New York Cheesecake
I am an absolute sucker for a good cheesecake. By “good cheesecake” I mean a tall, dense, insanely creamy, lightly tangy, rich custard atop a buttery, crispy, crunchy, sweet graham cracker crust. I cannot even begin to tell you how many cheesecake recipes I’ve have made over the years or how many cheesecakes slices I’ve tried in restaurants. Sometimes I’m in love, many times I’m sadly disappointed (dry, grainy, stodgy, fillings with soggy, bland crusts). But I can promise you that this New York style cheesecake recipe will definitely not disappoint.
I wanted to have a go-to cheesecake recipe in my repertoire, one that never disappoints and is beautifully versatile, pairing seamlessly with an endless array of topping combinations. I also wanted it to be adaptable as a base for new recipe variations. It took me several years of trial and error, tweaking and refining before I arrived at this recipe for the, in my opinion, perfect New York style cheesecake.
I started my changes at the bottom with the graham cracker crust. Many graham cracker crusts do not include any salt, but I think a touch of salt is necessary to balance the sweetness. I also chose to add a hint of cinnamon which compliments the graham flavor and adds a bit more depth to the overall flavor. For texture, I made two changes. First, I added a little bit of cornstarch to the crust, this helps develop a crisp texture. Second, just before the crust finishes baking, I brush beaten egg white lightly over the surface before returning to the oven for the final couple minutes. This seals the crust, creating a barrier between the custard filling and the crust, which helps retain is crisp texture longer.
I did not mess with the base proportion of cream cheese to eggs (one egg for each package of cream cheese), but I did make some tweaks to the filling. I opted for cornstarch rather than flour to help stabilize the cream cheese custard and I reduced the proportion of starch used. I think this creates a silkier, creamier texture in the finished product. I incorporate both sour cream and heavy cream into the filling. The sour cream brings additional moisture (more creaminess) as well as enhancing the tanginess. The heavy cream is, again, more moisture, but it is also additional fat content which enhances the overall mouthfeel. I know that many recipes include varying amounts of lemon juice, but I chose to completely omit the lemon juice. While the addition of citrus can brighten the flavor and compliment fruit toppings, I don’t feel like it works nearly as well with other kinds of toppings.
A thin layer of sweetened sour cream is often featured in New York style cheesecake recipes, so I kept that feature in mine. I really didn’t alter this layer much at all other than to slightly increase the proportion of sugar to sour cream. I wrote the recipe for vanilla extract, but I love to see the dark flecks of vanilla bean against the pale creaminess of the cheesecake filling so I usually opt for vanilla bean paste instead, but either will work wonderfully.
As I mentioned earlier in this post, I really wanted a cheesecake that could be dressed up to suit any mood or craving. This cheesecake is absolutely delicious plain and unadorned (this was my younger son’s preferred way to enjoy the cheesecake), but, in my opinion, it is divine when paired with your favorite toppings. The most recent time I made this recipe we had some extra berries in the house so I made a quick strawberry sauce (upper left) and a quick blueberry sauce (upper right), I think these were probably my husband’s favorite way of enjoying the cheesecake. We also tried it drizzled with cookie butter and butterscotch and topped with crumbled Biscoff sandwich cookies (bottom left) and drizzled with hot fudge and peanut butter and topped with chopped peanut butter cups (bottom right). These were definitely my favorite ways to enjoy the cheesecake. Caramel sauce and apple pie filling would be another fantastic option. Be creative, experiment and, most of all, enjoy!
New York Cheesecake
Equipment
- 9” round cheesecake pan (3” deep)
- small food processor
- electric mixer
- mixing bowls
- 12” or larger round pan or roasting pan (for a water bath)
- As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.silicone cheesecake pan protector (or heavy duty foil)
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust:
- 150 g graham crackers
- 67 g sugar
- 3 g cornstarch
- 1 g cinnamon
- 2 g salt
- 70 g butter cut into chunks
- 1 egg white well beaten (optional)
Cream Cheese Custard Filling:
- 300 g sugar
- 16 g cornstarch
- 5 g salt
- 180 g sour cream room temperature
- 80 g heavy cream room temperature
- 15 ml vanilla
- 907 g cream cheese room temperature
- 4 large eggs room temperature
Sour Cream Topping:
- 180 g sour cream
- 50 g sugar
- 5 ml vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350° F. If you do not have a silicone cheesecake pan protector, tightly wrap your cheesecake pan with heavy duty foil to prevent any water from seeping into the pan during baking.
For the graham cracker crust:
- Place the graham crackers, sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and salt in a small food processor. Pulse until combined and a medium fine crumb.150 g graham crackers, 67 g sugar, 3 g cornstarch, 1 g cinnamon, 2 g salt
- Add the butter, pulse until the mixture resembles wet, coarse sand.70 g butter
- Press the crust mixture into the bottom and just slightly up the sides of a 9” round cheesecake pan
- Bake at 350° F for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and brush lightly with the beaten egg white, return to the oven and bake for an additional 2 minutes to set the egg white (the egg white helps seal the crust and keep it from becoming soggy from contact with the custard filling, if you choose not to use the egg white, simply bake the crust for 12 minutes). If you have a silicone cheesecake pan protector, insert the pan into the protector (otherwise, it should already be wrapped in foil). Lower the oven temperature to 300° F.1 egg white
For the cream cheese custard filling:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sugar, cornstarch and salt – set aside300 g sugar, 16 g cornstarch, 5 g salt
- In another medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream and vanilla – set aside180 g sour cream, 80 g heavy cream, 15 ml vanilla
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium low speed until soft and creamy907 g cream cheese
- Add in the sugar mixture, mix until combined – avoid overmixing, you do not want to aerate the batter
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until the egg is incorporated before adding the next.4 large eggs
- Stir in the sour cream mixture at the lowest speed or by hand, just until combined.
- Tap the mixing bowl on the counter to help release trapped air
- Pour into the prepared crust, tap on the counter to release any trapped air – if there are bubbles visible on the surface that do not pop, you can pop them with a toothpick. Place the pan in a larger round pan or a roasting pan. Fill the outer pan with water until it reaches about halfway up the side of your cheesecake pan. Bake at 300° F for 1 hour 30 minutes or until the edges are set and the center has a slight wobble.
- Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for an additional 1 hour to cool
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and from the water bath, run a very thin flexible spatula around the upper edge of the cheesecake to ensure the filling is not stuck to the pan.
For the sour cream topping
- Preheat the oven to 300° F
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, sugar and vanilla. Spread the mixture in a thin even layer over the top of the cheesecake.180 g sour cream, 50 g sugar, 5 ml vanilla
- Place the cheesecake in the over for about 5 – 10 minutes to set the sour cream topping. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool completely at room temperature.
- Place the baked cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill and set for at least 4 hours or overnight before removing from the pan and serving. Serve plain or top with your favorite toppings (prepared pie fillings make excellent fruit toppings, you can drizzle with hot fudge, caramel sauce, melted peanut butter, melted cookie butter, add crumbled cookies or chopped candy bars, if you’d like this could be a different dessert every time you have a slice.)
Nutrition
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