This is my favorite recipe for New York style cheesecake, and includes a great technique for letting the citrus-kissed cake finish in the oven, so that no crack forms when cool. As you'll hear and see in the video, this isn't always the case.It's ironic that the largest, deepest, most jagged cheesecake crack I've ever experienced would occur on the one I'm filming for a video recipe. I've seen this method used to produce completely crack-free cheesecakes, but I was opening the oven to take photos, and ended up adding more time at the end to compensate, and apparently, from the look of the grand canyon-sized crack, it was a bit too long.
According to my sources deep inside the cheesecake underground, if for whatever reason, the internal temperature goes above 160 degrees F. the cake will crack when cooling. The good news is the taste and texture was absolutely perfect. The moral of the story? Don't be afraid to make cheesecake!Cheesecake purists believe "crack is whack," but truth be told, slightly overcooking this recipe is not a big problem, and the crevice causes no issues when you serve it (as you'll see with some state-of-the-art Photoshop effects).Crack or no crack, this is a classic, dense, rich New York style cheesecake with just a hint of citrus, hence the "sunshine" in the title. I paired it with a lovely fresh strawberry sauce, which had a little dash of balsamic vinegar in it. I also filmed that, and will air it soon. With the holiday entertaining season rapidly approaching, keep this super easy cheesecake recipe in mind. Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Chantals New York Cheesecake on Allrecipes.com
Crust Ingredients:
18 graham crackers
3 tablespoons melted butter
Filling Ingredients:
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup milk
4 eggs
1 or 2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon zest
1 or 2 teaspoons freshly grated orange zest
View the complete recipe
201 comments:
1 – 200 of 201 Newer› Newest»Sounds delicious! Do you know what to change for high altitude? I've heard bake for two hours instead of one, but never been brave enough to try it...
Thanks! Sorry, never cooked at altitude.
Looks fantastic. I will try very soon. Maybe you could do pecan pie someday. I made one recently and though I cooked it longer than suggested and it looked done the darn thing was a soupy mess in the middle. I told my guests it was a molten pecan pie. They were kind, but I don't think they bought it. Darn that Martha. I like Chef John cause his recipes actually work.
i bake mine in a water bath so the sides don't brown. also i omit the flour & milk altogether.
otherwise my recipe is almost identical. its a great cake, good job chef john
My waistline increased by 4 or 5 inches just by watching this video.
looks great, i may adapt it for my pumpkin cheesecake this year. and btw, you have lemon zest on the list twice.
Amazingly easy!! Lookes great, must try.
So the water bath is for the browning? But I am guessing the browning gives it some extra flavour? Alton Brown had a complicated but sure-to-work method - but yours seem to work too haha, guess I'll go for the easy one first!
The very idea that you would post a video of a cheesecake with a crack in it! I think you need to raise the bar over there at Food Wishes.
But I can save you from yourself. Next time you have a cracked cheesecake, I'll simply come get it from you so you won't be tempted to use it for the site.
This is how you know who your real friends are.
Could you post some other measurement (like cups) for the appropriate (or approximate) amount of graham crackers, please ?
Thanks.
Looks yummy! Actual I have made this recipe from Allrecipes a few times, I will try it with the zest and perhaps make it for my daughters birthday soon.
Thanks Tamar! You really are too considerate ;-)
Anon, never measured cups. It's 2 packages of GC. What, do you get paid by the cup?
No, but in my country cracker packaging is different than in the US, so just an estimate amount (cups, ounces, grams) from your side will do and than I'll take it from there (using proven trial-and-error method).
Great video...cheesecake is my favorite dessert. i usually make a dulce de leche sauce to drizzle over the top of mine and it's always a hit. It does take quite a while but the efforts are well worth the 3-4 hour cooking time and you can multitask, cooking both simultaneously.
"He had no arms or legs, he couldn't see, hear or speak. This is how he led a nation." - Michael Scott
Maybe 3 cups?
Thank you, Chef John! Love the golden result you achieved with the baking sheet method instead of the water bath. Will try this tomorrow but with Keebler vanilla wafers (don't like the taste of graham crackers). I think a vanilla crust deepens the vanilla taste. Instead of fruit (okay, a few fresh raspberries on the side), I make a sour cream topping with just a little sugar over the top the last 7 minutes or until set.
Water bath? Giant cracks? I never knew cheesecakes could be so stressful.
Looking forward to trying it. So far i've had a good track record with your recipes.
Speaking of which, how's the book? Amazon.ca says out of stock.
Chef John,
I've tried several of your recipies - the rolls and boston cream pie - and now this cheesecake. What I'm wondering is if you've ever heard of a "Kentucky pie" or Kentucky Derby Pie? I'd like to see your take on this. I've tried some that call for alcohol in the recipies and some without but I still can't seem to get it right. Think we can see what your take on this would be? Please post one if you have one!! Love this site and check it everyday
Hey Chef John
Tried your recipe, the filing is great but the top of my cheese cake is burnt brown but the burned bits are still edible. The cake is abit fluffy and not like a cheese cake. Any suggestions?
not sure! I did mine exactly as shown and it was great. Sounds like your oven may be hotter than the setting maybe? Maybe over mixed?
