New York-Style Cheesecake
This is without a doubt the best and easiest cheesecake recipe you will find. It is so creamy and beautiful. This New York-style cheesecake is totally doable, even for beginners!
New York Style Cheesecake
Yield: 1, 9-inch cake
For the Cake:
4- 8oz packages of cream cheese (room temp)
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
¾ cup milk
4 eggs (room temp)
1 cup sour cream (room temp)
1 Tablespoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice
¼ cup all-purpose flour
For the crust:
15 Graham crackers, blended in a food processor
2 Tablespoons of granulated sugar
¼ Cup melted butter
Instructions
For the Cheesecake:
Tip: Use a straight-sided glass or measuring cup to stamp the crust evenly against the pan.
For the crust:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 1 9” round springform pan with cooking spray, then place parchment paper on the bottom of the pan and spray again and set aside.
2. Place the graham crackers in a food processor and mix so they’re finely and uniformly ground.Pour into a bowl with the sugar and then pour the melted butter into the graham crackers and sugar. You will want to make sure you mix this well until it looks like the same consistency of sand.
3. Pat the crust mixture into the bottom of a greased springform pan, covering the pan seam and extending up the sides 1 to 2 inches. Set aside while you mix the rest.
For the cheesecake:
1. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment mix the cream cheese and the sugar until smooth. Blend in the milk and then add the eggs 1 at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla, lemon juice and flour until smooth. Scrape the sides of the pan and mix again to make sure everything Is mixed well.
2. Pour filling into prepared crust. (I fill it to about 1/4” of an inch to the top of the pan. I like a tall cheesecake).
3. Wrap outside of pan in a double layer of foil, covering the underside and extending all the way to the top. Although a good crust keeps filling from leaking out, foil helps protect against water leaking in. Set wrapped pan in a large roasting pan, and pour hot water into roasting pan—to a depth of 2 inches or about halfway up the sides of cheesecake pan. This is called a “water bath- (see note about the water bath method below).”
4. Bake for 1 hour. Then turn off the oven and let the cake cool in the oven with the door closed for 5-6 hours. This is very important and will prevent your cheesecake from cracking. A lot of times I will make this before I go to bed and leave it in the oven overnight.
Tip: Place your cheesecake in the oven on the pan and then add your water.
The power of a water bath:
Cheesecake batter is basically a custard. It's delicate, so you want to bake it slowly and evenly without browning the top. The most effective way to do this is to bake it in a water bath. This water bath method bakes the cake very gently, so it won't darken to much, curdle, or crack.
Though there are other ways to moderate the heat, I like to bake cheesecake in a water bath because it insulates the outer ring (the part most likely to bake too fast) and keeps the oven moist. Since water evaporates at the boiling point, the water bath will never get hotter than 212 degrees F (100 degrees C), no matter what the oven temperature. This means that the outer edge of your cheesecake won't bake faster than the center, which can cause it to puff up, sink, and crack. The batter will set without curdling.
