When you search New York Cheesecake it seems there are a lot of related searches as to the difference between this and other cheesecakes - well let's get down to what make a New York Cheesecake so amazing.

My recipe adds mascarpone which I have perfected after multiple times of making New York cheesecake and 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 as 'the best cheesecake.' What are your feelings about New York Cheesecake? Let me know in the comments below!

Why you'll love this

Easy crust

The crushed biscuit crust comes together quickly and presses in easily.

Creamy filling

There is a lot of beating that goes into this cake, but that gives this cake it's indistinguishable creamy texture that makes this such a classic!

That texture!

Cream cheese, cream and eggs make this cake a standout and it is then baked in a water bath which leads to a light and creamy texture.

How to prepare New York Cheesecake

Prepare your springform tin: Wrap aluminum foil in multiple layers around your cake tin.
Stir: Stir the crushed biscuit base ingredients together.
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.
Beat the cream cheese and mascarpone: No lumps welcome here.
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.
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.
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 it's only slightly jiggly in the center.
Cool: Allow to cool in the oven with the door ajar for 1 hour and then refrigerate.
Serve: Slice and serve with a little berry coulis or even a dollop of lemon curd.

Ingredients and substitutions for New York Cheesecake

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 I do not recommend completely substituting 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 creame cheese.
Vanilla extract: Pure vanilla extract helps give our cheesecake it's signature and depth of flavor here.

See recipe card for quantities.

Tips for the best New York Cheesecake

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 accomplished by wrapping at least three or four layers of aluminum foil (dependent on the size of your foil), making sure it comes up to the edges of your cake tin on all edges. Fold over and press firmly on all edges to ensure the water cannot get into the gaps and ruin your cheesecake.

Aluminuim foil shouldn't fold inside the cake tin: Do not overlap the aluminium 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 cake tin.

Graham cracker sub: If you do not have access to graham crackers, a perfect replacement is digestive biscuits.

Mascarpone sub: If you cannot source mascarpone you can absolutely use cream cheese for the full cream filling, but mascarpone does add a lightness to this.

Don't overbake: 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!

Homemade coulis: ⅔ cup mixed berries and 42 grams / 3 tablespoons superfine/caster sugar, simmered covered in a saucepan for 5 minutes will create enough berry coulis for 1 tablespoon per slice.

Keeping your cheesecake: This is best consumed within 2 days of making, however, left covered and refrigerated, this will last up to 5 days.

More cheesecake recipes you'll enjoy

Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

Käsekuchen - German Cheesecake

Estonian Rabarbi Kohupiimakook - Estonian Rhubarb Crumble Cheesecake

How to make New York Cheesecake:

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.

Bake 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.

For the filling, place all the cream cheese and mascarpone in a bowl and beat on medium 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).

Place the cake tin set inside the roasting tray into the oven as soon as your water is boiling. Allow ¼ of the roasing 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 sies of your cake tin.

Bake for 1 ½ hours until only slightly jiggly in the center and golden on top.

Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the 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!

New York Cheesecake

Author: Sylvie Taylor
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 40 minutes + chill time
Total Time: 7 hours
Yield: Serves 12 1x
Category: Cakes
Cuisine: New York Food

Print Recipe

Description

A classic New York Cheesecake recipe makes a stellar dessert, and honestly couldn't be easier to prepare and even better, this can happily feed a bunch of people.

Ingredients

Scale

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
4 medium eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher or sea salt
160 milliliters / ⅔ cup heavy cream

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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 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 the roasting tray into the oven as soon as your water is boiling. Allow ¼ of the roasing 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 sies of your cake tin.
Bake for 1 ½ hours until only slightly jiggly in the center and golden on top.
Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the 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!

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 to the edges of your cake tin on all edges, folding over and pressing firmly on all edges so water cannot get into the gaps and ruin the cheesecake.

Size of cake tin here: This cake was baked in a 20cm or 8 inch cake tin.

Graham cracker sub: If you do not have access to graham crackers, a perfect sub is digestive biscuits.