I always pull my cheesecakes out of the oven at 150F. On the rare occasion I get a crack, I cover it with uber yummy sour cream topping and pop it back in the oven for 5 minutes to set the sour cream. Sometimes I add the topping just because it's so darn yummy, crack or not.
I'm looking forward to trying your recipe. Love your recipes!!
:)
ButterYum
hello there, is the cream cheese 8 ounces by the weight?
yes
Chef John, I tried making a smaller proportion of the cheese cake since i didn't have a lot of the ingredients. Should I also cut the baking time in that case? If so, by how much? Many thanks!
Why not mix batter all the way?
~Jesse from Detroit
made ours today..huge cross shaped crack, right in the center... made for easier cutting. tried it while it was still warm.. Mistake!! chilled it in the fridge....most awesome flavor and texture. not as dense as store bought but every bit as tasty as it should be!
Oh that looks so yummy. I'm from Brazil so I can't find all of the ingredients needed but I can find some great replacements for them that are available here. I can't wait to try this, I love cheesecake.
Thanks for the recipe.
=)
Who can resist a NY cheesecake? Love your version especially with the addition of lemon an orange zest.
looks so yummy mmmmm my mouth is wet like a swimming pool :)) hehe . this blog gets me crazy
Hi chef john what can i subtitute to sourcream??? Can i use heavy cream and a tablespoon if vinegar??
Yes!!
so that would be 4 packs of 8 ounces cream cheese, a tolal of 32 ounces right? just had to make sure, thanks!
Just made this for a dinner party & love the texture & the addition of the orange zest, which adds something extra. I like cheesecake plain, but my guests went for the strawberry sauce. Also, as you suggested, served the cauliflower mash with the black pepper crusted black cherry tenderloin--perfect for autumn!
So I tried out your recipe! It was delicious. AS for cream cheese I used mascaprone and thefore the texture was very cream. Excelent recipe! Thanks!: )
Some pics:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hausmeister/5137729210/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hausmeister/5137117351/in/photostream/
Thanks!! Looks amazing!!
Hi chef,
I have made it today and served it with the lemon curd just an unbelievable taste!
Thanks for make it so easy for us chef john !
here is the pic ;) http://www.flickr.com/photos/drkari/5144456586/
kari,
I like to add cinnamon powder into the graham cracker crumb crust. Just an input. =D This recipe is awesome. Unfortunately, I ended up with a crack too, but no one noticed with the strawberry sauce distracting them. =D
Hi Chef John,
I've never heard of Graham crackers (I'm from Australia) before this and was wondering if you can suggest a substitute for this? Cheers.
Any dry crisp cookie should work.
Chef John can you tell me why my cheesecake looks like burnt cheesecake is it because I put my cheesecake near to the top of the oven but anyway it was delicious everyone in my house finish the whole cake within 15 mins thanks chef hope you keep up the good work by the way dido you use large eggs?
Yes, maybe to high up. Yes, I use large eggs for everything. Thanks!
chef,
Great Video looks really easy, Iv'e never made cheese cake before but will certainly try this sometime. Is its possible to cover the cake with a foil so that it wouldn't crack? just a thought..
don't think that would effect cracking, but who knows!
Hi chef, the recipe calls for 18 graham crackers and since the crackers shown in your video are 2 squares each, so are we using 36 squares? Because the ones I found are in a different packaging.
I have a tough time getting lumps out of my batter. Is there any way to fix this? I let my cream cheese sit out for a good 3 hours to make sure it got to room temperature, if that makes any difference.
Thank you, Chef John, for 6940 calories of cheesecake goodness. Mine cracked a little bit because I pulled it out of the oven too early, but since I was cutting it up to bring it to work, nobody did/will notice.
I'm no photographer, but here it is. I used a larger springform pan for transport, which is why it looks out of scale:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=574695&id=589540149&l=f540f95866
Would a 9 1/2 inch pan work for this recipe?
- thanks
Excellent recipe! Just made this today and it turned out great, except for a small crack. I think the crack is due to me using a 10.5" pan instead of a 9". I wanted it to be thinner, but I should've adjusted the cooking time a bit because of that.
Anyway, people seem to be posting pictures, so here's mine:
http://img21.imageshack.us/img21/7586/dscf01041.jpg
looks great!!
Why people complain about the crack is a mystery, I see it as one of those beautiful natural things that can happen to food. It looks so homemade and fresh, and even more gourmet when it is ragged and imperfect.
I wish you had put the baking time together with the ingredients. I saw this video a while ago, I just needed the ingredients and baking time, but here I am waiting for the end of the video with my awful connection speed...
