New York Style Cheesecake Recipe
This cheesecake has a smooth, silky, thick, and creamy texture with a sweet cookie crumble crust.
Classic New York Cheesecake has a smooth, silky, thick, and creamy texture with a sweet cookie crumble crust. Enjoy this cheesecake plain or top it off with a homemade strawberry topping.
What is New York Style Cheesecake?
- Classic cheesecake is very simple and basic, it’s made with cream cheese, eggs, and sugar. New York Cheesecake includes an addition of heavy whipping cream and sour cream. This created a dense, rich, and smooth texture of the cheesecake.
- New York Cheesecake was made popular by the iconic Junior’s Restaurant and Bakery in New York City. Because it’s so popular, it’s been remade and improved over time.
- I’ve tested my NY Style cheesecake recipes for many years and every time I come up an improvement, I update it for you!
- There are also SO many tips that I include in my recipe, so even if you are a beginner level, it will be easy for you to make this cheesecake.
- In my recipe, I prefer to make cheesecake crust out of graham crackers. (Junior’s cheesecake has crust made out of sponge cake.) Graham cracker crust tastes really good and it’s so much easer (it’s so much extra work to create a sponge cake crust.)
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I made this with your strawberry sauce and it was absolutely divine! All our guests raved about how delicious it tasted! Thanks for sharing the recipe!! ~Juli”
How To Make New York Style Cheesecake
- Springform pan: Prepare the springform pan by wrapping outside of it in aluminum foil. If your pan has a history of leaking, wrap it a tight in 2-3 sheets of foil.
- The crust: Combine crust ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix very well. Spray inside of the springform pan, pour the mixture in and use the bottom of a measuring cup to evenly press the crust over the bottom and some up the sides. (Pack it in!)
- Cheesecake filling: In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Scrape the bowl and beat for another minute. Pour in sugar while beating and add eggs, one at a time. Beat it until smooth.
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and heavy cream and beat, still on medium-high speed, until all mixed very well. Lower the speed and beat in cornstarch. Scrape and mix for a few more seconds.
- Pour it in: Transfer batter into the springform and spread in evenly.
- To bake the cheesecake: Preheat oven to 325°F. Place a large roasting pan into the oven and place cheesecake springform inside the roasting pan. Carefully add hot water to the roasting pan, about half way up the side of the spring form.
- Bake for 85-90 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door half way. Let cheesecake rest for 10 minutes and then, take it out of the oven. Take off the foil wrap off the pan.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes on the counter and then gently run a butter knife between sides of the cheesecakes and the springform to carefully separate it. (You don’t actually have to take the cheesecake out of the pan until ready to serve.)
- Cool cheesecake for an hour and then cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
Topping Options For NY Style Cheesecake
- Simple Strawberry Topping: Preheat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add diced strawberries, water, and lemon juice. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and stir in sugar. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring often. Take off heat and stir in vanilla.
- Whipped Cream: Prepare the metal bowl and whisk attachment by chilling them in the freezer for 10-15 minutes. Add cold heavy whipping cream and whisk on medium-high speed. Slowly pour in sugar while it’s whisking. Finish whisking until stiff peaks appear.
- Flavored whipped creams: chocolate whipped cream, Bailey’s whipped cream or eggnog whipped cream (or others you can create.)
- Fresh berries
- Powdered sugar
- Chocolate or fudge topping
- Caramel or dulce de leche
Recipe FAQs
Why Bake Cheesecake In Water Bath?
Baking in a water bath technique is called “bain-marie.” This technique is done to prepare delicate desserts like crème brûlée, custards, and cheesecakes. The main reason for using a water bath for these desserts is to keep direct heat away from baking dish.
Because these desserts are heavy on the cream and eggs, if not baked evenly and slowly but exposed to direct heat, it would not be baked uniformly. The outside will be overdone and inside will still be gooey. Water bath ensures even baking throughout the whole dish by keeping layer of protection between the baking dish and oven heat.
