This is the best and creamiest New York–style cheesecake recipe I’ve found, and everyone who tastes it, agrees! I bet you’ll feel the same way, too!
You may consider a “no-bake” cheesecake a cheesecake, but I do not.
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There’s nothing pleasing to me about the taste or texture of a gelatinous “no-bake cheesecake.” There is also the fact that cakes are baked, so is it truly a cake if it’s not baked? Now, if you have eaten a New York-style cheesecake, you’ll be on board with me, because everything about the taste and texture of this dessert-of-the-gods is simply heavenly!
In my experience, after having cheesecake in New York, this recipe hits the mark. It’s rich, thick, creamy and utterly delicious! Edited to add: it was one of my top 10 recipes in 2014!
Travel Tip: If you’re going to New York, and are looking for a place to stay that’s not in Mid-Town which is bustling with tourists, try the voco Franklin Hotel on the Upper East Side.
As you know, I bake a lot, and I have made many different cheesecakes; in fact I have two other cheesecake recipes on my site. One which is perfect for this time of year, pumpkin cheesecake and chocolate mousse topped with chocolate ganache. The other is lovely for a summer treat, limoncello cheesecake. However, when it comes to a plain, New York-Style cheesecake, this is the only recipe I use because it is perfection.
It can stand on it’s own, but I love to serve it with some sort of fruit topping, like Fabbri Italian cherries, a little raspberry sauce or even a spot of my favorite jam.
Note: there are TWO temperature changes with the oven setting, so please be sure not to miss them!
The Richest and Creamiest New York-Style Cheesecake I’ve Ever Made
adapted from Good Housekeeping Illustrated Book of Desserts Serves 16
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Preheat oven to 350°F ( 180°C)
Crust/Base
- 1 cup (5 oz) crushed cookies, such as Graham crackers, speculoos cookies or Digestives
- 3 Tbsp melted butter
Make the base by mixing the crushed cookies and butter and press into the bottom of an 10″ springform pan.
Place in preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the edges are just beginning to color. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
IMPORTANT: -> -> Change oven temperature to 475°F (245°C) <- <-
New York-Style Cheesecake Batter
- cream cheese
- sugar
- eggs
- cream
- flour
- egg yolks
- vanilla powder or vanilla extract
- organic Meyer lemon rind
For the Topping
Fabbri Italian cherries or any fruit topping, jam, sauce, etc.
In the bowl of a large stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining ingredients: eggs, cream, flour, yolks, vanilla and rind. Beat well for about 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Pour the cheesecake batter into the the springform pan with the cooled base and bake for 12 minutes (see oven temp change above), then lower oven temperature to 300°F (150°C) and continue to bake for another 35 minutes.
At the end of this cooking time, turn off the oven, but allow the New York-style cheesecake to remain in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack. When completely cool, cover and refrigerate overnight or a minimum of 6 hours.
To Serve to the New York-Style Cheesecake ~
Remove the cheesecake from the fridge and run a knife along the side of the tin, then remove the the springform side. Place onto a serving plate and top with your choice of fruit or fruit sauce, chocolate sauce, or whatever you choose.
Alternatively, cut slices of the New York-style cheesecake, and place on individual serving plates then place the topping on each piece (this is what I usually do).
I couldn’t decide if I wanted cherries or raspberry sauce on my creamy slice, so I had both! Mmmm…
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The Creamiest New York-Style Cheesecake I've Ever Made
A creamy, baked cheesecake that is an absolute delight.
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup (5 oz) crushed cookies, such as Graham crackers, or Digestives
- 3 tbsp melted butter
Filling
- 5 (8oz) packages cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 cups (10 oz) sugar
- 5 large eggs
- 2 large egg yolks
- 1/2 cup cream
- 3 Tbsp flour
- 1/2 tsp Heilala vanilla powder or 1 tsp vanilla extract
- grated rind of one lemon, preferably an organic Meyer lemon
To serve
- Fabbri Italian cherries or any fruit topping, jam, sauce, etc
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F ( 180°C)
- Make the base by mixing the crushed cookies and butter and press into the bottom of an 10″ springform pan.
- Place in preheated oven for 5 to 7 minutes until the edges are just beginning to color. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
IMPORTANT -> -> Change oven temperature to 475°F (245°C) <- <-
- In the bowl of a large stand mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the sugar. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula, then add the remaining ingredients: eggs, cream, flour, yolks, vanilla and rind. Beat well for about 5 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Pour cheesecake batter into the the springform pan with the cooled base and bake for 12 minutes (see oven temp change above), then lower oven temperature to 300°F (150°C) and continue to bake for another 35 minutes.
- At the end of this cooking time, turn off the oven, but allow the cheesecake to remain in the oven for another 30 minutes. Remove cheesecake from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack.
- When completely cool, cover and refrigerate overnight or a minimum of 6 hours.
- To Serve: Remove the New York-style cheesecake from the fridge and run a knife along the side of the tin, then remove the the springform side. Place onto a serving plate and top with your choice of fruit, jelly or whatever you choose. Alternatively, cut slices and place on individual serving plates then place the topping on each piece (this is what I usually do).
Notes
Top with your choice of fruit, fruit filling, cream, syrups or chocolate sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 128Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 109mgSodium: 107mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 1gSugar: 4gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information is only estimated.
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Hey there. Just wondering how the baking time and temp might change if I baked this in a water bath?
Hi Amanda, I’ve never baked it in a water bath, so I’d hate to give advice except to say that you might google a recipe with the same amount of eggs/cheese that uses a water bath.
I made this cheesecake for my son’s birthday. It turned out very well. The texture was nice and the flavor was perfect.