I have a few variations of this exact cake! instead of using graham crackers for the crust, try par-baking a fudge brownie in the bottom of the spring form, and using that as your crust! Chocolate chip cookie dough makes for another excellent crust :)
This recipe really truly is the best cheesecake I have ever had.. and ive eaten ALOT of cheesecake :)
Great video chef john
Could you use creme fraiche instead of sour cream. I'm thinking it might ruin the texture, but I'd like your opinion
yes, you can!
Dear Chef John,
I just tried your recipe today. I'm really an amateur baker. So I'm not sure if I did things right.
The crust was rather soft and crumbly, instead of biscuit-like. Where did I go wrong? Not enough butter? And it also tasted slightly burnt, although the cheese part covered it up.
And the top of my cake was brown instead of yellow -- did I overbake it? Should I have turned off the oven before it turned brown (even if it's not 1 hour yet)?
Otherwise, it tasted GREAT! The texture was super. Thanks!!
it is soft and crumbly, not a biscuit-like crust. Sounds like your oven may be hot.
Dear uncle John, i want to make an oreo cheesecake and planning to follow this recipe (it's hard to trust any other online recipes after watching yours! :D). What are the changes that should be made other than subtituting the graham crackers with oreo? Btw, thanks alot for your recipes and easy-to-follow videos! I love them
Sorry for the broken engrish ;)
Thea
Thanks! I think the recipe will work the same no matter what crumbs are used.
Dear Chef John,
I have a thin thermometer I usually use for meat. Could I use stick it in the cheesecake at the beginning of the baking process to make sure it doesn't reach 160 ºF or would a thermometer sticking in it crack the whole thing?
FYI, this is what I have
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002U1RNIO/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_1?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B001CDK0LS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0SCTWDZMYNJJ8GY0P5B6
yes you can!
Chef John,
Why add the sheet pan underneath the spring form pan? Does it affect heat distribution or is it just to avoid messing up the oven?
i'm trying this as we speak and im making it for a arty im so excited to see how this will taste with the sauce and everything i hope to try more delicious recipes from your site in the future, keep on making delicious food !
We just finished making ours! Its in the oven baking away!
Chef John,
My 10 year old daughter and I made this cheesecake last night. She did 90% or more of the work. I helped with some techniques but she was able to follow your video pretty well. The result is amazing. Perfect cheesecake. The slight citrus tang is A+.
Dear chef ..
I really want to make the cheesecake oreo version. And the reason I chose to ask you is because your videos are unbelieveable and so easy to follow. And I got really confused with all the recipies because i'm 11 .. so can you help me out ??
Thanks btw ..
Just use oreos instead of graham crackers. Enjoy!
I decided to make this with an oreo crust. I'm not sure what I did cause this cake was crack city! http://img710.imageshack.us/img710/4452/acheesecakes.jpg
Fortunately, some cherry pie filling helped me out immensely. http://img814.imageshack.us/img814/8747/acheesecake.jpg
hey Chef John,
I want to cut the cake amount by half, should I bake it less or the same time- 1 hour?
Thanks for the amazing looking recipe!
Hey Chef! This is a wonderful recipe that I love and share, as well as your site and videos. I've made this cheesecake twice, and it was delicious both times. However, I've had some pretty monstrous cracks both times. The first I think the temp was too high for my dark spring form; I've heard that the temp varies for light vs. dark. True? This time, I was nervous and the door a couple of times to check on it. Will this cause it to crack?
It could, but cheesecakes are a mystery!
Hi Chef John,
I've just tried your recipe today and I love it. The texture is wonderful. But the top of the cake is brown as described by eva but mine doesn't taste burnt. My cake doesn't have a crack because I put a small pan of water under the rack (not water bath method).
I've wanted to bake my own cheese cake at home for long time ago but i'm not dare to do so because I thought it was hard. After I watched your video, I find that it was very easy and simple. Thank you Chef for your recipe.
Best wishes,
Susan Chin
Dear. Chef John
my name is carman, and i just adore your cheesecake recipe! i make it for my family/ friends all the time, but i was wondering if you can help me out with a little problem. you see my mom loves the cheesecake but when she eats cheesecake, she doesnt eat the crust, she likes it when its soft i guess. so i was wondering if u can possibly give me a little tip on how to make it softer and possibly a little sweet, not tooo sweet! but you know, nice flavor i guess :D
sincerly, your fan! p.s i really so love ur cheesecake, its just my mother is picky, uhhh mothers :D
Hi,
i'm new to baking. may i noe whats the measurement of 1 cup?
Dear Chef John,
It is quite difficult to get Cream Cheese where I live now... so I was wondering if Cottage Cheese can be used as a substitute instead ?
Thank you in advance.
No, not the same. Sorry.where do you live?
Hello Chef John,
I was thinking about using the strawberry sauce to make a swirl on the top and center of the cheesecake instead of serving it with the cheesecake. Do you think this would work well?
Thank you.
sure! enjoy!
dear chef john, I've been planning to make a cheesecake and i've looked through wiki and found out that cheesecake can be make using heavy cream as well..So can i substitute the milk for the heavy cream in this recipe? will it affects the final result? Thanks
Cream has a lot more fat, so it would be richer.