Without the water bath, cheesecake will be sagging in the middle, is likely to crack, and most importantly, it will be overcooked on the outside and under-cooked on the inside.
How Do I know When It’s Done?
When the edges are set and the center is slightly soft and jiggly, you’ll know it’s cooked! As it cools in the oven and on the counter, the center will continue to set more and become more firm. DO NOT insert a knife or toothpick into the center to check for doneness, since that may cause the dessert to crack.
What is a good springform for cheesecakes?
After testing countless of brands of springform pans, I’ve found a good one! This leakproof springform has performed the best compared to the latch springform closure ones. (Note: I’ve splurged on a similar one from William Sonoma and I will update on it when I use it a few time.)
How To Freeze Mini Cheesecakes?
- Make sure to cool the cheesecakes completely first and always freeze without toppings.
- Run a greased butter knife along the inside of the springform pan to separate the cheesecake from the pan. Take off the side of the pan. Place the bottom part of the pan with cheesecake in the freezer and freeze for about an hour.
- (You can also carefully take the cheesecake off the bottom pan onto a thick cardboard cake holder.)
- Wrap cheesecake and the bottom of the pan with plastic wrap, using 2-3 layers. Then, wrap the whole thing with aluminum foil.
- Make sure to date, label, and place the cheesecake back in the freezer for up to 2-3 months.
- To thaw frozen cheesecake, make sure to do it slowly. Place cheesecake from freezer into the refrigerator and slow-thaw overnight.
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NY Style Cheesecake Recipe
This cheesecake has a smooth, silky, thick, and creamy texture with a sweet cookie crumble crust.
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Servings: 10
Calories: 639kcal
Equipment
- Wide aluminum foil
- Measuring cups
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 5 tbsp unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Cheesecake Filling:
- 32 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 cup white granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs room temperature
- 3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 3 tbsp cornstarch
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Strawberry Topping (Optional):
- 1 lb strawberries washed, stems cut off
- 3/4 cup white granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Before Preparing the Cheesecake:
- Preheat the oven to 325° and grease a 9 inch springform pan. You will need a large roasting pan that’s bigger and longer than the springform pan. (You can even use the aluminum foil disposable ones). If you are not sure about your springform holding up in water, you can wrap the outside of the springform pan in heavy duty aluminum foil from bottom up to the sides. Try to use a wide kind of foil so you would only need to use 1 solid sheet. (I recommend wrapping the outside of the springform in foil before adding the crust and cheesecake batter.)
- Although, there is a chance that a small amount of water will leak in, this will NOT ruin the cheesecake.
Crust:
- Combine graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, vanilla extract, and brown sugar in a mixing bowl and mix very well.
- Spray inside of the springform pan with some cooking spray, making sure you get the sides too.
- Spread crumb mixture in the bottom of the prepared springform, evenly pressing it over the bottom and a little up the sides.
Cheesecake Filling:
- In a bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese on medium-high speed until smooth and fluffy. I give it a good 2-3 minutes of beating to get is soft and smooth. Scrape sides and bottom on the bowl and beat for another minute.
- Pour in sugar while beating and add eggs, one at a time. Beat it until smooth. Stop to scrape bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Add sour cream, vanilla extract, and heavy whipping cream and beat, still on medium-high speed, until all mixed very well.
- Lower the speed and beat in corn starch. Scrape sides and bottom of the bowl and mix for a few more seconds to make sure everything is evenly mixed.
- Transfer batter into the springform and spread in evenly.
Baking The Cheesecake:
- Preheat oven to 325°.
- Place a large roasting pan into the oven and place cheesecake springform inside the roasting pan. Carefully add hot water to the roasting pan, about half way up the side of the springform.
- Bake for 85-90 minutes. Turn off the oven and open the oven door half way. Let cheesecake rest for 10 minutes and take it out of the oven. Take the foil wrap off the pan.
- Let it rest for 10 minutes on the counter and then gently run a butter knife between sides of the cheesecakes and the springform to carefully separate it. (You don’t actually have to take the cheesecake out of the pan until ready to serve.)
