This classic baked cheesecake is rich and creamy yet light, sweet without being overly sweet. A couple of little but important tips makes this an easy Cheesecake recipe – I think you’ll be surprised!
Also, don’t miss the new Strawberry Cheesecake!
BAKED CHEESECAKE – MADE EASY!
This is an easy Cheesecake recipe. Well, I should say, this is a baked cheesecake recipe that’s made easy with a few key tips that make all the difference.
I think some people find the idea of making cheesecakes daunting, especially ones where the biscuit crust comes up the side like this one. But you know what? In my humble opinion, cheesecake is easier to make than cakes.
You don’t need to worry about the cake rising, or even sadder is when it sinks in the middle while it cools (such a let down after thinking you’ve nailed it!). And it’s definitely easier than making pastry.
The risk of failure with baked cheesecakes is lower. There’s no rising agent, no gelatine to set it. If the surface cracks (but it shouldn’t, with my tips! 🙂 ), just hide it under icing sugar and/or a pile of berries – or the biscuit crust cracks a bit.
See? How would anyone know if the surface is cracked?? 😉
Easy Cheesecake recipe tips
Here are my tips to make this classic baked Cheesecake stress free and easy for you to make:
-
The biscuit crust is stronger than you think. I always stress that the crust is going to crack (especially the walls) but it always surprises me how well it holds together when I’m handling the finished cheesecake. It’s firm but has a little give so it doesn’t crack with the slightest bend.
-
Invert the base of the springform pan. Though the ridge around the base of the pan is small, it can be a real pain to transfer the cheesecake out of the base onto the serving platter. We can’t flip cheesecake upside down like with cakes!! So make your life easier by inverting the base so it’s perfectly flat so the cheesecake will slide right off onto the platter.
-
Paper overhang – this also helps remove the cheesecake. Just slide it right off the cake pan base!
-
Press biscuit crumbs firmly using something flat. The key to a sturdy crust is pressing the biscuit crumbs firmly into the base and up the wall of the cheesecake. Use something with straight walls and a flat base – I use a measuring cup. I use the side of the cup to press the crumbs into the walls and the base to press down.
Easy Cheesecake recipe tips (cont’d)
-
Don’t over-beat the batter. Unlike cake batters, we don’t want to aerate cheesecake batter to make it rise too much. If you over-beat the batter causing bubbles in the batter, the cheesecake will rise more when baking then when it collapses as it cools, it will crack.
-
Room temp ingredients – make sure the cream cheese is softened and the eggs are at room temp. This will ensure your cheesecake filling is beautifully smooth as it should be!
-
Bake on a low temp – helps ensure the surface doesn’t crack.
-
No water bath – it’s tedious and makes no difference. See this Strawberry Cheesecake for notes and a side by side comparison.
-
Cheesecake surface shouldn’t crack…. but if it does, don’t worry! Just hide them under berries or cream!!
What this Baked Cheesecake tastes like
The Cheesecake Spectrum is very broad and this version is a classic one that sits in the middle. On one hand, you have cheesecakes that are very dense and creamy which weigh a ton – like a New York cheesecake that uses twice as much cream cheese for the same size cheesecake. Many no-bake cheesecakes have a tendency to be too heavy – unless you use gelatine like in this No Bake Mango Cheesecake.
On the other side of the Cheesecake Spectrum, you have cheesecakes that are so light and airy, it is almost like a mousse. Like this famous Japanese Cotton Cheesecake on my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan.
This one is in between. It is creamy and definitely indulgent, but not dense. The texture is light when you cut into it but the mouthfeel is creamy. It’s sweet but not overly so. I have more of a savoury than sweet tooth so I don’t enjoy extremely sweet desserts too much.
And lastly, a little touch of lemon zest just gives it that perfect finishing tough.
All those words to describe the cheesecake. I should have just said – THIS IS DARN DELICIOUS!!! – Nagi x
More Cheesecake recipes
-
Strawberry Cheesecake – a magical combination!
Classic Baked Cheesecake recipe – made easy!