Hi chef John..I want to make this recipe but I only have an 8 inch pan..I did not remember whether it is 8 or 8 1/2 but..basically...Can I still make this recipe if I do not have a 9 inch pan? will the baking time be the same or just slightly longer since the cake will be slightly taller..? or I have to go and buy a new pan .. which is 9 inch..to make this recipe? Thank you..
Should work fine!
Hi John,
Completely impressed with all your videos and site here so, thank you very much for them.
I know you knocked this one up a while ago but, I just made it and thought you'd like to see the fruits of your (and then my) labour so, here we go:
http://malkavan.imgur.com/cheesecake
Thanks again.
RB
Hi chef john..can i skip the sour cream in this recipe..? would this become less tangy? or it will not work here?
hi chef john!
i was wondering since i only have graham cracker CRUMBS how much would the 18 graham crackers be?
also. when you cool it. do i leave it in the oven to cool for 3-4 hours or can i put it in the fridge?
Not sure, but it's not an exact science. Just use a few cups and when you add the butter and pack it in you'll see if its enough. Leave it in the oven until cooled to room temp then you can chill. enjoy!
^ Thanks! im planning to make this in a few hours. just letting the cream cheese get to room temp right now. hopefully when i bake it, it wont burn.. cause usually my things burn a lot ><
Hi Chef John! I'm making this for my mom's birthday tomorrow! Is it okay to put candles in the cake? Thanks anyway!! :D
I always eat cheesecake when I visit the US. But I never thought it was so easy to make!
Last week I made this cheesecake and it tasted sooo good!! It also had a crack in it, but the crack looked like a chinese letter so I liked it. ;-D
Hi chef John! I'm a viewer from Portugal and I don't think we have sour cream in our stores, at least in most of them or maybe I don't know how is it called in Portuguese (:P)... Is it ok to replace it by plain yogurt? Love all your videos! Thanks!
By the way what's the difference between sour cream and heavy cream? (The same Portuguese viewer...)
I believe it's called Crema in Spanish or you can use creme fraiche.
Sorry, not a short answer. Google for more details!
Thank you chef, although I have to say that Portugal and Spain are not the same nor we speak the same language! I'll give creme fraiche a try! Thank you again.
! know that, but since they are so close I thought there would be markets that sell Spanish products.
Thanks for the recipe Chef John.
Made a cheesecake for a birthday and it turned out great!
Pictures and info:
http://ray-solomon.com/food/new-york-style-cheesecake/
:)
Hi Chef! After some investigation I managed to find out what is sour cream in Portuguese! If someone asks you can tell them it's "natas ácidas"! I really have some trouble with this kind of ingredients, and through my investigation I found out that I'm not alone in that. But my biggest challenge to the day it's buttermilk. I keep replacing it with some milk and vinegar. So will do my best now that I've discovered all the ingredients! Thank you Chef!! =D
Just to tell you I got praised on the stuffed peppers the other day. So thank you Chef. You know we've just elected the seven wonders of Portuguese gastronomy (yeah we love food that much...). If you ever visit our country give them a try. They're really good!! Best wishes for you and your family!
hey chef john!
can i add more sour cream to it because i lovee that extra tang and if so how much more would I add?
you can, but it will change the recipe texture. I have no idea, since I've never tried.
Hi Chef John,
Thank you for the recipe and most importantly the video. I attempted to bake a cheesecake for the very first time two days ago. I used a 8" cake tin because i did not have 9" on hand. The batter was alot and i still had a little leftover batter. Thankfully the cake did not crack and we love the fragrance it emits. I have two questions to ask you.
1. The baked cheesecake texture did not felt smooth. Do you know how can I improve to achieve a smooth cheese texture when we eat it?
2. What can I use the little leftover cheesecake batter for? I threw mine away :( as I hadn't any idea what else can I do with it.
Thank you.
Lynn (sg)
Sorry, cant answer #1. Not sure! Maybe that's just this cheesecake's texture. You can just cook the leftover in a smaller ramekin. Enjoy!
how many grams is one cream chees package?
I made your cheesecake the other day and it was to die for! I topped it off with a blueberry-raspberry sauce! Just perfect!
Dear Chef John,
First of all i have to tell u i LOVE ur recipes n videos. I watch a couple almost everyday.
But i had a small question:
I would like to make cheesecake cupcakes. How long would they have to bake?
Thnx in advance!
Greetings from Holland!!
Sorry, not sure, never tried it that way!
Hello Chef John. Could I use Mascarpone instead of normal creamcheese? :)
Hi chef John. I made the cake yesterday and it tastes fantastic. Will it last till christmas if Ieave it in the fridge?
I'd make a new one!
