Cheesecake


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Time: ~ 3 hours
Yield: ~ 1 9" cheesecake
Cheesecake is my favorite dessert. In 2024 I took the time to perfect the classic cheesecake and nearly won the 2024 Cincinnati Bake Off. Below is that recipe.

The water bath and open oven cooling seems like a lot, but this is how you prevent cracks or dips in your finished product. If you follow this, you'll have a perfectly smooth, even top.


Crust Ingredients

  • 160 g graham crackers
  • 30 g granulated sugar
  • 2 g salt
  • 2 g freshly ground nutmeg
  • 56 g unsalted butter, melted

Filling Ingredients

  • 32 oz cream cheese, softened
  • 220 g granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 66 g heavy cream
  • 57 g creme friache
  • 1.5 vanilla bean pods (or 6 inches)
  • 1 pinch of salt
  • 20 g cornstarch

Equipment

  • 1 9" springform pan
  • 1 stand mixer
  • 1 food processor
  • 1 whisk
  • 1 spatula
  • 1 medium bowl
  • 1 large roasting pan

Prep Steps

  1. The cream cheese needs to be softened and the eggs need to be room temperature, so be sure you get those out an hour or two in advance. You can also get out the heavy cream and creme friache early if you want.
  2. Scrape your vanilla beans out of the pod. Cut a slit in the pod, open it up, and use the back of the knife to scrape everything out. Don't double scrape too hard because we don't want any stringy bits in there.

Crust Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 350f.
  2. Melt the butter in the microwave (about 30s).
  3. Crush graham crackers by hand or in food processor until fine.
  4. Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl using a spatula or your hands.
  5. Generously grease your springform pan with spray.
  6. Dump your mix into the pan. Flatten with your hands at first and then use a flat bottom cup to press everything down.
  7. Bake for 8 minutes.
  8. Cool completely for about 30 minutes before adding the filling.

Filling Steps

  1. Set the oven to 325f after your crust is done.
  2. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla beans. Scrape the sides as needed. You cannot overmix at this point, so be sure to mix until smooth.
  3. Add the eggs and yolk one at a time with the mixer on low speed. Mix until just incorporated. DO NOT OVERMIX.
  4. Gently hand whisk in the heavy cream, creme friache, salt, and cornstarch until just incorperated. DO NOT OVERMIX.

Baking Steps

  1. Pour the batter onto the cooled crust.
  2. Create a water bath. Place the springform inside a large roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with boiling water about half way up the springform. To avoid leaks, I use a 10" silicon cake mold between the springform and pan. If you don't have one, just wrap the bottom of the springform with foil but make sure water cannot get through.
  3. Bake for 45 minutes. Check every 15 minutes after that. You want the edges to be set and the middle to just have a SLIGHT wobble. If the edges wobble too, go another 15. Mine usually takes around 60 minutes total.
  4. Once it's done, turn the oven off and open the oven door. Let the cheesecake sit in the open oven for 1 hour.
  5. Remove from the oven and place the entire springform on a wire rack to cool for 1-2 hours.
  6. Cover with plastic wrap and store in fridge overnight.

Optionals

  • Change up the crust. Use the same amount of any biscuit. Biscoff is a great choice or any chocolate biscuit is good.
  • Add toppings! Raspberries and strawberries are classic on their own or as a compote. You can also make an easy ganache in the microwave to cover the cake.
Make something delicious.