Easy Baked Cheesecake Recipe

What makes this recipe work.

• Bake ahead: as with most cheesecake recipes, it is recommended that it’s baked a few days before eating. That means that you can serve a last-minute fabulous cheesecake for dessert with minimal fuss. It lasts for 4-5 days in the fridge, well covered, without the topping.
• Topping: can be made ahead and kept refrigerated for a week or frozen for a month or more.
• Freezing: it can be frozen for up to a month. Wrap it well in plastic and then in aluminum foil and you have cheesecake any time you want. Defrost it at room t°, unwrapped.
• Dessert for a crowd: cheesecake is such a favorite for most people, so bake this recipe in a rectangular pan (the cake will not be as tall), and then you can cut it in smaller squares and feed many more guests. If you do two cheesecakes you can serve dessert to 24 persons or something. It depends on the size of the servings.

Ingredients in this recipe.

I am very particular about not adding starches (flour, cornstarch, etc) to my cheesecake fillings. I know that the oven and refrigerator will accomplish what I want: the creamiest cheesecake that cuts perfectly.

So the ingredients (image above) are few and mostly kitchen staples:

• Cream cheese: full fat is always the best because it adds creaminess. I use the regular supermarket variety, not the whipped or anything like that.
• Sour cream: it adds a needed tanginess to balance the richness of the cream cheese.
• Eggs: regular or large will work. I have made this cheesecake a million times and the egg size was never an issue as long as they are not very small or very large.
• Sugar: white sugar works best, but you can use brown, fine muscovado or coconut sugar. Beware that the last two don’t sweeten as much as regular sugar does.
• Vanilla: I use vanilla paste whenever I can. It is stronger in my opinion than liquid vanilla and has those tiny specks from the seeds. I find the flavor is deeper. As this is a traditional cheesecake filling I don’t use any other flavorings.

About the berry topping.

Ah, the popular berry topping for cheesecake.

I love raspberry as much as the next person. But a mixed berry topping is at the top of my list (images above). It’s incredibly easy to make and I enhance it with lemon juice and some premium raspberry or blackberry jam to give it more structure.

Steps for making the topping:

1. Put fresh or frozen berries in a saucepan.
2. Add brown sugar and lemon juice or water (image above, left). Stir to combine.
3. Cook at low heat until it begins to bubble and the sugar dissolves.
4. Let reduce for a few minutes, take out from the stove and add the jam (image above, right).
5. Let cool and top the cold cheesecake.

Let’s talk about the chocolate cookie crust:

This is a regular cookie crust made with chocolate wafers (image above). I love the pairing of chocolate, cheesecake filling, and berries.

But you can use the usual graham cracker cookie crust, vanilla wafers crust I use for lime pies, or even the brown butter cookie crust, they all work really well.

I use the food processor for the whole process. I grind the cookies first and add the melted butter right there and pulse until I have a mixture with the consistency of wet sand.

All cookie crusts are better with plain wafers, not filled ones. In my opinion of course. There’s always the Oreo cheesecake to defy all principles, haha.

Tips & tricks for this recipe:

• Cookies: use regular wafers, plain chocolate cookies. Or alternatively, use a graham cracker crust. The cheesecake will be amazing too.
• Ingredients: all filling ingredients must be at room t°. It’s the way you ensure they all mix well without overbeating the batter. This is so important and part of how you achieve a creamy consistency.
• Creaminess: besides the ingredients, make sure you bake it in a medium/low oven, turn it off while the cheesecake still jiggles a lot, and leave it at least 24 hours in the fridge. I suggest refrigerating it for 2 days. I find the texture is superior.
• Freezing: cheesecakes can be frozen and, in my opinion, many times they are creamier and softer after a stay in the freezer. There’s probably a chemical explanation.
• Topping: Keep in mind the ratio of filling and berry sauce. This is not a very tall cake as it’s baked in a rectangular pan, so too much topping will not let the filling shine.