New York Cheesecake (+Video)
Light and flavorful, this thick New York Cheesecake is the perfect dessert that is topped with a homemade strawberry sauce!
A DELICIOUS TRADITIONAL CHEESECAKE RECIPE
New York Cheesecake is one of those desserts that I have always loved. It is baked to perfection and then drizzled with a scrumptious strawberry sauce. It is like heaven in each and every single bite. If I could choose one dessert to have all the time, it probably would be any form of cheesecake. A lot of folks think cheesecake can be intimidating to make but with the right steps, it will come out perfect every time! So if you are looking for that perfect cheesecake recipe, then you’ll have to try my New York Cheesecake recipe.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Regular cheesecake has a silkier, creamier texture. Most regular cheesecake recipes will have a thinner batter. New York Cheesecake uses more cream cheese. It is very dense and rich. It also has just a very slight crumble to it when you cut into it.
Arnold Reuben is credited for inventing New York Style Cheesecake. Arnold was the owner of Turf Restaurant at 49th and Broadway in New York City. He claimed that his family developed the first cream-cheese cake recipe. Other bakeries at the time relied on cottage cheese.
No you do not. However, it helps release steam into the oven which then in turn helps prevent the cheesecake from cracking.
Since we are doing a water bath, this helps any water get into the pan or any of the cheesecake to seep out of the pan. If you opt out of the water bath, you can skip that step.
We want to make sure that the cheesecake is fully cooled before putting it into the refrigerator. This also helps with the cracking, if you put it in warm it has potential to crack still and also helps with condensation buildup.
Yes. The goal is to wrap the cheesecake real well (without the strawberry sauce) so as to prevent freezer burn. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST)
- graham cracker crumbs
- salted butter
- cream cheese
- granulated sugar
- eggs
- egg yolks
- all-purpose flour
- lemon zest
- heavy cream
- salt
- strawberries
- lemon juice
- water
- cornstarch
HOW TO MAKE NEW YORK CHEESECAKE:
Slightly grease bottom of a 9 or 10-inch springform pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small mixing bowl, mix together graham crumbs and melted butter.
Press into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set on the cooling rack and set aside. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees F.
In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, mix together sugar and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
Add flour, salt, and lemon zest, and beat again until well combined.
Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Scrape sides of bowl often. Add heavy cream and mix until combined.
Once the springform pan has cooled enough to handle, wrap the bottom of the pan with 2-3 layers of tinfoil. Add a paper towel between the pan and the foil to help absorb any water that may leak in the water bath.
Pour cheesecake batter into a springform pan. Carefully place into the bottom of a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan about an inch deep with very hot or boiling water. Gently place in the oven and bake for one hour. Try not to open the door of the oven for the entire cooking time.
After an hour, open the door and check for doneness. It will be slightly jiggly in the center still but sides should be set. Once cheesecake is done, turn the oven off, but keep in the oven for an additional hour. This helps with preventing any cracking.
Remove cheesecake and allow to cool before covering and placing in the refrigerator. I gently place a piece of paper towel on the cake and then Saran Wrap. This will absorb condensation that forms in the refrigerator. It is best to serve after being refrigerated for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
To make strawberry sauce, add all ingredients to a small saucepan.
Cook on low to medium, stirring often, until strawberries have softened and sauce has slightly thickened.
Allow to cool completely before pouring onto cheesecake.
Enjoy!
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New York Cheesecake (+Video)
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup salted butter, melted
Cheesecake:
- 32 ounces cream cheese (4 blocks), softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 3 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 Tablespoon lemon zest
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Strawberry sauce:
- 2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries sliced (I used fresh but if they’re not available frozen works as well).
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
- ½ Tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Lightly grease bottom of springform pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. Set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- In a small mixing bowl, mix together graham crumbs and melted butter.
- Press crumb mixture into the bottom of the springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Set on the cooling rack and set aside. Turn the oven down to 300 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl or stand mixer, mix together sugar and cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Add flour, salt, and lemon zest, and beat again until well combined.
- Add eggs and egg yolks, one at a time, beating well in between each addition. Scrape sides of bowl often. Finally, add heavy cream and mix until combined.
- Once the springform pan has cooled enough to handle, wrap the bottom of the pan with 2-3 layers of tinfoil. Add a paper towel between the pan and the foil to help absorb any water that may leak in the water bath.
- Pour cheesecake batter into a springform pan. Carefully place into the bottom of a roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan about an inch deep with very hot or boiling water.
- Gently place in the oven and bake for one hour. Try not to open the door of the oven for the entire cooking time. After an hour, open the door and check for doneness. It will be slightly jiggly in the center still but sides should be set.
- Once cheesecake is done, turn the oven off, but keep in the oven for an additional hour. This helps with preventing any cracking.
- Remove cheesecake and allow to cool before covering and placing in the refrigerator. I gently place a piece of paper towel on the cake and then Saran Wrap. This will absorb condensation that forms in the refrigerator.
- It is best to serve after being refrigerated for at least 4 hours, preferably overnight.
- To make strawberry sauce, add all ingredients to a small saucepan and cook on low to medium, stirring often, until strawberries have softened and sauce has slightly thickened.
- Allow to cool completely before pouring onto cheesecake. Then slice and serve.
Video
Notes
- You can use any topping that you want.
- A water bath is not necessary but highly recommended to prevent cracking.
- Make sure that your cheesecake is fully cool before refrigerating.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
I hadn’t made cheesecake in years and this looked so good that I went looking for my spring form pans, and gave this a try. (Bonus…spring form pans had to be dug out of cabinet…they’d gotten shoved to the back. Anyway, that led to a major clean up and ridding out of said cabinet!) The recipe directions were very clear and easy to follow…..results are delicious! My husband loves it and has been having some for breakfast! The strawberry sauce is yummy as well.
I am laughing so hard at your comment Vicki! This totally sounds like something I would do – LOL! Thank you SO much for taking the time to come back and comment and leave a review – I really appreciate it!