Dense and Creamy Cheesecake Recipe

Name: Dense and Creamy Cheesecake Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 120 min
Yield: 18 servings
Ingredients: 1 1/4 C Vanilla wafer crumbs or graham cracker crumbs; 1 Tbsp granulated sugar; 6 Tbsp butter (melted); 3 lbs full fat cream cheese (softened); 1 ½ C granulated sugar; 2 tsp vanilla; 3 lrg eggs (room temp); 2 lrg egg yolks (room temp); 1 1/2 C full fat sour cream; 2 Tbsp granulated sugar; 2 tsp vanilla

By Ashlee Marie 164 Comments

This is the perfect New York style cheesecake recipe – it’s creamy, decadent and delicious. I include a video tutorial and a ton of tips and tricks for getting the perfect homemade cheesecake with no cracks.

tips and tricks for the perfect cheesecake

How I created this New York Style Cheesecake Recipe

Do you watch “Friends”? Anyone? Remember the episode “The one with all the cheesecakes”? A cheesecake was delivered by accident to Rachel’s apartment, and she and Chandler eat the whole thing.

They order a replacement, it gets delivered to them again and they eat, reorder, eat, reorder… They argue over the final cheesecake and decide to split it.

Long story short during the argument the entire cheesecake ends up on the floor in the hall…. And the episode ends with them eating the cheesecake off the ground – YUP it’s THAT good.

Well THIS is that cheesecake. Good enough to risk eating off the floor, I promise. It’s rich and creamy and spectacular!

There are so many styles of cheesecakes, some have cream, some have sour cream, some use different cheese’s like ricotta, etc… But this is the classic.

It cooks low and slow, doesn’t get overly brown, and has a great texture all the way through. It’s not light or airy, it’s decadent, rich and creamy perfection.

The sour cream topping is optional, some would say it doesn’t belong on this cheesecake, that it’s more for NY style, but I love that BIT of tang to go along with this cheesecake, but it’s amazing without it too.

Just take me to the Easy Cheesecake Recipe already!

If you’d rather skip my tips and tricks for homemade cheesecake, along with links to other easy cheesecake recipes and get straight to this delicious New York style cheesecake – simply scroll to the bottom of the page where you can find the printable recipe card.

the perfect cheesecake recipe with tips and tricks

Tips and Tricks for Creating your own Unique Cheesecake Recipe

Change the crust – you can turn any cookie into a crumb crust – graham crackers, nilla wafers, oreos, etc…
Change the crust – you can use a different desserts as the base – cake, brownie, cookie, macaroon, etc…
Change up the filling – Add some kind of flavoring – maple extract, lemon zest and juice, peanut butter, caramel sauce, melted chocolate, etc…
Add mix ins – Bacon, chocolate chips, peanut butter cups, oreo cookies, lemon curd, marshmallows, nuts, etc…
Add toppings – caramel bacon pecan topping, lemon curd, meringue, hot fudge, sour cream topping, mousse, whipped cream, caramel sauce, etc…

Should you add flour to your cheesecake?

Adding flour to your cheesecake gives it a more cake like texture – I prefer a smooth dense cheesecake. So personally don’t add it.

Should you add sour cream to your cheesecake?

Adding sour cream to your cheesecake is a way to help fight it being dry – I prefer to simply not over bake my cheesecake to keep it smooth and creamy vs adding extra ingredients.

How to adjust this Cheesecake for the instant pot

Currently the cheesecake is too big to fit in a pressure cooker. Go to the “servings size” in the recipe card and adjust it until the cream cheese measurement is at either 1.5 or 2 lbs depending on what thickness you want your cheesecake and what size pan your switching to.

Which means of course to change the springform pan size – I use an 8 inch springform pan for my 8 quart pressure cooker, but I recommend a 7 inch for the 6 quart.

For instant pot cheesecake tips and tricks and cooking times go to my instant pot cheesecake post! Or you can turn them into Instant pot cheesecake bites. (I have peanut butter bites, oreo bites and salted caramel bites already shared)

What is a classic cheesecake crust?

I’ve always thought a graham cracker crust was classic. I like to switch it up with all kinds of biscuits or cookies. Nilla wafers are a favorite of mine. but I’ve used oreos, ginger snaps, lemon cookies, shortbread and more.

I recently got a comment that I was wrong to use graham crackers and that a classic crust is a thin layer of sponge cake? I had new clue what they were talking about.

Then I found out that Juniors cheesecake in NYC and Brooklyn do their cheesecake with a sponge cake crust and so when I was in NY I went to give it a try.

The cheesecake itself is amazing, but the sponge cake crust was soggy and it didn’t hold the cheesecake at all. Super weak as a crust so I wasn’t a fan. Plus I missed the crunch you get from a cookie/cracker crust.

Tips and Tricks for the Perfect Cheesecake with no cracking

– Room temperate ingredients are key for a smooth texture.

– Beat the cream cheese and sugar as much as you want, make it smooth, but once you add the eggs, do NOT overbeat, just mix on low until they are barely incorporated, beating after you add the eggs is what often leads to cracking.

– Make sure your oven is the correct temperature (I love my oven thermometer)

– I used to hate water baths – the foil always leaks and I don’t like mushy crusts – but waterbaths keep cheesecakes more evenly baked and nice and flat – so now I recommend a silicone water bath pan!!!

– TRY not to open the oven door, like ever, if you can help it.

– That said if you run out of water in the pan on the bottom of the oven or in the water bath and you need to add more boil it first so it’s hot, then open the oven and pour it into the pan carefully and close the door – as quick as you can.

– Cook your cheesecake until it’s still a bit jiggly in the center, like a loose jello jiggler, but not liquid, in the center 2-3 inches. It will keep cooking afterwards a bit, and IMO better to be slightly under cooked than overcooked.

– Turn off the oven and crack open the oven door to let it cool slowly, this will help it finish cooking but not cool TOO fast and crack

– Do NOT eat it right away, cheesecake sets and gets BETTER with time in the fridge, at LEAST 8 hours, I prefer a full day or two for better flavor

To make this cheesecake perfect you’ll need

Food processor (to make the crust easier)
1o" springform pan
10" parchment cake circles
Oven thermometer (to make sure your baking at the right temp)
Silicone water bath pan
12x3" cake pan (for the water bath)
Stand mixer or hand mixer

New York Style Easy Cheesecake Recipe

If you love these homemade cheesecakes as much as I do, I’d love a 5 star review. Be sure to share on social media and tag me if you make it @ashleemariecakes! If you want to stay updated on new recipes sign up for my newsletter and join my Facebook Group!

perfect dense and creamy cheesecake recipe

If you love New York Style Homemade Cheesecake you’ll love these other cheesecake recipes!

this salted caramel cheesecake is divine, creamy, smooth and tastes amazing with a macadamia nut crust

Chocolate Cheesecake | Salted Caramel Cheesecake | Pistachio Cheesecake

Lemon Meringue Cheesecake | Maple Bacon Cheesecake | Instant Pot Cheesecake

Connect with Ashlee Marie!

To watch me make this Homemade Cheesecake play the video in the recipe card. You can find all my cooking show style recipe videos on YouTube, or my short recipe videos on Facebook Watch, or my Facebook Page, or right here on our website with their corresponding recipes.