- Cool cheesecake for an hour and then cover the pan with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours or overnight.
Storing The Cheesecake:
- Cheesecake will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Store it in the original baking pan and make sure to re-wrap the pan with plastic wrap air-tight after each time you take out a slice. *See the post for freezing instructions
Strawberry Topping (Optional):
- Strawberry topping is the most classic and beloved topping for a simple New York Cheesecake. It is also incredibly simple to prepare and only takes about 15 minutes.
- Wash strawberries, cut off stems, and chop them into small cubes.
- Preheat a sauce pot over medium heat. Add diced strawberries, water, and lemon juice. Let it cook for a couple of minutes and stir in sugar and vanilla. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring often.
Video
Notes
Lyuba’s Tips:
- Warm Ingredients – remember to pull the cream cheese and eggs out of the refrigerator 30-45 minutes before starting to bake to let them warm up. Prepare the ingredients you need before starting to bake.
- Water Bath: DO use the water bath technique, it does strongly affect the texture of the cheesecake.
- How To Tell If Cheesecake If Done: You can tell the cheesecake is baked when the edges are set and the center is slightly soft and jiggly. As it cools in the oven and on the counter, the center will continue to set more and become more firm. DO NOT insert a knife or toothpick into the center since that may cause the dessert to crack.
- Cooling: DO cool the cheesecake is three steps: 10 minutes in the turned off oven, on the counter, and chill in the refrigerator.
- Gluten Free Notes: The only part of this cheesecake that contains gluten is the graham cracker crust. Use gluten free graham crackers and pulse them into crumbs to create a gluten free crust. Remaining ingredients should already be gluten free but double check the labels and nutritional information.
- Storing: I recommend simply storing it in the same pan it was baked in, covered tightly with food wrap or aluminum foil you prefer to use. Remember to cover it tightly after every single time you take out a slice! Make sure to store the cheesecake in the refrigerator and covered air-tight. Properly stored, cheesecake should last up to 5 days.
Nutrition
Calories: 639kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 47g | Saturated Fat: 27g | Cholesterol: 178mg | Sodium: 407mg | Potassium: 203mg | Sugar: 36g | Vitamin A: 1775IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 1.1mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @willcookforsmiles or tag #willcookforsmiles!
Originally published on Will Cook For Smiles in March 2019.
All images and text ©Lyubov Brooke for ©Will Cook For Smiles. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If using my posts in collections and features, please link back to this post for the recipe.
Disclaimer: Nutrition information shown is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate as most ingredients and brands have variations.
Hi can this be made dairy free and gluten free?
Hi Rose,
This cheesecake can easily be made gluten-free and I tell you above in the recipe FAQs how to do it. As for making it vegan, I have never made a vegan cheesecake but they do have vegan cream cheese, I would go with a well-known brand like Philadaliah or Oatly, Country Crock and Silk both make vegan whipped cream, and you could use your favorite vegan sour cream so you could try it. If the cream cheese seems thinner than regular cream cheese you may have to add a little extra cornstarch to thicken it.
Can this be made in a 9×13 pan?
Would all the ingredients still be the same?
You can still do it the same way but they will be cheesecake bars, you make have to increase the crust by about a recipe and a half. You will still need to do a water bath and it will take about half the time to cook so look after 30 minutes and every 5 minutes after that till it’s finished.
Will these freeze well?
Hi Hanna,
Yes, this simple cheesecake does actually freeze well. There are freezing instructions right in the post! Let me know if you have any questions!
I made this for my family and they loved it! My mom said that the crust could be better and I agreed with her. It was really good and I’ll definitely make it again!
I made this with your strawberry sauce and it was absolutely divine! All our guests raved about how delicious it tasted! Thanks for sharing the recipe!!
I’m so glad you like it, Juli! Thank you 🙂
What size springform pan ?
Oh gosh, Thank you, Kelly!
9 inch springoform! I will adjust the recipe.
It was fabulous!
Thank you!!