This classic New York Cheesecake recipe features a velvety smooth filling nestled on a buttery graham cracker crust. Perfect to make ahead and serve a bunch of people, this classic cheesecake recipe will impress your loved ones.
This delicious cheesecake recipe adds mascarpone which results in the exact creamy, but not too heavy texture that you want with a great slice of New York Cheesecake. It has led to a number of people who have tried this to state it's 'the best cheesecake.'
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Why you'll love this
Creamy and Decadent
This classic New York Cheesecake recipe offers a heavenly, melt-in-your-mouth experience. With its ultra-creamy texture and rich flavors, each bite is sheer indulgence. The combination of cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, and vanilla extract creates the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, leaving you craving for more.
Versatility
You can serve it plain, or enhance its flavor by adding your favorite toppings such as fresh berries, chocolate ganache, caramel sauce, or fruit compote. Customize it to your liking and create the ultimate cheesecake that suits your taste preferences.
What is New York Cheesecake?
New York Cheesecake is a classic dessert known for its dense and creamy texture. It features a creamy and dense filling made with cream cheese, eggs, sugar, and vanilla, baked on a buttery graham cracker crust baked in a hot water bath. This indulgent treat originated in New York City and has become a beloved dessert worldwide.
Ingredients and substitutions for the best New York Cheesecake
- Graham crackers: Graham cracker crumbs are the perfect base with their whole wheat flavor. If you are unable to obtain graham crackers, a great substitute in equal measure would be digestive biscuits.
- Sugar: The best sugar here is superfine or caster which helps dissolve into the cream cheese during whipping. You could half and half the sugar with light brown sugar or raw sugar alongside the caster sugar as it is not recommended to completely substitute in another due to the flavor it would give the cheesecake instead of simply adding sweetness.
- Cream cheese: The core of our creamy cheesecake is room temperature full fat cream cheese, which results in giving us a light cheesecake that is easy to mix until smooth and full of that beloved cheesecake flavor.
- Eggs: As well as adding structure to the cake, the eggs will bind everything together so are essential.Heavy Cream: Fluffy and lightly whipped heavy cream helps the no bake hold its shape. It also helps bind the cream cheese and eggs and create a lighter texture.
- Mascarpone: Mascarpone has almost double the fat versus cream cheese so this helps give our cheesecake it's rich, but still light texture. If you cannot source mascarpone, simply replace with cream cheese.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract helps give our cheesecake it's signature and depth of flavor here. You could also add fresh vanilla bean seeds into the batter to really enhance the flavor.
See recipe card for quantities.
How to make New York Cheesecake:
Prepared springform pan: Wrap aluminum foil in multiple layers around the outside to prepare your springform tin.
1
Stir: Stir the crushed biscuit base ingredients together.
2
Press: Evenly and firmly press into your cake tin.
Bake your base: We want that base lightly golden.
Place into a roasting tray: Set your cake tin inside a large and deep roasting tray.
3
Beat the cream cheese and mascarpone: No lumps welcome here.
4
Add the sugar: A little at a time, to be dissolve nicely.
Vanilla in the cake: The salt and vanilla extract are added in until combined.
5
One egg at a time: Crack one egg and beat until combined, repeat!
Cream baby: Add the heavy cream and mix.
Pour: Pour that batter into your cake tin.
6
Create the water bath: Place the roasting tray with the cake tin into your oven and pour boiled water therein.
Bake: Bake until the top is golden and only slightly jiggly in the center.
7
Cool: Allow to cool in the oven with the door ajar for 1 hour and then refrigerate for several hours.
8
Serve: Slice and serve with a little berry coulis or even a dollop of lemon curd.
Equipment needed to make this
Hand or stand mixer: To whip the cake batter, this is best done with an electric beater to give your it a light airy texture.
Cake tin: The tin used here was a 20cm or 8 inches in size. It is not recommended to use a cake tin larger than 23cm's or 9 inches due to the height of the cake being much thinner.
