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.
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.
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
- 12×3″ 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!
If you love New York Style Homemade Cheesecake you’ll love these other cheesecake recipes!
Chocolate Cheesecake | Salted Caramel Cheesecake | Pistachio Cheesecake
Lemon Meringue Cheesecake | Maple Bacon Cheesecake | Instant Pot Cheesecake
Connect with Ashlee Marie Online!
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.
Dense and Creamy Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 1/4 C Vanilla wafer crumbs or graham cracker crumbs
- 1 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 6 Tbsp butter melted
Cake
- 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
Topping (optional)
- 1 1/2 C full fat sour cream
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 375 – prepare your pan by spraying the outside with a non stick baking spray and place a parchment circle in the bottom
- mix all the crust ingredients and toss lightly with fork until well blended.
- Press firmly into the bottom of a 10 inch spring form pan.
- Bake on the bottom rack until crisp and golden, abut 15 min.
- Let cool.
- Reduce oven to 300 and place baking dish full of hot water on the bottom rack to create moisture (leave this in while baking).
Cake
- Beat cheese sugar and vanilla with electric mixer on med until light and fluffy, about 30-60 sec.
- Scrape the bowl, beat 45 sec more – make sure it’s smooth with no chunks.
- Lightly whisk the eggs and yolks together and add to cream cheese mixture.
- Mix on low speed until they are incorporated and the batter is velvety, about 30 sec, scrape the bowl and mix 10 sec more – do NOT overbeat.
- Pour the filling over crust, bake on the center rack until golden, about 1 1/4 hours +.
- When you open the rack and shift the pan the center will jiggle a little, but not too much. This is the trick to learn, you might slightly undercook (not bad) or slightly overcook (okay) the first time as you get used to this style.
- Just the center 4-5 inches will jiggle and not like soup, like a loose jello jigglers.
- If you want the topping add it now.
- Turn the oven off and crack open the door and let the cake cool then refrigerate overnight, cheesecake tastes better after a day or two in the fridge.
Topping (optional)
- Mix all the ingredients
- Pour over the warm cake and lightly spread the topping
- Return to oven for 5 min cool completely and refrigerate.
Scott S.
Ashlee:
Very good presentation of the tip and preparation. I will be several as gifts for the holidays at work. I have a 9″ pan and I saw that you suggested making the recipe at 75%. Would I also need to adjust the temperature down and/or the baking time down? Since I am making several, I am thinking I can make the full batch but weigh my empty mixing bowl and then weighing it full and multiply the difference by .25, add back the bowl weight and then pour the mixture into my springform pan until I am left with the weight of 25% of the mixture plus the bowl.
Kind regards,
Scott
Ashlee Marie
use the slider and bring it down to 2 or 2 1/2 lbs of cream cheese for an easy change. keep the temp the same, and test the cheesecake a little early (but the cheesecake will still be thick so it will still take awhile. I’d consider 2/3rds too. You can make a double batch and make three cheesecakes easily!
Scott
Well, I made them for Christmas presents at work so I improvised. I put the whole amount into the 9” pan, baked it at 290 for 1 1/2 hours. This all works well if you are baking one at a time and you have time to shut the oven off and crack it open a little, let the cheesecake cool in the oven slowly before removing it. If the cheesecake cools too quickly, it cracks. That being said they were delicious and loved by all 8 recipients. I had a Christmas tree stencil made and I dusted the pattern on top with a dark chocolate powder. They looked amazing too!
Leigh
I love making this cheesecake! The reciepe is easy to follow and has simple ingredients. I use less sugar in the cheesecake and add a little extra butter to my crust, otherwise it is perfect! This is the 3rd year in a row I have made it for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. This year I was going to try something different, but everyone requested this cheesecake. I will be making theee this year, one classic, one to top, and one to give away. Also, read and implement all the tips, they really help to achieve a crack-free, moist, delectable cheesecake!
Ashlee Marie
This is the best comment ever! thank you so much!!!
Christine P
This is my go to cheesecake recipe…per my family I’m not allowed to stray!!! Amazing!
Ashlee Marie
This comment made my day!!!!
Lisa London
I burned the top! My oven always takes longer to cook everything, so I didn’t even check on the cheesecake during the 1- 1/4 hour that it was cooking and the top is very dark brown. I figured I’d have to cook it even longer because that’s how everything is. I’m so bummed as this was supposed to be my contribution to the Christmas dinner tomorrow. I’m afraid of what the inside is going to be like. Is there any way to salvage it?
Ashlee Marie
oh no!!!! the sour cream topping will totally cover the color. As for being over baked – was there still a jiggle to the cheesecake? that’s all that matters, if there is still a good jiggle you should be okay. And I recommend getting an oven thermometer. It makes a HUGE difference.
Kendra
My birthday is coming up and I’m wanting to make cheesecake for the party. I’m a bit confused by the tools and recipe, though. You list a 9″ springform pan and 9″ parchment circles in the needed items, but use a 10″ springform pan in the recipe and I didn’t see parchment circles mentioned at all?
Ashlee Marie
Your right, it should be 10 inch pan and 10 inch circles – my daughter was helping me edit and I totally missed that! I recommend using a parchment circle in the bottom of the pan.
Molly H
Ashley Marie! This is such a rich, creamy and decadent cheesecake! I made this today. I have lots of cream cheese left over from the holidays that I need to transform into something else, and I’m so grateful for your recipe and video 🙂 I wished we could post pictures LOL. Mine took a lot longer to cook, almost 2 hrs; and even then, when I sliced into it, I think I should have left it in just a bit longer – the center was not as firm as the outer area. Weird how everyone’s oven is different. But the end result – I had the height, the creaminess, the richness, and adding my cherry topping took it to another level. I can’t wait to make different flavored cheesecakes now – crack free! Thanks again for sharing your time and recipes with us!
Ashlee Marie
Personally I want the center of my cheesecake to be softer, I never even eat the outer 1/2 inch of the cheesecake cause I consider it overbaked! So it’s not just the oven it’s what texture you like. And let me know if you try any of my other flavors!!!
Ila P Faith
What a treasure! I am a bona fide New Yorker and home baker. Simply put, I love New York Style cheesecake! I have made many and I must say this is the biggest densest one I have ever seen. I particularly enjoy simple clean easily accessible ingredients. Your manner of speaking and demonstrating is a huge plus. Easy tips like using ziplock bags make cleanup a breeze. Planning a big NY Style get together for family and friends and this will be the star of my dessert table. I’m all in. Many thanks. I have a Kitchen aid mixer but the one you used is going in my shopping cart shortly. Again, Many thanks
Ashlee Marie
I can’t wait to hear how it goes for you!!! I adore this cheesecake so much and love when others do too!
Lyn
Thanks for all the awesome tips
Ashlee Marie
you are so welcome!!!
Shawna
February 2021: I baked this cake recipe. All 3 lbs of cream cheese in a 9” springform pan. Made a few adjustments to the baking length. Add’tl 5 min with the sour cream top on. Cooled completely in the oven. Little cracks, but I’m guessing it’s due to the sheer size. It browned slightly. We cut into it tonight. Fingers crossed. Thank you for your video. It was pleasant to watch.
Ashlee Marie
Thank you! I am glad it worked for you and hope it tastes as delicious as it sounds!