’s the very best recipe for learners! It doesn’t dry out, fall within the center, crack or any of that nonsense. Nope, with this recipe you get a fool-proof cheesecake.

The vanilla cheesecake filling sits in a vanilla wafer or graham cracker crust and is the right base for any variety of toppings. Actually, top-of-the-line issues about this cheesecake is that you could make it and serve it with so many alternative issues. Everybody can decide their favourite topping and all people’s comfortable!

Classic cheesecake with a slice taken out

Learn how to Make Cheesecake

I’ve damaged all the pieces down step-by-step and included tons of element as a way to make the very best cheesecake ever!

Assemble Your Instruments and Substances

  • Ensure you have a springform pan. The detachable sides make it a lot simpler to take away the cheesecake from the pan after it’s completed baking and cooling. Not like an everyday cake, you aren’t going to wish to flip this child the wrong way up.
  • Prep your pan. This primary step to creating your cheesecake is usually over-looked, however necessary. Spray the perimeters of the pan with non-stick baking spray and line the underside with parchment paper. It will making eradicating your cheesecake from the pan a lot simpler later.
  • Have one other pan that’s bigger than the springform pan useful. This cheesecake goes to wish a water tub (which we’ll speak extra about later), so that you’ll want a much bigger pan to place the water into.
  • Go away your self loads of time. Whereas placing all the pieces collectively is fairly straightforward and easy, it may take a while and also you do want about 5 to 6 hours for the cheesecake to chill and agency up as soon as it’s baked.

Make the Crust

Each nice basic cheesecake recipe begins with an incredible crust and on this case, you need to use a vanilla wafer or graham cracker crust. I personally love the flavour of the vanilla wafer cookies, but when wish to use a graham cracker crust, you are able to do that too. It’s a one to 1 swap!

No matter what you utilize, the method is similar.

  • Grind up these cookies so you’ve got superb crumbs. You don’t need any massive chunks or it’ll disturb the power of your crust to carry collectively effectively.
  • Add a contact of sugar and a few melted butter. Stir all the pieces collectively.
Graham cracker pie frust in a springform pan ready to bake
  • Add the crust to your springform pan and press it into the underside and up the perimeters. You can also make the perimeters as tall as you want. There’s actually no flawed approach to do it. There’s loads of crust right here to make a pleasant backside and sides. I like to make use of a cup with straight sides or a measuring cup to press the crust in firmly and get good corners.
  • Bake it for about 10 minutes. That may be certain that it stays sturdy whenever you slice into it later.

Make the Cheesecake Filling

Subsequent up is the filling of the cheesecake. You wish to use room-temperature cream cheese to stop a lumpy cheesecake. I additionally suggest the full-fat stuff for the creamiest cheesecake!

  • Add sugar and slightly little bit of flour to the cream cheese and mix all of it collectively. The flour is a pleasant little contact to present you a creamier textured cheesecake that isn’t fairly so dense.
  • Now add your bitter cream, vanilla, and eggs. The bitter cream provides nice taste and creaminess and is a should!

Professional Tip: When mixing all of the substances collectively, you wish to make sure you use a decrease pace setting and never over-mix. It might probably add extra air to the batter, which may result in cracks. Considered one of cheesecake’s largest enemies is cracks, so let’s keep away from them and avoid extra air bubbles.

Bake Your Cheesecake

I do know water baths can appear intimidating with cheesecakes, however it actually is one of the simplest ways to go. You’re going to get a extra creamy cheesecake that doesn’t crack, brown across the edges or fall within the heart whereas it cools. Whenever you put a lot time right into a dessert, you don’t need any of these issues to occur.

One of many largest issues individuals encounter with water baths is leaking. Springform pans are unreliable and aluminum foil simply will get tiny little tears whenever you’re wrapping it round your pan. I’ve a implausible little trick I exploit to maintain water out of my cheesecake and it really works each time. See precisely how I set it up in my tutorial for a leak-proof cheesecake water tub.

A cheesecake with tin foil around it ready to bake
  • Cowl the surface of the springform pan. There are a number of methods to do that, as proven in my water tub tutorial. That is to stop water from leaking into your cheesecake whereas it bakes in a water tub. My most well-liked strategies are to both use a sluggish cooker bag or a silicone pan, so that you just don’t get leaking.
  • Add the batter to the crust.
  • Place the springform pan inside one other bigger pan. Fill the surface pan with sufficient heat water to go about midway up the perimeters of the springform pan. The water mustn’t go above the highest fringe of the aluminum foil on the springform pan.
  • Bake! The cheesecake might be completed in 1 hour quarter-hour. The middle must be set, however nonetheless jiggly. It may not seem to be it’s totally baked, however that’s okay! One of many different necessary components of an ideal cheesecake is to let it cool regularly (and end baking).

Let Your Cheesecake Cool

  • Go away the cheesecake within the oven with the door closed for one more half-hour. Throughout that point, the cheesecake will proceed to bake, but additionally start to regularly cool. On the finish of that point, it’ll be completely baked! Cool, proper?!
  • Proceed to chill the cheesecake within the oven for one more half-hour. However this time the door is cracked to let it cool much more. This sluggish cooling course of helps to stop cracks, so be certain to not skip it!
  • Chill. Lastly, pop the cheesecake into the fridge to chill fully and agency up for about 5 to six hours. When it’s prepared, take it out of the springform pan and serve it together with your favourite toppings! I’ve acquired a number of listed within the recipe, however the choices are infinite!
A finished cheesecake with 2 slices of strawberries

Should-Have Suggestions for the Excellent Cheesecake

Along with the following tips, you may also like this tutorial with 10 Suggestions and Methods for Excellent Cheesecake. If that is your first time making selfmade cheesecake, this recipe and that tutorial just about assure success.

