The Best Cheesecake Recipe Ever

Name: The Best Cheesecake Recipe Ever
Prep time: 750 min
Cook time: 75 min
Total time: 840 min
Yield: 12
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 190 g Graham Cracker (190g Graham Crackers (12 full graham cracker sheets)*); 3 tbsp Granulated Sugar (3 tbsp granulated sugar (35g) - see notes if you want to skip the sugar* + 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (325g)); 5 tbsp Unsalted Butter (5 tbsp melted unsalted butter (70g)); 32 oz Cream Cheese (32 oz full-fat cream cheese (4 8oz blocks or 910g), room temperature*); ½ tsp Table Salt (1/2 tsp salt); 1 tsp Vanilla Bean Paste (1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract, but paste is superior)); 4 pieces Egg (4 large eggs, room temperature); ½ cup Heavy Cream (1/2 cup full-fat heavy cream (120g), room temperature + Extra heavy cream or berries for decoration (optional)) — optional; 1 cup Sour Cream (1 cup full-fat sour cream (240g), room temperature*); 2 tbsp Lemon Juice (2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice* — up to 3)

The Best Cheesecake Recipe Ever - Cheesecakes (American)

840 minAmerican

Servings12

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Vegetarian
Pescatarian

Ingredients

For 12 servings

Graham Cracker190 g · 190g Graham Crackers (12 full graham cracker sheets)*
Granulated Sugar3 tbsp · 3 tbsp granulated sugar (35g) - see notes if you want to skip the sugar* + 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (325g)
Unsalted Butter5 tbsp · 5 tbsp melted unsalted butter (70g)
Cream Cheese32 oz · 32 oz full-fat cream cheese (4 8oz blocks or 910g), room temperature*
Table Salt½ tsp · 1/2 tsp salt
Vanilla Bean Paste1 tsp · 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract, but paste is superior)
Egg4 pieces · 4 large eggs, room temperature
Heavy Cream½ cup · 1/2 cup full-fat heavy cream (120g), room temperature + Extra heavy cream or berries for decoration (optional) · optional
Sour Cream1 cup · 1 cup full-fat sour cream (240g), room temperature*
Lemon Juice2 tbsp · 2-3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice* — up to 3

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Steps

1Prep:
2Bring all ingredients to room temperature
3Preheat oven to 325F (conventional / no fan)
4Prepare a 9" springform pan. Lightly brush softened butter inside the pan and line it with parchment paper (I recommend a parchment circle on the base, and a separate strip of parchment along the sides of the pan). Wrap the pan tightly with 2-3 large sheets of aluminum foil on the outside (you can do this after the crust has baked, too)
5Crust:
6Grind the Graham crackers and sugar in a food processor until they form a fine crumb. Add the melted butter and pulse until combined
7Transfer the crust ingredients to the prepared pan. Pack very tightly using the back of a measuring cup. You can push a little up the edges, or leave it all on the bottom for a slightly thicker crust
8Bake the crust in the pre-heated oven for ~7-8 min, then remove from the oven
9Cheesecake:
10First, whisk the cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla for ~3-5 min until well combined and creamy. Keep scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl and the paddle / whisk to ensure everything combines evenly. I recommend using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer
11Break the eggs in a separate bowl and whisk lightly. Don’t overbeat because if the eggs get airy they will give a spongy texture to the cheesecake. Add them to the batter slowly and mix at a low speed until JUST combined
12Add the cream, sour cream, and lemon juice and mix at low speed until just combined. Keep scraping the bowl and whisk / paddle
13Pour the batter into the baked crust. Gently tap the cheesecake pan on the counter a few times to release any air bubbles; this will help prevent cracking
14Place a large tray in the oven and fill it with 1-2 inches of boiling water. Place the cheesecake pan in the water and bake for about ~75-80 min. Don’t open the oven until at least 70 minutes. When done, the cheesecake should be set at the edges but be very jiggly in the middle (like jello!)
15Cool the cheesecake for 2-3 hours at room temp. After this, place it in the fridge and chill overnight, uncovered (8+ hours)
16Serving:
17Once the cheesecake has chilled overnight, carefully remove it from the pan and transfer to a serving stand. If there are any imperfections, you can use a hot offset spatula to smooth them out
18Optionally, decorate the cheesecake with plain whipped cream and / or berries
19Serve and enjoy!