My traditional New York cheesecake recipe makes a wealthy and creamy cheesecake with a clean bitter cream topping. There’s NO water tub wanted for my recipe! Recipe features a how-to video!
Cheesecake With Bitter Cream Topping
Vital in your vacation dessert desk, this New York cheesecake is straight from my grandmother’s recipe ebook. She’s been making it for many years, and it’s been a beloved household staple for generations. Everybody in my household seems ahead to it throughout the vacation season (amongst lots of her different recipes, like sand tarts, apple dumplings, and coconut cake)!
In comparison with my traditional cheesecake, that is fairly a bit totally different, however it’s so good. It has a wealthy custardy filling and crumbly crust (each of that are totally different from my different recipe), however the true star right here is the bitter cream topping. It’s clean and candy, and it simply so occurs to cover any cracks that may occur throughout baking–it’s magic ✨
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- NO FUSSY WATER BATH NEEDED! Identical to the remainder of my cheesecake recipes, we’re skipping the water tub at this time. I not often have points with my cheesecakes cracking, and that’s as a result of I comply with my primary cheesecake suggestions talked about all through this put up (and even when it does crack, you’re going to be overlaying it anyway!).
- May be baked in a 9 or 10″ springform pan. My grandmother at all times made this in a ten″ pan, however I often keep on with my 9″ pan. Word that for those who do use a ten″ pan, your bake time will possible be nearer to 60 minutes.
- Excellent for making forward of time, because it wants to sit back for a number of hours (or ideally, in a single day!).
- Stands by itself superbly, however will also be dressed up along with your favourite fruit or different topping (we adore it plain, however wish to get fancy with strawberry sauce or raspberry sauce, whipped cream, sizzling fudge sauce or salted caramel sauce.
Additionally, whereas my household calls this a New York model cheesecake, I do know there are a lot of totally different opinions on what New York cheesecake actually is. I speak extra about this beneath and would like to know for those who agree!
Elements
Earlier than we start, let’s speak about just a few of the essential components in my recipe. Don’t skip this part in case you are a newbie cheesecake baker!
- Bitter cream. You will want a pint of full-fat bitter cream for the topping. I haven’t tried this recipe with full-fat plain Greek yogurt, however I’ve robust suspicions it might work.
- Cream cheese. We’re utilizing three bricks of cream cheese for this recipe. Identical to when making my turtle cheesecake or blueberry cheesecake, it’s SO essential that you just don’t use low-fat or spreadable cream cheese! Be sure that this has softened to room temperature earlier than starting; I speak about why that is so essential beneath.
- Vanilla extract. Common vanilla will work, however I particularly love my selfmade vanilla extract on this recipe–the little flecks of vanilla beans are so fairly!
- Eggs. I like to recommend ensuring that your eggs are at room temperature earlier than starting, and be very mild when including them to the batter. Over-mixing the eggs might be so detrimental to cheesecake!
- Butter. In the present day’s crust makes use of much less butter than my normal cheesecake crust. This explicit cheesecake filling could be very liquidy, so utilizing a extra dry crust minimizes the probabilities of leaking and having a soggy backside.
SAM’S TIP: It’s so essential for all your chilly components to be at room temperature. Chilly cream cheese will probably be troublesome to combine and nearly at all times ends in a lumpy texture. Chilly eggs are a good larger downside and would require way more effort to include them into the batter. This could trigger all types of points, from a sunken cheesecake to a mealy texture.
That is simply an summary of the components I used and why. For the complete recipe please scroll all the way down to the underside of the put up!
Learn how to Make New York Cheesecake
Make the crust
Stir collectively the graham cracker crumbs and sugar till mixed, then stir within the melted butter (make sure that it’s cooled down first!). When every little thing is correctly mixed, the crumbs will probably be flippantly moistened and the combination will appear sandy.
