Our Best Classic Cheesecake Recipe Will Help You Become A Cheesecake Expert

Delish

Here, we’re laying out all the tips and tricks—from the graham cracker crust to the dreaded water bath—that you’ll need to become a classic cheesecake expert.

Transcript

00:00 Hey, it's McKenzie here and we are in the Delish kitchen

00:03 and today I am making a cheesecake.

00:05 I know, so intimidating to a lot of home bakers,

00:07 but I promise this one is foolproof and it's perfect.

00:10 It's classic, straightforward, and you'll love it.

00:13 I really love this cheesecake recipe

00:15 and it is our classic vanilla cheesecake

00:18 that is the base for so many of our cheesecakes

00:21 on delish.com.

00:22 So the great thing about it is that

00:24 if you can master this one,

00:25 you can master all of our cheesecakes on our site.

00:28 Living here in New York,

00:30 no offense to those that love a Junior's sponge cake crust,

00:34 but we strongly believe that a cheesecake

00:37 should have a graham cracker crust.

00:39 To make our crust for our cheesecake,

00:40 we are going to pulse the graham crackers

00:42 in a food processor until they're really fine crumbs.

00:45 Dump your crumbs into a bowl,

00:47 add your sugar, add your salt, give that a stir,

00:51 pour in your melted butter, give that a stir again

00:54 until it looks like wet sand.

00:56 So this is what you're looking for.

00:58 It's like wet sand so that it really holds together

01:00 when you press it.

01:01 Before we add in the crust to our springform pan,

01:03 you want to wrap the outside of your pan

01:06 with aluminum foil so that it's really nice and tight

01:09 because later we're gonna bake this in a pan of water

01:12 and we don't want any water getting into our springform pan.

01:15 Nobody wants a soggy cheesecake.

01:18 Do at least two layers.

01:19 There's plenty of butter in our crust already,

01:23 so there's not really a need to grease down

01:25 your springform pan on the inside.

01:27 It's gonna be just fine.

01:28 And just spread this around

01:30 and bring it up the sides of your pan as well.

01:33 And then start pressing in with a spoon.

01:36 You wanna really make sure you're packing it on.

01:39 It's all smooth, packed in, nice and tight.

01:43 So now this goes into the oven at 325 degrees

01:46 for about 12 to 15 minutes,

01:49 just until your edges start to turn golden.

01:57 And let that cool while we make our filling.

02:00 While your crust cools,

02:00 you can make the filling to your cheesecake,

02:02 the most important part, right?

02:04 First thing, it's really important

02:05 that all of your ingredients for your cheesecake

02:08 is at room temperature,

02:09 your cream cheese, your eggs, your sour cream.

02:11 This will help when you are beating your filling

02:14 to be a really smooth and not lumpy cheesecake mixture.

02:18 In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.

02:22 Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.

02:26 Add sour cream and vanilla, beat again.

02:29 Add flour and salt.

02:32 Mix until smooth.

02:33 We just made our creamy filling,

02:35 so now we're going to pour it into our graham cracker crust

02:38 and smooth the top.

02:39 Let's talk about a water bath.

02:42 This is what's going to make sure your cheesecake

02:44 is smooth, creamy inside, and does not crack on top.

02:49 I think a water bath is what intimidates

02:51 a lot of people with cheesecake,

02:52 but really, it's the easiest thing.

02:55 All you have to do is find a roasting pan that is deep

02:58 and then larger than your springform pan.

03:01 Pour some boiling water straight from your kettle

03:03 into the bottom of the roasting pan.

03:05 A really helpful tip with your water bath

03:07 is to not pour the boiling water in

03:09 until the cheesecake is in the oven.

03:11 That way, you don't have to carry around

03:12 the heavy pan full of water and it sloshes everywhere.

03:15 And then as your cheesecake bakes,

03:16 it will steam and create a lot of moisture in your oven,

03:20 which will slowly cook your cheesecake

03:22 and ensure there's no cracking on top.

03:24 The cheesecake bakes at 325 degrees

03:26 for about one hour to an hour and a half,

03:29 just until the center is slightly jiggly.

03:31 It's been about an hour,

03:32 so we wanna check on our cheesecake

03:34 to see how much it jiggles,

03:36 'cause you don't want it to fully set

03:38 because it will continue to bake as it cools.

03:40 So give your pan a little shake

03:43 and see how that jiggles just in the center there

03:46 and the edges are set?

03:47 That is perfect.

03:49 It's exactly what you want it to look like.

03:52 So now our cheesecake is ready to start cooling.

03:55 I left it in the oven.

03:56 We're gonna turn the oven off

03:58 and then prop the door open with a wooden spoon.

04:00 This is a safe way to do it,

04:02 but you want your cheesecake to cool down slowly

04:05 and that will help prevent it from cracking.

04:07 So you wanna let it cool in your oven for about an hour.

04:10 Let it cool down all the way.

04:12 Once your cheesecake is completely cooled down

04:14 to room temperature,

04:15 you now have to put it into the refrigerator

04:17 for at least four hours,

04:19 just until your cheesecake is really cold.

04:21 (upbeat music)

04:24 I have made this cheesecake

04:27 or a very similar variation of it hundreds of time.

04:31 Like that's, I promise that's not an exaggeration.

04:33 I think I make it weekly here at Delish

04:36 and I fall in love with it more and more every single time.

04:40 I love this cheesecake recipe.

04:41 It's perfect.

04:43 The cheesecake, it's creamy, it's silky.

04:46 It's not overly sweet.

04:48 It's definitely rich.

04:49 A small slice is plenty.

04:51 I always keep coming back

04:52 for that graham cracker crust though.

04:54 I love, I love a graham cracker crust,

04:56 especially against like the creamy texture of the cheesecake

04:59 and that crunchy graham cracker crust

05:00 is the perfect pairing.

05:02 I love it and I know you will too.

05:04 The cheesecake is perfect as is.

05:06 You can eat it plain,

05:07 but topped with a little cherry pie filling

05:09 or chocolate or a salted caramel.

05:12 But this is the ultimate cheesecake from Delish

05:15 and everyone on this team is obsessed with it

05:17 and we just love it.

05:19 Now that you've mastered our classic cheesecake,

05:21 try some of our other ones on delish.com.

05:23 (upbeat music)

05:26 (upbeat music)

Category

Transcript

Recommended