Classic New York Cheesecake – An Old Fashioned Cheesecake

Here is my classic New York cheesecake recipe. It is almost similar to my easy cheesecake recipe except that this one has sour cream in it.

Old fashioned, classic New York cheesecake

This is a classic cheesecake recipe that is worth trying and keeping as you can use it as a base for a variety of other cheesecakes – lemon, blueberry, strawberry, etc.

I have used sour cream as the topping for this New York cheesecake. You can always serve it plain if you wish, or garnish it with a simple drizzle of salted caramel or melted chocolate for an even more delicious New York cheesecake! 

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How to Make a Classic New York Cheesecake

Ingredients

Here’s what you need to make this old fashioned classic New York cheesecake:

Crust

• Digestive cookies (or Graham Crackers)
• Castor sugar
• Butter (melted)

Filling

• Cream cheese (softened)
• Castor sugar
• Plain flour
• Vanilla essence
• Grated lemon zest + juice
• Lemon juice
• Salt
• Sour cream
• Eggs

Topping

• Sour cream (optional)

Making the classic cheesecake crust

Digestive cookie crust for the classic baked cheesecake

• Prepare your tin. Springform tins are the best as trying to flip the New York cheesecake out of a normal tin can be totally frustrating. For easy transferring of the cheesecake into a serving plate, line the bottom of the cake tin with parchment paper. 
• Next, prepare the crust. Crush your cookies in a food processor or fill them into a zip lock bag and crush them with a rolling pin until they turn into fine crumbs. Transfer into a bowl.
• Add sugar to the crumb. Mix well.
• Add melted butter.
• Mix until the crumbs are all well moistened.
• Transfer the crumbs into your prepared tin. Press down evenly using the back of a spoon or the back of a flat drinking glass. Once the crust is done, set it aside. 

Making the classic New York cheesecake filling

Preparing the classic cheesecake batter

• In a deep bowl, cut the cream cheese into small pieces and beat until creamy. Beat at 10 seconds interval, scraping the sides at each interval.
• If your cheese is cold, you would need a longer time. If warmer, a short time would be sufficient. The rule of thumb is to not overbeat it, approximately 30 – 60 seconds will do.
• Next, add in sugar, flour, salt, lemon juice, and lemon zest all at once and beat for about 20 seconds until the ingredients are just combined. Scrape the bowl at each 10 seconds interval. 
• Add vanilla essence and both the eggs at once and beat again for 10 seconds. Scrape the bowl and beat again for a final 10 seconds until the batter is all smooth and well combined. If you see tiny specks of cream cheese in the batter, it is perfectly alright. You need not try to achieve a perfectly smooth batter. Over beating at this stage can cause too many air bubbles in the batter, so it is important to keep a note of that. 
• Fold in the sour cream with a spatula and mix until it is well combined.
• Pour the batter into the prepared crust and level the top.

Baking the classic New York cheesecake

Water bath for the classic baked cheesecake

This classic cheesecake needs to be baked in a water bath. Place the cheesecake tin in a slightly larger tin and place both tins in an even larger baking dish filled with water. This will avoid you from having to wrap the sides of your springform pan with foil.

1. To make the water bath, fill a large baking dish with water.
2. Place another tin in it.
3. Place the springform pan in the second tin.
4. This way, the water will not seep into the springform pan. If you don’t have fitting tins, wrapping the sides with foil is the only option. 

Old fashioned, classic New York cheesecake

• Bake the New York cheesecake on the lowest rack in your oven (with the fan function turned off) until the sides are firm and the middle is still wobbly. Let the New York cheesecake rest in the oven for about 10 minutes before removing it from the oven. Once removed, let it rest at room temperature for another 10 to 15 minutes before loosening and removing the sides of the cake tin. 
• Refrigerate the cheesecake (along with the bottom of the cake tin) for at least 4 hours (or overnight). If you wish to remove the bottom of the cake pan, do it after chilling the cake. That way, the crust will be firm and not break as you slide the cake (with the parchment intact) onto a serving plate or cake board. Before sliding it off onto a plate, run a knife between the parchment lining and the tin bottom to loosen and separate them. 
• Garnish the classic New York cheesecake top with a thin layer of sour cream. 

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Recipe Notes

Reduced oven temperature

• When baking cheesecakes, the oven temperature should be lower as compared to when baking other cakes. A general guide would be to lower your oven temperature by about 10 degrees Celsius from the temperature you would normally use for other baking.
• Too hot an oven can cause the New York cheesecake to brown too much on the top and crack. 

Mix your batter until just combined, do not over mix 

• Unlike cakes where butter and sugar need to be well creamed, when mixing cheesecake batter, you only mix the ingredients until they are just combined.
• For this classic New York cheesecake recipe, suffice if the cream cheese is creamed for about 30 seconds to 1 minute and then for the sugar and eggs,  another 20 to 30 seconds each.
• Over beating the batter can cause too much air to be incorporated into the batter. These air bubbles will cause your New York cheesecake to have unsightly bubbles on the surface after baking.

Place the cake on the lowest rack in your oven

• This helps avoid the top of the cake from getting too heated. Placing it on the lowest rack helps avoid cracks as well as over-browning of the top. 

Keep the oven interior moist by baking the New York cheesecake in a water bath (bain-marie)

• This is done by placing your tin in a baking dish filled with water in the oven and let the cake cook with the water in the oven. The water will help keep the interior of the oven moist, preventing this classic cheesecake from drying out as it cooks and potentially avoids cracks.
• When using a spring-form pan, to avoid water from the baking dish seeping into the cheesecake, you can wrap the sides of your pan securely with foil and then place it in the water-filled baking dish.
• The other way is to place your springform tin in another slightly larger baking tray and then place both in the water-filled baking dish. This will also prevent the water from seeping into the cheesecake as it is baking. 

Choose a ‘non-fan’ oven setting

• If your oven comes with a fan function, disable the fan function. This helps in avoiding cracks as well.

Keep to the baking time indicated in the recipe

• Cheesecakes should not be cooked until the top is all set. Ideally, you should turn the oven off when the sides are firm and the center is still wobbly.
• This classic New York cheesecake will continue to cook as it cools down and that is how the cheesecake should be handled. Let it rest in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes to avoid sudden temperature change which can also cause it to crack.  

Use fresh lemon zest and lemon juice

• The amount mentioned in this recipe above gives this classic New York cheesecake a mild tangy taste. If you prefer a stronger lemon taste, you can always increase the amount of lemon zest and juice in the recipe. 

Baking a larger cake

• If you wish to make a larger classic New York cheesecake, double the recipe above and bake it in a 9 inch round tin.  Add 10 minutes to the indicated baking time. 

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Classic New York Cheesecake Recipe

Here is the full printable version of my classic New York cheesecake recipe. And while you are at it, don’t forget to read up my cheesecake recipe notes above. With the right recipe and techniques, you can make the best classic New York cheesecake every single time!

And that’s my classic New York cheesecake recipe. Give this a try and let me know how it goes!

Old fashioned, classic New York cheesecake

Here are my other posts you might want to check out:

• Easy Cheesecake Recipe – A Simple Baked Cheesecake
• Mini Christmas Cheesecake – Pretty Festive Treats
• 3 Ingredients Shortbread Cookies Recipe
• Brown Sugar Shortbread