This explicit crust is a little more crumbly than my different cheesecake crusts and my go-to graham cracker crust, so you could not be capable of press it has excessive up the edges as traditional (although for those who can, it’s going to assist forestall cracks). Put aside whilst you put together your filling–there isn’t any must pre-bake the crust.
With lots of my cheesecakes (like my chocolate cheesecake and pumpkin cheesecake), I often advocate you press the crust as excessive up the edges of the springform pan as you may to forestall cracks, however it’s actually not crucial right here. In reality, my mother and grandmother (who’ve made this recipe for years) often don’t. It’s truthfully fairly troublesome to press this crust up the edges, because it’s so crumbly earlier than it’s baked. Fortunately, cracks not often occur with this recipe, and even when they do, we’re going to be hiding them with the bitter cream topping. All this to say — don’t stress it!
Make the batter
Beat the cream cheese and sugar simply till clean and creamy. Beating the cream cheese with the sugar helps work out any lumps, however don’t beat for too lengthy on too excessive of a pace as you don’t wish to whip an excessive amount of air into the cheesecake. Periodically scrape the edges and backside of your bowl throughout this course of to ensure there are not any lumps hiding in your bowl.
In relation to the eggs, gently beat them individually first, then add them in separately and blend till simply included after every addition. That is going to maintain from whipping in an excessive amount of air and helps maintain the filling of the New York cheesecake appropriately clean and custardy.
Bake & add the topping
Bake on a lined baking sheet till the perimeters are set and the middle is jiggly and jello-like. You should utilize a thermometer to substantiate that the cheesecake is finished (search for 165F/74C). Take away from the oven (go away it on!) and put aside whilst you put together the bitter cream topping.
End the cheesecake
My grandmother’s recipe requires letting the cheesecake relaxation for five minutes earlier than you start making the topping. This step has by no means failed me, so take a fast pause.
Then, whisk the bitter cream, sugar, and vanilla collectively till clean (you need to use an electrical mixer or a whisk), then evenly pour over your cheesecake.
Bake 5 minutes extra, then take away and let cool at room temperature for an hour or so earlier than transferring to the fridge to sit back. Don’t panic if it seems like nothing has modified with the bitter cream topping if you take it out of the oven, it has and it’ll arrange superbly after a stint within the fridge!
SAM’S TIP: I maintain my cheesecake in its springform pan till I’m able to serve, then I simply take away the collar and serve straight from the pan. When I’m able to retailer it once more, I put the collar again on and canopy with foil or plastic wrap. Simple peasy!
Spruce Up Your Cheesecake!
- Swap the crust. Use an Oreo crust as an alternative of a traditional graham cracker crust. Word that I like to recommend utilizing the crust from my Oreo cheesecake as an alternative of my traditional Oreo crust, which might leak out of your springform pan.
- Add a topping. A couple of of my favorites embody caramel sauce, chocolate ganache, macerated strawberries, a drizzle of lemon curd, or a dollop of blueberry sauce.
- Add lemon zest. Add a teaspoon of recent lemon zest to the batter for a delicate citrus notice! Should you actually desire a robust lemon taste, strive my lemon cheesecake.
- Freeze it! Cheesecake freezes surprisingly effectively, both entire or by the slice (and it truly tastes fairly good frozen too!). I speak about how to do that within the FAQ part beneath.
Often Requested Questions
Whereas totally different totally different folks have totally different concepts of precisely what meaning, we’ve at all times referred to as a New York cheesecake one which has a bitter cream topping on prime. My traditional cheesecake recipe has bitter cream baked proper into it. This model is extra creamy/custardy than my traditional model, which is extra agency.
This recipe doesn’t want a water tub, and utilizing one could even trigger points. So long as you comply with my suggestions listed above (use room temperature components, no over-mixing, cool slowly, and many others.), you need to have a crack-free cheesecake.
If for some motive you do get a crack (it occurs!), we’ll be overlaying it proper up with our bitter cream topping. Nobody will know! 😉
It positive can! Simply make sure that to retailer it in an hermetic container so it doesn’t take in any freezer smells. You’ll be able to let it sit within the fridge to thaw in a single day, or get pleasure from it semi-frozen (yum!).