Hi Chef John, this recipe looks great and I would love to make it but I only have an 11 inch spring foam pan. Do I bake it for less time or bake it for the same amount of time but scale the recipe up by 50% to account for the larger surface area of my pan (so that the cheesecake thickness is correct). Thanks in advance for your input.
sorry, but i'm not really sure! i'm not much of a baker, and would hate to guess. you better google pans that size.
Thank you chef John for this amazing recipe!
I've always been afraid of tackling a cheesecake recipe but you made it seem so easy. I made this for a family gathering and got great results!
I'm going to try the chilaquiles and spinach dip next.
Thanks once again,
A viewer from Kuwait :)
Have you ever tried adding a small amount of other cheeses?(Goat, ricotta, etc)
I've tried this recipe twice, and for some reason 1hr of baking time doesn't seem enough for mine, even at 350F. After an hour, the majority of the cake is still raw. I have to leave it in for almost an extra hour. Any suggestions as to why this happens?
Both cracked as well, but I'm more concerned with why it takes so long.
Chef John,i'm making this at night, can I turn the oven off and just leave in there until like 6 am ( 6 hours) or do I have to wake up after 4 hours?
it will be fine
SO I'm pouring my last bit of batter into the pan and it hits me!! I forgot to add the sunshine part. so I quickly grate and lightly whisk the zest right in the pan. LOL, oh well.
Thank You chef,
Chef John, I want to congratulate you on your blog. And I wanted to ask you how long does it last? How long does it preserves well?
Never tested, but should last a few days.
I've just made this Cheesecake, and it was "piece of cake" to make, get it?
It has just finished the first 1 hour cooking process and so far, no cracks (just a liiittle dark around the etches)!!
Hopefully it won't crack during the 4-5 hours "after cooking".
In addition to my Cheesecake, I've also made the Strawberry Sauce (tastes awesome!).
All in all, thanks for the awesome recipes and wish me luck for the next 4-5 hours!! :D
My wasnt brown after making this
It is actually really pale
Is there something i did wrong?
not sure! oven low?
Hey Chef JOHN!
I really love your site and what you do, keep it up forever! lol
Ok now to my comment
My cheesecake keeps cracking.
I know I know, who cares it tastes amazing forget the crack. The crack can hold some more cherry topping lol
I've made this bad boy 3 times now. First time smallest of cracks, 2nd time BIG cracks and now 3rd time almost has big as last time.
Next time I make this I think instead of 1hr cooking time I'll do 45-50mins then turn oven off and see what happens. It seems to crack around the 1 hour mark after the ovens been off.
Cutting the cooking time short by 10-15min a big deal to the overall result you think (taste/texture?)
Thanks for sharing
Why not use a themometer and go by internal temp? (see post)
Hey Chef greetings from Utah, I like the Gram Cracker crust but what I did to make it better was instead of gram crack I used Biscoff Cookie instead. It was so awesome, people actually cried...CRIED! Give it a try next time.
Just made this last week for my parents' birthday. (YES! my mom and dad were born on the same day)
this is mine
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dk_Ev0bM26o/T7ULe5tEp6I/AAAAAAAAAqM/d6J7ASyTLHI/s1600/cheesecake.jpg
Thanks chef John for the incredibly delicious recipe ^^
Gonna try the red velvet cupcake next!
Amazing, your videos are so entertaining I live to watch them even if I don't end up doing the recipe!!!
Hey chef John I am from Greece and it is extremely difficult to find sour cream, so I found several recipes with heavy cream, not sure if I say it correct in English, the kind of cream that we make carbonara with. Do you know if it can be used or anyway how I can make homemade sour cream? Thanks a lot! I just can't wait to taste this cheesecake...
Hey chef John I am from Greece and it is extremely difficult to find sour cream, so I found several recipes with heavy cream, not sure if I say it correct in English, the kind of cream that we make carbonara with. Do you know if it can be used or anyway how I can make homemade sour cream? Thanks a lot! I just can't wait to taste this cheesecake...
Al right Chef, i made the recipe and almost everything came out GREAT!!! My daughter, a NY Cheese Cake expert (We sent her to School in NY ... a decided mistake)Tells me that it was perfect, even the sour cream topping was perfect. (her words not mine, I just thought it was good to eat) My difficulties were the crust turned out hard, almost use a knife hard, and i developed a huge crater almost all the way around the cake. But! when i uncovered it after it had cooled no crater just a crack that was barely visible. When I served it I quickly cut it and covered all the plates with a Black Raspberry sauce to hide it only you and I and now of course 100,000 other readers know about it.
Greetings from Austria,
I just got one Question. Could you do this in mini form? Just put it in a muffin form and bake it for a shorter period of time ? Any tips for that?
Would be great if i get an answer!
Regards Chris
you sure could, and it work need less time, but never tried, so not sure of exact time.
mi chesse cake salio perfecto, muy buena receta y facil.
gracias
I'm in Edmonton Alberta and I love your site. I've made your cheesecake numerous times with rave reviews (one said it was the best cheesecake he's ever had).