Mixing bowls: You'll need one small bowl to stir the crushed base together and one large bowl for the cheesecake filling.
Large tray: You'll need a tray large enough to fit the cake tin within it or to sit beneath your cake tin on a lower shelf.
FAQ's for the best New York Cheesecake
New York Cheesecake is known for its distinctive texture and rich flavor. It is typically denser and creamier than other cheesecakes, thanks to the high proportion of cream cheese used in the filling. The addition of mascarpone or sour cream also contributes to its smooth and velvety consistency. The graham cracker crust provides a perfect balance to the creamy filling.
A New York Cheesecake bakes in a water bath, so if you're using a springform cake tin, it's crucial to follow these steps to ensure optimal results. Start by wrapping your cake tin with multiple layers of aluminum foil, which should extend to the edges. Fold over and press firmly on all edges to ensure the water cannot get into the gaps.
Yes, New York Cheesecake is an excellent make-ahead dessert. In fact, it often tastes even better when chilled overnight, allowing the flavors to meld and the texture to set. Just make sure to wrap it well and refrigerate before serving.
No time for the cheesecake to crack! Once golden on top and the cake has baked for the recommended time, do not be tempted to test out how firm the cheesecake is by tapping on the roasting tray or touching it…let this rest in the oven with the door ajar and this will turn out perfect every time!
New York Cheesecake is incredibly versatile when it comes to toppings. Popular options include fresh berries, fruit compotes, chocolate sauce, caramel drizzle, or even a simple dusting of powdered sugar. Feel free to get creative and customize it to your liking!
Simply combine 100 grams / ⅔ cup of mixed berries and 42 grams/3 tablespoons of superfine/caster sugar in a saucepan. Let this mixture simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. This quick and simple process will yield enough delicious berry coulis for each slice, approximately 1 tablespoon. Elevate your New York Cheesecake with this flavorful and tangy homemade coulis recipe!
It is recommended to chill New York Cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together and the texture to set properly. The chilling process also enhances the overall taste and creaminess of the cheesecake.
Yes, New York Cheesecake can be frozen for future enjoyment. Wrap the cheesecake tightly in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container before freezing. It can be stored in the freezer for up to 2-3 months. Thaw the cheesecake in the refrigerator before serving.
More cheesecake recipes you'll enjoy
New York Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 260 grams / 2 cups graham crackers finely crushed
- 14 grams / 1 tablespoon superfine/caster sugar
- ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 70 grams / 2.5 ounces butter melted
Filling
- 700 grams/ 1 ¼ pounds cream cheese room temperature
- 250 grams / ½ pound mascarpone room temperature
- 250 grams / 1 ¼ cups superfine/caster sugar
- 180 grams / 4 medium eggs room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 160 milliliters / ⅔ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350F.
- Prepare your cake tin as tightly and carefully as possible with aluminum foil (see notes regarding preparing a springform cake tin), to ensure no water can get in, every side of the tin should be well covered with the foil.
- Place the finely crushed graham crackers, sugar, salt and melted butter into a bowl and stir together until it holds together.
- Press into the cake tin firmly in an even layer.
- Place in the oven for 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and place in the center of a large and deep roasting tray and set aside to cool.
- Meanwhile, lower the oven to 160°C/325F.
Filling
- For the filling, place all the cream cheese and mascarpone in a bowl and beat on medium speed with a hand mixer for 4 minutes, a stand mixer for 3 minutes or by hand for 6 minutes, until smooth and no lumps remain.
- Add ¼ of the sugar in installments, beating to incorporate until it is fully combined and smooth.
- Toss in the vanilla extract and pinch of salt and whip for a further minute.
- Add 1 egg and beat until well combined for approximately 30 seconds, repeat with the remaining eggs.
- Pour in the cream and whip for a further 4 minutes, until smooth.
- Pour the creamy filling into your cake tin and prepare your boiling water (you want the water to come half way up the tin, so this amount of water may vary according to your roasting pan, I recommend at least 4 cups).
