The Broken Scale · Good food. Plenty of personality.
Classic New York-Style Cheesecake
A graham cracker base, creamy vanilla filling, and a hint of lemon make a classic cheesecake for sharing. Give it a long chill before slicing.
- Prep
- 30 minutes
- Cook
- 1 hour 55 minutes
- Cooling and chilling
- 8 hours 45 minutes
- Total
- 11 hours 10 minutes
- Serves
- 10 slices
Make It the Day Before
The water bath helps the filling cook gently, and a full overnight chill makes serving easier. Mix the eggs in on low speed and stop as soon as the batter is uniform.
Adapted from Jennifer Segal at Once Upon a Chef.
The full recipe
Classic New York-Style Cheesecake
A dense, creamy vanilla cheesecake with a graham cracker base and a little lemon. Bake gently in a water bath, then chill overnight for clean slices.
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
- 1 ½ cups Graham cracker crumbs measure the crumbs; cracker sizes vary
5 tbsp Butter unsalted; melted- 2 tbsp Sugar
- ⅛ tsp Salt
FOR THE FILLING
- 32 oz Cream cheese 4, 8-oz blocks; at room temperature
- 2 cups Sugar
- 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour all-purpose
- 4 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1 tsp Lemon zest from one lemon
- 2 tsp Lemon juice fresh; from one lemon
- ¼ tsp Salt
- 6 large eggs
- ½ cup Sour cream
- Berry sauce for serving optional
Equipment
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the lower-middle position. Lightly grease a 9-inch springform pan at least 3 inches deep. Wrap the outside base and sides in two wide sheets of heavy-duty foil, keeping any seams above the water line.
- Mix the graham crumbs, melted butter, crust sugar, and crust salt until evenly damp. Press firmly into the pan base and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside and lower the oven to 325°F. Heat water for the water bath.
- Beat the softened cream cheese, filling sugar, and flour until smooth, scraping the bowl. Mix in the vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice, and filling salt on low speed. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing only until incorporated, then blend in the sour cream. Avoid whipping extra air into the batter.
- Pour the filling over the crust. Put the wrapped pan in a roasting pan and set on the oven rack. Carefully add boiling water to the roasting pan until it reaches about 1 inch up the outside of the springform pan.
- Bake at 325°F for 90 to 105 minutes, until the edges are set and the center gives a small, gentle wobble when nudged; it should not look liquid. Tent loosely with foil if the top browns too much before the filling sets.
- Carefully move the roasting pan to a heatproof rack and let the cheesecake cool in the water bath for about 45 minutes. Lift out the springform pan, discard the foil, and dry the outside. Loosen the cake edge with a thin knife if it sticks. Cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours, preferably overnight.
- Remove the springform rim once the cake is fully chilled. Slice with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts. Serve plain or with the optional berry sauce.
Notes
Use full-fat block cream cheese softened enough to mix smoothly. Measure graham cracker crumbs by volume rather than counting crackers. The total time includes 45 minutes of cooling and at least 8 hours in the refrigerator.
Make up to 2 days ahead and keep covered in the refrigerator. To freeze, wrap the cold cake tightly and freeze for up to 3 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Adapted from Jennifer Segal at Once Upon a Chef, with rewritten directions and a specified pan size.