Watch how to make it
This is the Strawberry Cheesecake recipe video. The cheesecake is made exactly the same way as in this recipe, but is topped with a Strawberry Sauce.
Hungry for more? Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram for all of the latest updates.
Classic Baked Cheesecake
Ingredients
CHEESECAKE BISCUIT BASE:
- 200 g / 7 oz Arnott's Marie crackers or other plain biscuit (Aus) or 28 Graham Cracker squares (Note 1)
- 120 g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
CHEESECAKE FILLING:
- 1 lb / 500g cream cheese , softened (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup / 125g sour cream (full fat)
- 1 1/2 cups (330g) caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 eggs , at room temperature
TOPPINGS:
- Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
PREPARATION:
- Preheat oven to 160C/320F (standard) or 140C/295F (fan/convection).
- Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly and place a square piece of parchment/baking paper on the base. Then clip into the springform pan - excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video.
- Butter and line the side of the pan.
CHEESECAKE BISCUIT BASE:
- Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor.
- Blitz until fine crumbs (Note 5). Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.
- Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls.
- Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I used a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
FILLING:
- Use a mixer or beater to beat the cream cheese until smooth - about 30 seconds on medium high,.
- Add flour, beat until just combined (10 sec).
- Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 - 15 sec).
- Add eggs one at a time, beat in between until just combined (10 sec each). Don't over beat, do not want to aerate the batter.
- Pour into prepared crust.
- Bake for 55 minutes. The top should be a very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan.
- Cool the cake in the oven with the door open 20 cm / 8" (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan.
- Remove sides. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
- Top with berries and dust with icing sugar!
Recipe Notes:
US: Use 28 squares / 14 full sheets, yes I measured it with my last Graham Cracker packet I brought back from my last trip.
UK: Digestives are ideal, I LOVE digestives! The crumb should be like wet sand so when pressed, it stays packed firmly, especially up the wall. Adjust if necessary with more butter. It's delicate when uncooked but once the filling is cooked, it becomes much more stable. 2. Cream Cheese - In the UK and some parts of Europe, block cream cheese isn't available. If you can only get spreadable cream cheese in tubs (softer than block), skip the sour cream. 3. Lemon Juice or Water - Depends on sweetness of strawberries. If they aren't that sweet, use water instead. 4. Inverted cake pan with overhang paper: The base of springform pans have a slight ridge. By inverting it, there is no ridge which makes it easier to slide the cheesecake on a serving platter without ruining the crust. There is no risk of batter leakage as the crust is thick enough to hold it all in. 5. Crumbs: OR crush in a ziplock bag using a rolling pin or large can. 6. Cool in oven: This helps stop the surface from cracking. 7. Different measures: Cups and spoons vary slightly between countries (US and CAN are different to most of the rest of the world). I have made this recipe using both US and Australian measures, using Australia Marie crackers and US Graham Crackers. The Graham Cracker crust is slightly crunchier because the biscuit doesn't crush to a fine sand like Marie Crackers do. Both are delicious!
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
The recipe video I shot was a fail because a certain very large-furry-rascal with Giant Paws bumped the tripod while filming so I ended up with 10 minutes of footage of my dirty bench top.
I was extremely cranky with him. Yet look at him, eyeing the cheesecake! He still thinks he’s going to get some!!! Not a chance Dozer, not a chance!!!
Not sure what’s gone wrong. It’s been 65min and the cake still looks like batter – albeit with bubbles forming on top.
Butter has leaked out – I’m so glad I put a tray underneath.
…think I over-beat mixture as there’s a dome forming. Been 20min now, have covered with foil in case it browns
Ended up taking 30min extra time altogether. Cheesecake formed a slight concave whilst in the fridge.
But, it tasted amazing and was a massive success. Plus went really well with your berry sauce recipe. 👍👍
How would I convert this to gluten free
Would the filling still set without the flour ie just omit it
and could I make the crust with almond meal
So good and so easy
The absolute best cheesecake recipe every. I LOVED IT!