However, my cheesecake always cracks. I found the only way to prevent this is to take it out of the oven and let it cool at room temperature. I tried just cooling it in the microwave (powered off) but that also cracked. Maybe it's the altitude. :(
Anyways, I just thought I'd share. Thanks for all your recipes and videos. My friend gets giddy every time she hears your soothing voice or jazzy music.
Hello Chef John. Thanks for this recipe and I was just wondering what size your cake pan was- 9 inch or 10 inch? Thank you
I think 9!
As I was making the cheesecake filling, it came out kind of lumpy. Will it bake fine?
Sorry, not sure, never baked a lumpy one. Probably wouldn't be too bad.
Thanks for this video man. My only other experience in baking was a dry banana cake I made like 10 years ago, but your video let me make two delicious cheese cakes. First one cracked due to overcooking, but the second one I made for my sister's birthday yesterday turned out perfect.
First one cracked because a nameless family member kept opening the door, stuck a chopstick in it to test for doneness, and told me to 'cook it more' which I mistakenly listened to. Let that be a lesson for all.
Other potential tip (because I only read it somewhere else), take the cake out of the oven for a brief moment after the first hour and run a knife around the edges and then put it back into the cooling oven. It should allow the cake to contract easier while cooling. This might be a good idea if your oven is older and less consistent in its heating/insulation.
As for lumpy mix, my second cake filling was lumpy, but it turned out creamy anyway. Lumpiness could be attributed to your cream cheese not being warm enough or the flour. Microwave the cheese for 30secs out of the fridge/store or squeeze the mix with the sugar with your hand (disposable glove). Lumpiness doesn't seem to effect the final result.
Easy recipe and works just fine for my 10 3/4" springform (Used 1kg/35oz of cheese, and slightly increased every other ingredient except eggs). Used a lot more crackers though. Unsalted butter is best.
Chef John, could pls advice if the Cream Cheese is a total of 8ounce or 8ounce x 4packet?
Rence
It's four 8 oz packages!
Thanks John! Now i know why mine taste so awfully sweet! haha
Rence.
What would your alterations be for a pumpkin cheesecake? I'd really like to make one with a gingersnap crust.
not sure! would have to test. but you'll find LOTS of recipes this time of year for that!
Hi! I made this yesterday and let me tell you that it was perfect! It looks Just like yours, even cracked in the same place but I didn't mind because texture is awesome and taste is great! I was so good that I went to bed at 3am because I decided to make two more. Lol thanks a lot for such great recipes!
Hi! I made this yesterday and let me tell you that it was perfect! It looks Just like yours, even cracked in the same place but I didn't mind because texture is awesome and taste is great! I was so good that I went to bed at 3am because I decided to make two more. Lol thanks a lot for such great recipes!
I made the filling and and used a cupcake pan I put the grahanm crackers in each muffin paper pressed it down and poured the filling in and baked at325 until done . I used blueberry and cherry pie filling. It made 40 cupcake cheesecakes and I took them to work. I got rave reviews
I made the filling and and used a cupcake pan I put the grahanm crackers in each muffin paper pressed it down and poured the filling in and baked at325 until done . I used blueberry and cherry pie filling. It made 40 cupcake cheesecakes and I took them to work. I got rave reviews
If instead of putting just Lemon zest, I put a bit(about half a cup) of lemon juice as well, will it become a lemon cheesecake?
Can I make it a lemon cheesecake by adding I bit(about half a cup) of lemon juice as well as the lemon zest?
You can, but that sounds like a lot of lemon juice! Would have to test first.
What do I do if I want to make an eggless cheesecake? Will an eggless cheesecake still taste the same?
Chef John! I just made this, and it came out amazing! My first time using a springform pan! Also my first time making from scratch cheesecake! Addicted to your recipes!
how can i adapt this recipe to a mini 4.5 inch springform pan?
Tried the recipe this weekend and it was a hit! However, because we could not get the Philadelphia cream cheese blocks, all we could find was the kind in the tubs at Costco. The cake was wonderful, but it still had a wee bit of a custardy taste and it wasn't as firm-n-flaky as we would have desired, but you could still stand it up with a fork. Did we get a crack, YES! But no one cared because it was so delicious. I thnk that we will be a little more mindful of the internal temperature next time. Question - Would a water bath work too?
water bath helps, but generally people don't bother.
Ok, so are you saying that once the internal temperature has been reached, it's time to shut it down, correct? Thanks for your quick response and I greatly appreciate your blog and your passion to teach...:-)
Hi,
i've made this cake a few times and it was always sooo tasty! thanks so much!
now my question is: i want to make kind of a top level for the cake.
the strawberry sauce should be on top but then it has to be thick, right?
can i do that with gelatin or something else?
hope you get my question ;)
Hi Kathrin. Great question. Chef John is away on a well deserved vacation and I am answering questions for him meanwhile. Strawberry sauce and cheesecake go perfectly together. And you are right, if you want the strawberry sauce to be on the top of the cake and to stay there, it needs to be thickened. I would recommend thickening the sauce with the slurry - a combination of cornstarch and water. Enjoy!
