Absolute Best Cheesecake Recipes

[Luckylies]

I'm hoping for a few very solid cheesecake recipes. I love New York style cheesecake. Baby Watson, Juniors, love 'em both. Anybody have recipes they love?

[CanadianBakin']

I've had great success with the one on the Cooks Illustrated site. It's very easy to adapt to different flavours and types. Always turns out well.

[Ling]

There are plenty of good recipes on Epicurious. I particularly like the Cappucino Fudge cheesecake. I made a basic cheesecake this Christmas (chocolate cookie base), and topped it with caramel. It was a hit.

Here's my caramel recipe:

1 cup unsalted butter

1 and 1/4 cups brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 cup whipping cream

Stir the butter, salt and sugar until boiling, lower heat and add whipping cream slowly. Simmer for about 5 minutes. When it is cold, it will be a lot thicker, and you can top your cheesecake (or anything really, ice-cream, cake, etc.) with it.

[claire797]

This is my adaptation of a basic New York Cheesecake. Don't be put off by the orange extract. There's just enough there to give it a bit of dimension.

Ultimate New York Style Cheesecake With Shortbread Crust

Crust:

2 1/2 cup flour, all-purpose

1 1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 large egg yolks

1/4 teaspoon orange extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Note: This makes plenty of crust -- you may have some leftover, but it's better to have too much than too little

Filling:

5 packages cream cheese ( 8 oz each)

1 3/4 cups sugar

1/4 cup heavy cream

3 tablespoons flour

2 large egg yoks

5 large eggs

1 teaspoon lemon extract

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon orange extract

Prepare crust: In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat flour, butter, sugar, egg yolk and lemon extract until well mixed. Shape dough into ball; wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400-degrees. Press 1/3 of dough onto bottom of 10" x 2 1/2" springform pan; keep remaining dough refrigerated.

Bake crust 8-10 minutes ot until golden; Cool. Turn oven control to 475-degrees.

While crust is cooling, prepare filling: In large bowl, with mixer at medium speed, beat cream cheese just until smooth; slowly beat in sugar, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. Using VERY low speed or a wooden spoon, add cream, flour, egg yolks, eggs and extracts; beat until smooth -- do not over beat after adding eggs.

Press remaining dough around sides of pan to within 1-inch of top. Pour cream cheese mixture into crust.

Bake cheesecake 12 minutes. Turn oven control to 300-degrees; bake 35 minutes longer. Turn off oven; let cheesecake remain in oven 30 minutes.

Remove cheesecake from oven; cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or until well chilled.

When cheesecake is firm, loosen sides of pan.

If possible, chill overnight.

[David94928]

I'm hoping for a few very solid cheesecake recipes. I love New York style cheesecake. Baby Watson, Juniors, love 'em both. Anybody have recipes they love?

←

I second the recipe for "New York cheesecake" from Cook's Illustrated, I've wowed a lot of people with that one.

They also have a recipe for Lemon cheesecake which uses a lemon curd topping. Sort of lemon pie meets cheescake. Very yummy.

David

[KatieLoeb]

Best cheesecake trick I ever learned was from the pastry chef at my very first restaurant job. Take two dozen Kraft caramels and peel off the nasty plastic sheets. Place caramels in a pyrex cup measure and melt in the microwave. Pour over the bottom of your graham cracker or other crust and let set. Pour over your cheesecake batter. After baking there's a gooey layer of caramel between the cheesecake and the crust. Oh. My. God. This is the most delicious thing in the whole world. Works with the chocolate flavored caramels too. And if you think about it, there's virtually no flavor of cheesecake that couldn't be improved with a little caramel. And it's a brilliant match with certain flavors like Pumpkin. Yummmmmm!

[claire797]

Best cheesecake trick I ever learned was from the pastry chef at my very first restaurant job.  Take two dozen Kraft caramels and peel off the nasty plastic sheets.  Place caramels in a pyrex cup measure and melt in the microwave.  Pour over the bottom of your graham cracker or other crust and let set. 

←

Wow, that sounds good. How long do you need to let the caramel set?

[KatieLoeb]

Best cheesecake trick I ever learned was from the pastry chef at my very first restaurant job.  Take two dozen Kraft caramels and peel off the nasty plastic sheets.  Place caramels in a pyrex cup measure and melt in the microwave.  Pour over the bottom of your graham cracker or other crust and let set. 

←

Wow, that sounds good. How long do you need to let the caramel set?

←

Oh, just until it isn't too sticky and liquid-y anymore. Maybe 20-30 minutes? So if you pour a batter on top it will stay set and not swirl into the liquid batter. Not like a caramel swirl would be a bad thing either, but it's more about having that gooey layer right above the crust when you put your fork through the slice.