Made it at Easter it turned out perfectly also I made your fish pie
at Easter it was so good
I made your baked cheese
OnEaster it was a huge success also made your fish
Pie another success your recipes are allways a winner
thank u so much
Hi Nagi,
I love your blog and recently bought your cookbook. I am struggling a bit with your cheesecake recipes as the smallest pan I have is 23cm. Have looked online for a 20cm but they all seem to be 23cm. Is it easy to adapt the recipe or should I just keep searching for the correct sized pan? Hoping you can help as I need to make it for a function this weekend. xxx
Ok so….
Note 3 for your recipe mentions lemon juice or water though the actual ingredients and filling process mentions neither. Now I love lemony cheesecake so I still put juice of half lemon in with the zest. I’m sure it’ll be ok, right??
Also I did it gluten free using both GF Arrowroot biscuits and ginger nut. Love a bit of ginger. Then I also did Lactose free using lactose free cream cheese and Greek yoghurt. Fingers crossed 🤞
Lol I also didn’t have any Plain GF flour so I used GF Self Raising but figured your suggestion of working with the top cracks could be employed here to catch the plethora of berries I plan on topping it with.
I know this recipe is quite a few years old now but hopefully you still see this Nagi. Your recipes are always my go to if my google search pops up a suggestion for a hankering I’ve got.
Merry Christmas 🎄
I used this recipe to make a Biscoff baked cheesecake – swapped in Biscoff biscuits for the crust, reduced sugar by 100g and poured a tub of melted Biscoff spread on top before I popped it in the fridge. It worked well, except I do think next time I would need to use about 50% more biscuits and less butter (as the Biscoff biscuits seem quite buttery). I had a pool of butter under my oven tray! Suspect it would be absolutely perfect with the suggested biscuits as per recipe
Hi Nagi, Thank you so much for another fabulous recipe. This was my first baked cheesecake and it turned out to be a beautifully creamy cheesecake with a really smooth texture and it tasted divine. One question though. A lot of butter/oil run out of the bottom of the pan and being my first baked cheesecake, I wasn’t sure if this was normal? I used all of the same ingredients except for the Marie biscuits – I didn’t have any so I used Butternut Snaps instead. Any thoughts?
Hi,
I want to try and make this with lactose free ingredients for my partners birthday.
I can get lactose free cream cheese blocks easy enough but can only find lite sour cream that is lactose free. Will lite sour cream work? Should I change the ratios? Or could I sub in full fat greek yogurt (I can get that lactose free).
If anyone is reading this and wondering for themselves. I used the lactose free greek yogurt and it worked well.
Love this cheesecake! Everyone who has tried it says it’s the best cheesecake they’ve ever had.
Would I be able to make this a pumpkin cheesecake by adding a cup of canned pumpkin and some pumpkin pie spice? Or would I have to tweak the other ingredients, such as the eggs and flour?
This is always a winner with my family and friends. Thank you Nagi for this invaluable recipe, well all your recipes are invaluable. 🥰
2nd time I’ve made this. It was a hit!
I only have one critique the estimated time. As a complete amateur it takes me about 2 1/2 hours! Every time I read the recipe I’ve missed something!
🥵🥵🙄 Hahaha
This is a great and simple recipe. I just found the lemon zest to be quite overbearing even though I put in only a little bit. Would it be better to use lemon juice instead next time?
I baked my cheesecake for 55 mins and it’s still very runny in centre
Can you recommend a gluten-free substitute for the plain flour?
Thank You yet again Nagi for this tutorial. I am thrilled that again I have been able to pass this on to another young person so they could learn to bake “my” fantastic cheesecake. I am always happy to show them the way. This page is so fantastic, thank you, thank you thank you.
Delicious and easy, thanks for another great recipe. This will my go to cheesecake recipe
I have made this several times….its absolutely fab!
That’s great Audrey! Enjoy!! N x
I love your recipes Nagi. Thanks! So if I am serving the cheesecake the next day. Should I wait to put the berries on until then? Or do them after it cools. Thanks so much.
I would decorate it just before serving Kat! N x
We only have spreadable cream cheese here .No sour cream is available in our country sadly . Do I substitute the sour cream in recipe with half cup spreadable cream cheese or just use the 500 g ?
You could sub with thick plain yogurt Aria! N x