I just made this this morning and I peeked into the oven and it has a small crack. :-( I did not open the oven I just turned on the internal light. When I put the cake in the oven there were a couple of batter "ribbons" on the top, it was not totally smooth. Is it possible those caused a crack? It almost looks like it cracked along them. Just curious so next time I need to smooth the batter out.
It smells amazballs in the kitchen let me tell you!!
No, that wasn't it! They just form sometimes!
Hi Chef I made the cheesecake today, cooked it for an hour on gas mark 4 and thought it was cooked, left it in the oven to cool and put it in the fridge. I've just cut it and found the outer part is cooked but most of the inside is quite loose and I think uncooked. Can I put it back in the oven, bin it or eat it anyway? Thanks
yes, sounds undercooked, but fine to eat the good parts!
Thank you for the quick reply. I ate the edge, which tasted fantastic with your strawberry sauce recipe and stuck the middle back in the oven for an hour.
You can use creme fraiche instead of sour cream or that may change not for good flavour and texture?
Thanks
Yes you can!
Hi chef,
Just came here to say how awesome my cheesecake was. Actually, take a look at it http://instagram.com/p/cIlceOv-TV/
Don't wanna brag myself, but it had no cracks at all. Anyway, thanks for the recipe!
Greetings from Brazil,
Pedro.
i could not find graham crackers, i have been told to use digestives instead. is it ok?
also i found something called grain crackers, can i use that?
hi chef,
i can't find graham crackers here at dublin, can i use grain crackers or digestives instead? or what do u recommend
regards,
husain
Never heard of the other one, but I hear digestives are similar. A dessert person in your area should be able to help you decide. Enjoy!
Aah, what a nice cheesecake. Thank you so much! Mine cracked in the EXACT same pattern as yours, Chef John, and I'm suspecting that you've somehow slipped the blueprint of the crack into the recipe...
I finally came across some Australian made cream cheese here in Ulaanbaatar, and decided to go ahead and try making a cheese cake (despite its exorbitant price). I've seen a friend make a delicious one with the Russian "Slivochniy" variety before, but wasn't brave enough to try so myself. Next time, I think I will use the Mongolian "zoohii" of the thick and raw variety from Arkhangai...
For sour cream, I used Mongolian "tsotsgii", and it worked out perfectly. I skipped the citrus zests due to the unavailability of trustworthy pesticide free specimens, but I don't think it mattered too much.
We couldn't wait for it to cool down completely, so I took it out of the oven at 2 hours past the switch-off, and half the cake is now gone.
Oh, by the way, for those of us who are in the Second world, and have limited access to Graham crackers: The "Teplyonoye Moloko" biscuits from the Russian brand Lyubyatovo worked out fine for me. These biscuits are 50 times tastier than Graham's to begin with, so you can imagine how good the bottom turns out!
Hi, I am wondering in this recipe the milk, 2/3cup, how much is it in ml?
thanks
HÃ chef John, Im "cooking" this "as we speak" for my birthday. The cake is not out of the oven yet, but whatever happens... thank you for the recipe. (I had some raspberries so I'm making the sauce with those).
Mmmmm looks so good!
Didn't realise that I put my cake pan RIGHT UNDER the heating element of my oven. *slaps forehead*
Now it's still cooling down in the oven ... hope it at least tastes okay :/
Probably should cut the top off ... ?
1. what would the cooking time be if i use MINI spring-form pan?
2. for firmer/denser cheesecake, can i add an extra egg or flour in batter to make it firmer (and don't mix more than necessary?
thanks
Sorry, but I can't answer these type of questions since I've not tested that before! (I've learned not to guess ;)
Can I do this without the flour?
Hi chef John! I'm wondering how much cream cheese you used? I used 8oz of cream cheese (around 250g) yet the cake came out being too soft. Did I read the recipe incorrectly?
You need "4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese" as stated. That's four packages at 8oz each for a total of 32oz.
Greeting Chef John! I am a big fan of your recipes and love watching your videos, which are very helpful highly entertaining! :)
I am looking for a very dense cheesecake that almost starts to crumble when you eat it. If I used this recipe and omitted the milk, would it accomplish this?
Thanks in advance!
It could! Not sure unless tested, but worth a try!
I didn't have a big cooking pan like yours, I just had 2 small square silicone baking pans. I just split the crumbs and batter between the two and made two small ones! I didn't leave them in for one hour though! I left them in for 35 minutes each. No cracks! as soon as the 35 minutes were up, I took them out of the oven and let them cool right away, no cracks appeared at all! mayyyybe less time = no cracks? and not leaving it in the oven to "cool" maybe I just got lucky! :D
Thanks so much for the recipe Chef John! I also made the strawberry cheesecake sauce of yours! O-mazing.
Hugs from Ukraine!