Okay, so what do we’d like to bear in mind for our cheesecake?

  1. Use a springform pan. This isn’t 100% needed. Nevertheless, utilizing a springform pan makes it a lot simpler to take away your cheesecake and obtain an ideal crust.
  2. Use room temperature substances. Ensuring your cream cheese is at room temperature might be a very powerful step. Room temperature cream cheese blends simpler and ensures that your cheesecake filling is {smooth} with no lumps.
  3. Use brick-style cream cheese. The bathtub-style cream cheese is thinner and gained’t provide the similar outcomes. The identical goes for the fats content material – use the complete fats stuff. It’s value it!
  4. Combine the filling on low pace and don’t over-mix it. Over mixing your filling (together with over-beating your eggs) will spoil the cheesecake and trigger cracks. Make sure that to maintain your mixer set to low pace, and to solely combine your substances till they’re simply mixed. Pause between including substances to scrape down the bowl and ensure all the pieces will get integrated.
  5. Use a water tub and use my secret trick for no leaks! I get it, water baths can appear intimidating! However in case you observe just a few easy steps, utilizing a water tub to make the very best cheesecake of your life is definitely very doable. Here’s a tutorial on tips on how to use a water tub and keep away from any leaks!
  6. Don’t open the oven throughout baking. Opening the oven door will let the new air out and might trigger your cheesecake to fall within the center.
  7. Cool the cheesecake slowly. You may’t rush cheesecake and your endurance might be rewarded, I promise! Letting your cheesecake cool correctly retains it from cracking and permits it to agency up, will provide you with that creamy cheesecake texture you’re craving.
A slice of homemade cheesecake with whipped cream and berries with a bowl of berries in the background

Steadily Requested Questions

I get fairly just a few questions on cheesecakes, provided that there are such a lot of completely different recipes on the location. Listed below are a few of the most typical ones.

Do I’ve to make use of a water tub?

I extremely suggest it. The advantages of a water tub are loads. It provides you a cheesecake that doesn’t crack or over-brown across the edges, doesn’t sink within the center and stays good and creamy.

Can I simply put a pan of water on the rack under the cheesecake?

Whereas this provides you a greater consequence than no water tub, it’s nonetheless not so good as a water tub. For extra info on the assorted methods of establishing a water tub, try my information to establishing a water tub.

How do I inform when my cheesecake is finished baking?

I like to make use of gloves and gently shake my cheesecake pan to get it to jiggle. You need the outer 2-3 inches of the cheesecake to look extra set and fewer jiggly, and within the heart to be the celebration that’s jiggly. It ought to wobble a bit, however not an excessive amount of. If it seems to be liquid-y nonetheless and has type of a sloshy wiggle, it’s not completed it. If it’s simply set and nonetheless jiggly, it must be good. Study extra about tips on how to inform when your cheesecake is finished baking.

How do I take away my cheesecake from the springform pan?

After your cheesecake has cooled fully, you’ll wish to run an offset spatula (or a skinny knife, in case you don’t have an offset spatula) between the underside of the cheesecake and the underside of the pan. It will loosen the cheesecake from the pan (assuming that you just arrange your pan with parchment paper on the underside). Then you possibly can push the cheesecake off of the pan. See my full tutorial for tips on how to take away your cheesecake from the springform pan.

Topping Concepts

Among the best issues a few basic vanilla cheesecake is what number of choices you’ve got in terms of toppings. Listed below are a few of my favourite concepts:

  • Chocolate sauce – This sizzling fudge sauce is nice with cheesecake.
  • Caramel sauce – You can also make a easy caramel sauce to serve with cheesecake, and even make a chic salted caramel sauce.
  • Fruit sauceBlueberry sauce and strawberry sauce are each beautiful with cheesecake. I even have a raspberry sauce recipe if that’s your most well-liked taste.
  • Recent berries – Use no matter is in season. Strawberries, raspberries, blackberries – you identify it.
  • Sauteed apples – Through the autumn I like cooking up peeled apples slices with a little bit of cinnamon sugar, then spooning them on prime of a slice of cheesecake as soon as they’ve cooled.
  • Whipped cream – A dollop of whipped cream to prime all of it off is rarely a nasty thought both.
A slice of homemade cheesecake with whipped cream and berries with a bite taken

Learn how to Retailer Cheesecake

Cheesecake must be saved within the fridge. I often depart the springform ring on the cheesecake, then cowl it with saran wrap. I additionally add the ring again to the cheesecake if just a few slices have been eaten. The springform pan ring prevents the saran wrap from sticking to the floor of the cheesecake and ensures that all the pieces seems to be fairly subsequent time you wish to seize a slice! You may as well retailer it in an air tight container, in case you’ve embellished your cheesecake and might’t add the ring again on. A cake service works effectively.

Cheesecake will maintain within the fridge for 5-6 days.

Can I Freeze It?

Usually talking, cheesecake must be superb when frozen. It is a nice cheesecake to freeze because it’s easy and there aren’t any toppings or something sophisticated about it.

Simply ensure you’ve cooled it fully earlier than freezing. Cowl it effectively with a few layers of clear wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil. Whenever you’re prepared to make use of it, pop it within the fridge to thaw in a single day. When you freeze this cheesecake, it must be superb for a minimum of a month.

Take a look at my publish for extra info on storing and freezing cheesecake.

Watch Learn how to Make Cheesecake

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A slice of homemade cheesecake with whipped cream and berries with a bowl of berries in the background