- Place the cake tin set inside a large roasting pan into the oven as soon as your water is boiling. Allow ¼ of the roasting tray to overhang the oven tray and carefully and slowly pour the boiling water into the roasting tray until it comes half way up the sides of the pan.
- Bake for 1 hour 30 minutes until only slightly jiggly in the center and golden on top.
- Turn the oven off as the cheesecake cools with the oven door ajar for 1 hour.
- Remove the cooled cheesecake from the oven and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Slice and serve with a little coulis on the side.
- Dig in!
Video
Notes
- Preparing your cake tin for the water bath: A New York Cheesecake bakes in a water bath, so if you are using a springform cake tin you will need to ensure you prepare the cake tin before doing anything else, this is best done by wrapping at least three or four times with aluminum foil (dependent on the size of your foil), making sure it comes up sides of the springform pan on all edges, folding over and pressing firmly so water cannot get into the gaps and ruin the cheesecake.
- Aluminum foil shouldn't fold inside the cake tin: Do not overlap the aluminum foil into the inside of your cake tin, but instead pinching firmly to maintain it holds on the outside, this will ensure that as the cake rises during baking (it usually does so about ¼ inch) it will maintain the smooth top.
- Size of cake tin here: This cake was baked in a 20cm or 8 inch spring form pan.
- Graham crackers: These the perfect base for these bars with their light and whole wheat flavor. If you are unable to obtain graham crackers, a great substitute in equal measure would be digestive biscuits.
- Sugar: The best sugar here is superfine or caster which helps dissolve into the cream cheese during whipping. You could half and half the sugar with light brown sugar or raw sugar alongside the caster sugar as it is not recommended to completely substitute in another due to the flavor it would give the cheesecake instead of simply adding sweetness.
- Cream cheese: The core of our creamy cheesecake is room temperature full fat cream cheese, which results in giving us a light cheesecake that is easy to mix until smooth and full of that beloved cheesecake flavor.
- Mascarpone: This has almost double the fat versus cream cheese so this helps give our cheesecake it's rich, but still light texture. If you cannot source mascarpone, simply replace with cream cheese.
- Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract helps give our cheesecake it's signature and depth of flavor here. You could also add fresh vanilla bean seeds into the batter to really enhance the flavor.
- Alternative to vanilla flavoring: You could add lemon zest and lemon juice
- Don't over bake: No time for cracks here! Once golden on top and the cake has baked for the recommended time, do not be tempted to test out how firm the cheesecake is by tapping on the roasting tray or touching it...let this rest in the oven with the door ajar and this will turn out perfect every time!
- Making berry coulis for your cheesecake: Simply combine 100 grams / ? cup of mixed berries and 42 grams/3 tablespoons of superfine/caster sugar in a saucepan. Let this mixture simmer, covered, for 5 minutes. This quick and simple process will yield enough delicious berry coulis for each slice, approximately 1 tablespoon.
- Chilling your cheesecake: It is recommended to chill New York Cheesecake for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. This allows the flavors to meld together and the texture to set properly. The chilling process also enhances the overall taste and creaminess of the cheesecake.
- Making this cheesecake in advance: Due to the length of time the cheesecake needs to chill, this is definitely best made 1-2 days before serving.
- Freezing the cheesecake: Wrap the cheesecake tightly in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container before freezing. It can be stored in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
- Tip for the best results: Ensuring you use room temperature ingredients is the key to helping the cheesecake batter come together smoothly and allows more air successfully into the mixture. To ensure there is no cheesecake crack, bake for the reccomended time only and allow it to cool in the oven with the door open and slightly ajar so it cools slowly.
Nutrition
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Made it and loved it?
If you have made this recipe, it would mean so much to leave a review below to help more people find this.
Matthias Taylor
I thought this cheesecake was going to be hard to make, but it wasn't at all. When i followed all the steps correctly it turned out perfectly and tasted absolutely delicious too. I would absolutely recommend making this as you will not be disappointed. Please keep uploading recipes.
Sylvie
Thanks for the kind words Matthias and so glad you enjoyed the cake!