I didn't have a big cooking pan like yours, I just had 2 small square silicone baking pans. I just split the crumbs and batter between the two and made two small ones! I didn't leave them in for one hour though! I left them in for 35 minutes each. No cracks! as soon as the 35 minutes were up, I took them out of the oven and let them cool right away, no cracks appeared at all! mayyyybe less time = no cracks? and not leaving it in the oven to "cool" maybe I just got lucky! :D
Thanks so much for the recipe Chef John! I also made the strawberry cheesecake sauce of yours! O-mazing.
Hugs from Ukraine!
Tried this recipe this last weekend. Substituted Graham cracker biscuit for a shredded wheat biscuit here in Australia and it seemed to work pretty well. This is the best cheesecake I have ever tasted!! I followed your recipe to the letter and it was amazing. No cracks :-)
Just a question if you get to it, do you use a fan forced oven? I adapted slightly by using a classic bake setting, (no fan) and after about 40 mins switched the fan bake setting on for about 10-15 minutes so the top would brown. It worked perfectly!!! Thank you !!!
Could I substitute plain yogurt for the sour cream?
Never tried, but probably!
Hey Chef, love this recipie, used it before and am going to do it again this week.
When I was looking for the recipe I noticed someone's re-uploaded your video for their own channel, just thought I'd let you know
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgcFmBtpV_8
So many people say their NY cheesecake cracks, but it's so easy to prevent by using a water bath. I know, it's an extra step, yet it's really very simple. You'll never get a crack or a hard dark crust again. I don't use a springform pan either; just a 9" cake pan that's 3" deep, with straight sides. Give it a good greasing with shortening and flour and toss a parchment circle on the bottom of the pan. After the Graham Cracker (or Oreo Cookie or Ginger Snap or whatever stricks my fancy) crust and batter are in the pan, I place it in my roasting pan, put the whole thing in the heated oven and pour in boiling water till it reaches half way up the outside of the cake pan. It bakes for an hour, I turn the oven off and just forget about it for 5-6 hours. It doesn't overbake because the temperature of the water never goes above 212 degrees. When it's cool, it goes in the fridge till next day. To get the cheesecake out of the pan, I place it in hot tap water for about 10 seconds to get it slightly warm.
I've been making Chantal's Cheesecake for years and never had any problems.
Chef John,
Do you think that I could use 1/2 cream cheese and 1/2 mascarpone, or is the texture too far off? I've never cooked with mascarpone before and I'm eager to try it. Would it work in this recipe?
Thanks, Chef!
I have been enjoying your videos as of late. Could I use your yogurt cream cheese recipe for this cake? I make my own yogurt and am trying to minimize factory kitchen items in my cooking.
Chef John... Ciao from Spoleto Italy... If we can't get sour creme here or buttermilk stuff to make it, can you please tell me what to do to change that? I do also have organic gelatin as an option.
Grazie, Francesca
This recipe is AMAZING! The best ever. I say it's even better than Philadelphia Cheesecake Factory. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
http://www.foodie2u.com/cheesecake-recipe/
I've found this recipe to be the best for a creamy, tasty NY Style Cheesecake. That said, adding the flour+sour cream to the batter produced lumps that no manual wisking could deal with. I followed your advice and resisted the urge to use an appliance to wisk it, and at the end, you can see several albeit faint white dots in the final product. Next time, I'm using the machine!
John, This cheesecake recipe rocks! Just last May, we made one for our daughter's wedding. It was such a hit that not a few, but several had asked us where we had bought the cake! When we told them that we made it ourselves, they were shocked! Not only that but, I've been told by many (Down here in sunny SOCAL) that this is the best cheesecake west of the NY border! The strawberry sauce goes great with it and we have also topped it with a berry mixture as well. Only one question - How can you keep from cracking the top? It's still a hit/miss! Thanks, Steve
Hello chef john, i don't have a sour cream what should i change for it. Need your answer thanks, leyny
Hello chef john, i don't have a sour cream what should i change for it. Need your answer thanks, leyny
this cheesecake was so delicious! Baking in a water bath always gives the best results! May I recommend replacing the tin foil with the Easy Bath Cheesecake Wrap, it's a silicone wrap that fits around the pan to prevent water leaking in, and helps prevent cracks, plus you are not wasting tin foil anymore because it is reusable! I look forward to baking more of your recipes!
Hi Chef John,
I was wondering what you would change to make this a chocolate cheesecake recipe?Would you have to change much? Or just add some melted chocolate?
Thanks
- Julie
P.S. you are my most favorite chef ever! All of your recipes taste amazing, and you make everything sound "so simple".
Hi John,
I think I found the cure for the dreaded crack! Cut the cheese block into 1-2 inch slices and lay them on a plate to rest until they reach room temperature (a couple of hours). Preheat the oven first, then move forward with preparing the cake mixture. Don't use oil, but butter to coat the bottom and the sides of the spring form pan. Each time I have done this, Voila! No crack!!
Does that sound about right to you or is it still pure darn good luck??
Many Thanks,
SteveB
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