A big hit…
However as I sliced through for serving, mine appeared crumbly and stuck to the knife like crazy. Definitely not a clean cut slice.
Any advise on how to avoid the crumbly slicing?
Hi Tina, I’m so glad it turned out well. Absolutely, there are a couple of ways that I would suggest. One is dipping your knife in hot water and then wiping it dry in between each cut. You could also put pieces of waxed or parchment paper around the knife, cut into the cheesecake and pull out the knife, leaving the paper in the cake. (You see this at bakeries that serve single slices of cheesecakes and cakes.) I do the former, since I’m usually cutting and serving right away. Hope this helps! CC
THIS WILL BE MY FIRST CHEESECAKE EVER…I WILL BE BUYING A SPRINGFORM PAN TOMORROW. SINCE I CAN’T GET FRESH STRAWBERRIES, ANY IDEAS ON HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY PUREE?
Hi Sherry, absolutely! When I can’t get fresh fruit, I buy a good quality organic brand of the fruit I want (in your case, strawberries), then put them in a pot with some sugar and lemon juice and simmer for about 10 minutes. You can keep it chunky or blend to make a smooth puree. Enjoy!
Hi Christina. I followed all your steps in baking my first ever cheesecake at home. It tured out to be a big hit. My family loved it. Hope I can show you my cheesecake. Anywy, your tips are helpful and will definitely make another one this weekemd. Thnks
LOVE to hear this, Macy! Thanks so much for letting me know and please do email me a photo christina (at) christinascucina.com or share it on my Facebook page. Thanks again and glad everyone enjoyed it!
Hi Christina! What size cheesecake pan does this cake call for? Also, I’m trying to achieve a New York style cheesecake with that actual cakey type of texture. Do you recommend adding flour to this recipe to achieve that? If so, how much would you suggest? Thanks so much!
Looking forward to following your posts. Anyone that knows about meyer lemons must know something about cooking! Thank you! -Ivy
Hi Ivy, it’s a 10″ pan (listed in the directions below the crust ingredients.)
Regarding adding the flour, I honestly don’t want to give advice on that as I’ve never added flour to a cheesecake and have no idea what amount would be needed to achieve the texture you want, and if it would even work. I’m sorry! I’d suggest making it according to the directions once, then if you want to try adding flour (if you’re not happy with the texture) make a half batch with a small amount of flour to test it out.
Thanks for your lovely comments! :) CC
Hello Christina,
I like your recipe that I don’t need to use water bath. Though if I want to reduce the ingredient amount, how should I go about it? Could I reduce all the recipe ingredients by half (ie. 2.5 package of cream cheese)?
Would it be also possible to reduce the cream cheese amount from 5 pkg to 3 pkg, and what would the other ingredients amount would be? Thanks!
Hi Milka, I would divide every ingredient exactly in half to keep the proportions consistent. Otherwise, you may get a bad end result. Let me know how it turns out! CC
Christina, this recipe is divine and so easy to follow. Sometimes the top cracks but it tastes delicious and creamy.
Thanks so much for letting me know, Juliet! Try leaving it in the oven for 45 minutes instead of 30 and see if it still cracks. Usually that happens when it cools too quickly. Might not happen in warmer weather. So happy you like it! :) CC
I loved this recipe ! the cake was dense and creamy, but be warned it is definitely indulgent. The cream cheese and cream make it super rich in true New York style cheesecake fashion. I did find it had quite a bit more lemon then I would have liked, next time I make it I’ll probably only use about 1/2 the rind the recipe calls for. My cheesecake also had a large crack in the middle, I don’t have a convection oven so I would definitely recommend baking this in a water bath as opposed to baking it in the oven alone.
Hi Carmaleta, glad you liked the cheesecake! Since all ovens vary, I think you could bake yours for less time without the water, and should still avoid cracks. Sounds like it was a bit over baked, but yes, the water bath is also an option. Thanks for letting me know how it turned out! :) CC
Hi Christine I came across your recipe while searching for a great chhesecake am not a cheesecake lover and it’s never interest me to bake one untill my sister begged me to bake one as she loves them she’s fed up with supermarket cheesecake so I thought il give it a go. Since I don’t know what to expect when I made it yesterday was the batter suppose to be runny if not what did I do wrong I beat the cheese then the sugar and then rest of the ingredients but soon as I added the 5 eggs the batter became runny so I beat it for 5 min like you said thinking it would thicken it never did anyway I baked it and cooked fine but unfortunately ended up leaving my husband alone in the kitchen so he took a bite out of it lol the upside he said it was delicious so thank you even if I did think it went wrong
Haha! So the moral to the story is never leave your husband alone with a freshly baked cheesecake, Lila! :) Actually, it sounds like you did nothing wrong at all! The batter for cheesecake is always very runny, and if it baked fine, then that’s all that counts, right? Good job! Thanks for telling me your story…love it! CC
Lol that is such a relieve I will definitely make it again a quick question Christina when u said to use 5 packages cream cheese did you mean individuals packs weighing 8oz or just 8oz of cheese because 1 package in the uk is 150 grams or 250 grams I can’t remember.
Hi Lubna, the recipe is for 5 packages of cream cheese, each weighing 8 ounces (225g) so a total of 40 ounces (in grams, that is approximately a kg of cream cheese). Hope this helps and glad to hear you’ll make it again! :) Have a lovely weekend! CC
Thank you for the clarification no wander my mixture went runny I only added 8oz of creamcheese that’s not even half of wat I should’ve used lol I clearly didn’t read the ingredients properly boy I can be dence sometimes nevermind everyone still enjoyed it thhanx again
Oops! Well, it will be much better next time, then! Good luck! ;)