I have to stop now or I'll have to go bake a cheesecake.

[jgarner53]

One of my good, non-cooking friends (I love her anyway ) told me she got raves when she served my Christmas gift caramel sauce over a frozen sara lee cheesecake. So, similar principle, executed in a non-cook fashion. (honestly, frozen sara lee cheesecake?! )

[origamicrane]

hmm.. anyone got the recipe for the japanese steamed cheesecake?

if you haven't tried it you should its like a sponge but light anf fluffy like eating a cloud

[chefcyn]

Here's my new favorite:

Maple Walnut Cheesecake

9" springform pan

1 1/4 c chopped walnuts

1 ½ c graham crumbs

1/3 c + 1 1/4 c sugar

1/4 c melted butter

1 tsp cinnamon

2# room temp cream cheese

5 eggs

3/4 c heavy cream

1/3 c maple syrup

1/4 c flour

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp maple flavor

1 jar(5 oz) walnuts in syrup-garnish **

Whipped cream and maple sugar candies(optional garnish)

Preheat oven to 350.

Toast walnuts until lightly browned, 3-4 min. remove from the baking sheet to cool, reduce the oven temp to 325. Place a roasting pan(large enough to hold the cheesecake pan) on the bottom rack and fill halfway with hot water. Wrap the outside of the pan in plastic wrap then sit the pan on a double layer of foil(wide sheets if you can get it)and come well up the sides to keep water out when baking.

Combine crumbs, 1/3 c sugar, butter, cinnamon and ½ c toasted walnuts. Press into the bottom and 1" up the sides of the springform pan.

At medium speed, beat the cream cheese and the remaining sugar until fluffy, about 3 min. Add the eggs one at a time.

Add the cream, maple syrup, flour, vanilla and maple flavor and beat until blended.

Pour half of the batter into the pan, place into the water bath and bake for 40 min, sprinkle with the remaining walnuts and pour the remainder of the batter into the pan. Bake 30 min more or until the center jiggles just slightly when the pan is gently shaken.

Turn the oven off and let the cake stand in the oven with the door closed for 1 hour. Remove from the oven, run a thin sharp knife around the edges to loosen (so the sides won’t stick as it cools and shrinks, causing cracks) and cool completely at room temp. Refrigerate for 8 hours, or overnight, in the pan, covered with plastic wrap.

To serve, garnish with the wet walnuts and whipped cream and maple candies if desired.

** Boil walnuts in maple syrup or half maple syrup and half cornsyrup for about 5-8 min. Keep in the refrigerator until needed--they are great as a topping for ice cream, too!

_________________

[Luckylies]

thank you thank you thank you..I'll probably do about four this week. this will be my fist, second, third and fourth experiance making cheesecake....I'll try to post pictures.

[Alinka]

I've got a cheesecake question. Or a math question, I am not sure which. I want to half this recipe. What size spring form should I use? How long should I bake it and at what temperature? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[CanadianBakin']

I've got a cheesecake question. Or a math question, I am not sure which. I want to half this recipe. What size spring form should I use? How long should I bake it and at what temperature? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

←

I always use a 6"springform when I make half a 9"recipe. It will be a bit taller than the original. I would start checking it at 3/4's of the baking time.

[Alinka]

CanadianBakin', thanks!

[miladyinsanity]

http://dessertcomesfirst.blogspot.com/2001...y-quest-to.html

I like that recipe. You can substitute cream for the condensed milk and sweeten to taste. Drop the calamansi/lime juice, and you can change it to suit whichever flavor cheesecake you want to make.

[TurtleMeng]

Well, I am just an amateure and envy all here who are either professinal or have lots of time to bake. My family don't even eat much sweet stuff

But one day I ate in a cafe and realized the owner is mother of this boy that plays ball with my son. We yakked and I asked her if she wanted to try some of my cakes. She said cheesecake since she currently buys they from CHEESECAKE FACTORY and sells some for afternoon tea service. Ah.

So I took my regular NY cheesecake (which I really believe is pretty perfect) to her and she raved it. I almost had tears swell up in my eyes as she called me for more and when I took another one in she put it on the glass display. Talking about melodramatic.

Today I took another one to her, "cappucino" flavored with espresso and Kahlua, I decorated with whipped cream and chocolate espresso beans also. Looked nice.

I would also like to try an orange cheesecake recipe and a lemon-ginger recipe I have on hand. I'm wondering, anyone else wants to share any recipe? I am just a little home baker and won't sell your recipe for $$$.