Whereas we serve this recipe yr spherical in my family, it at all times makes an look on the vacation dessert tables, so I’m actually excited to listen to for those who resolve to make it in your personal get-togethers this yr!
Get pleasure from!
Let’s bake collectively! Subscribe to my publication to be notified of all the most recent recipes, and discover my free recipe tutorials on YouTube 💜
New York Cheesecake
Servings: 12 servings
Energy: 375kcal
Stop your display screen from going darkish
Directions
For the crust
-
Preheat oven to 300F (150C).
-
Mix graham cracker crumbs and sugar In a medium-sized bowl and stir collectively. Add melted butter and use a fork to stir collectively till crumbs are moistened.
1 ½ cups (170 g) graham cracker crumbs, 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar, 4 Tablespoons (55 g) unsalted butter
-
Pour crumbs into 9” springform pan and firmly press into the underside and up the edges of your pan (if the crust gained’t go all the best way up the aspect of your pan don’t stress, my grandmother and my mom typically make this recipe simply urgent the crust flat into the underside, both works!). Put aside.
For the cheesecake
-
Mix cream cheese and sugar in a big mixing bowl (or within the bowl of a stand mixer, utilizing the paddle attachment) and use an electrical mixer to beat till clean and creamy (don’t over-beat otherwise you’ll add in an excessive amount of air). Scrape the edges and backside of the bowl to ensure there are not any lumps after which stir briefly once more.
24 oz (630 g) brick model cream cheese, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
-
Add vanilla extract and salt and stir till mixed, scraping the edges and backside of the bowl with a spatula to make certain all components are effectively included.
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon desk salt
-
With the mixer on low pace, add flippantly crushed eggs, one at time, stirring simply till every egg is included into the batter. Scrape the edges and backside of the bowl with a spatula once more to make certain all components are combined.
5 eggs
-
Pour cheesecake batter into ready springform pan and place on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet. Switch to heart rack of 300F (150C) preheated oven and bake for 60-70 minutes. To inform that the cheesecake is finished, give it a light-weight jostle. The middle will nonetheless be jiggly (like jello) however the edges needs to be set. Should you nonetheless aren’t positive if it’s accomplished, you need to use an immediate learn thermometer to verify the temperature of the middle of the cheesecake, it ought to learn not less than 165F/74C.
-
When cheesecake is finished baking, take away from the oven and let cool at room temperature for five minutes earlier than making ready the topping (go away the oven on because the cheesecake will return.)
For the topping
-
After the cheesecake has cooled for five minutes, mix bitter cream, sugar, and vanilla extract and use an electrical mixer to beat collectively till totally mixed.
2 cups (454 g) 1 pint bitter cream, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
-
Pour combination evenly over the cheesecake and return to the 300F (150C) oven for five minutes.
-
Take away cheesecake from the oven and permit to chill for not less than an hour earlier than transferring to the fridge to sit back in a single day, or not less than 6 hours, earlier than serving.
Notes
Pan
This recipe can also be baked in a ten” springform pan (simply press the crust straight into the underside of the pan)
Storing
Cowl springform pan with foil or plastic wrap and retailer within the fridge for as much as 5 days. I serve my cheesecake proper within the springform pan it’s cooked in, I take away the collar to slice and serve it after which return the collar for storage.
Diet
Serving: 1serving | Energy: 375kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 13g | Fats: 15g | Saturated Fats: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fats: 1g | Monounsaturated Fats: 4g | Trans Fats: 0.2g | Ldl cholesterol: 108mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 253mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 484IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 258mg | Iron: 1mg
Dietary info relies on third-party calculations and needs to be thought of an estimate solely. Precise dietary content material will differ primarily based upon manufacturers used, measuring strategies, cooking methodology, portion sizes, and extra.