[Ladybug]

I just made a cheesecake today for a potluck. I made the Cook's Illustrated version of a New York cheesecake, but I made a chocolate crust and made Pierre Herme's caramel pecan topping from one of his choc. tarts in Choolate Desserts. I put some straight caramel on the bottom between the crust and filling and put more on top, with the pecans mixed in. It's not a novel idea, but I was almost embarrassed by the profuse compliments it received.

The CI recipe tasted wonderful, but I had a small problem. The article spent a lot of time talking about how awful overbaked cheesecake is and to take the cheesecake out of the oven as soon as it hit 150F. At 55 minutes, I checked the temp with my trusty Thermopen and it was 158. I was alarmed and pulled it out immediately. It turned out to be UNDERdone and I had to put it BACK in. On top of that, it cracked, which supposedly only happens to overbaked cheesecakes or improperly unmolded cakes. I was very, very careful to follow the recipe exactly, including the parts about unmolding by running a knife around the edge and unmolding after 5 minutes. I ended up bringing the cheesecake already sliced and arranged on a tray so I could hide the awful cracked part. (I left those slices at home.) When all was said and done, I'd still say the cheesecake was very slightly underdone in the center, but it was still delicious.

[miladyinsanity]

If you over-whip the batter, cheesecakes will crack too.

I love this one:

http://dessertcomesfirst.blogspot.com/2001...y-quest-to.html

I've substituted cream for the condensed milk, which gives it a richer feel.

[Dailey]

i am a cheesecake freak! its my absolute most favorite dessert in the whole world. however, i am very picky because i don't like creamy ones, i like mine to be dense and rich, to where i can just break off a piece and pop it in my mouth. i used a recipe that came from a new york resturant that is closed now, i think it was called Lindys. i used this recipe for the base for all my cheesecakes, my favorite being dulce de leche. i won't even bother trying other cheesecake recipes because as far as i'm concerned, its perfection! i'll post it later when i go home.

[TurtleMeng]

I made the Cook's Illustrated version of a New York cheesecake, ....

The CI recipe tasted wonderful, but I had a small problem.  The article spent a lot of time talking about how awful overbaked cheesecake is and to take the cheesecake out of the oven as soon as it hit 150F.  At 55 minutes, I checked the temp with my trusty Thermopen and it was 158.  I was alarmed and pulled it out immediately.  It turned out to be UNDERdone and I had to put it BACK in.  On top of that, it cracked,

←

I was wondering if "Cook's Illustrated" is the same as "Baking Illustrated", which is a book by the same people (the big yellow book). Anyways, because that's the recipe I use, except I use 5 eggs instead of 6 plus 2 yolks. But this one has a baking time of 1 1/2 hr, which is just about right for me. I cannot test the temp since I have to take it for sale (or can I? invisible hole?), but I have played with the timing for a while. I also find the 500 then 200 (actually I use 215) degrees beats the 350 all the way thru (as in some other cheesecake recipes). I also put in a pan of water underneath as a semi bain-marie. I don't know if these help, but cracking was avoided...

[CanadianBakin']

I was wondering if "Cook's Illustrated" is the same as "Baking Illustrated", which is a book by the same people (the big yellow book). 

←

I have Baking Illustrated and the recipes are the same as on cooksillustrated.com.

[Ladybug]

I'm not convinced taking the temperature would help, TurtleMeng. It certainly didn't help me. You look like you've made a perfect cheesecake. Why mess with perfection? I'll be using this recipe again and next time, I'll bake it longer. I don't think I overwhipped it but it's clear that something went wrong. I'm going to try the recipe again soon and hopefully I'll figure it out.

[Swisskaese]

Hi Turtle Meng,

I make a lemon cheesecake with a lemon confit topping. I have adapted it to use Israeli white cheese which has less fat than cream cheese and mascarpone, but I will be happy to give it to you, if you are interested.

Edited November 30, 2005 by Swisskaese (log)

[ALTAF]

hello Turtle Meng,

First of all i wish you a succesful bussines with the cafe lady. Secondly there are alot of resources in the internet that can lead you to perfect cheesecakes, among them : epicurious.

But what i noticed in my country particulary, is that you can get the people attention to buy or try cheesecakes in two ways:

1- the look of the cheesecake

2- the name of the cheesecake

An example of cheecake that made a hit : Oreo cheesecake, caramel-hazelnut. I also tried recentrly a blueberry topped chessecake but it had a delicious secret taste and smell and i'm sure that it included an small amount of shreded coconut but i could'nt figure out if it was in the crust of the filling.

I hope that hepls.