Easy Cheesecake Recipe (A Simple Baked Cheesecake)

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• This is a classic cheesecake recipe with only 6 simple ingredients.
• It is an easy recipe with step by step instructions on how to make the cake.
• The creamy texture of the cake and rich buttery graham cracker crust makes this homemade cheesecake a favorite dessert.
• This creamy cheesecake can be made ahead making it a great make-ahead dessert for parties.
• The recipe makes a small 7 inches round cheesecake, perfect when you need only a small portion.

There are only 6 simple ingredients required in this easy cheesecake recipe (no sour cream, heavy cream or even all purpose flour) and they are:

Crust

• Digestive biscuits / cookies (or Graham Crackers) - make the crunchy biscuit base for the cheesecake.
• Granulated sugar (caster sugar) - sweetens the crust.
• Melted butter - I use salted butter, but you can also use unsalted butter.

Filling

• Cream cheese - use full fat cream cheese for best results and soften it at room temperature. Spreadable cream cheese will not work for this recipe.
• Granulated sugar (caster sugar)
• Vanilla extract - add flavor to the cake.
• Eggs - use large eggs.

🧾Substitution and variations

• Digestive biscuits and Graham cracker crumbs crust can be substituted with Oreo cookie crust for a chocolate crust. Use the cookies along with their cream fillings and omit the sugar in the crust.
• Instead of whipped cream swirls and sprinkles on the baked cheesecake, you can spread a layer of lemon curd, salted caramel sauce or even chocolate ganache on the top similar to sour cream in this classic New York cheesecake. Other options include strawberry filling or blueberry pie filling and fresh fruit and fresh berries.
• If you wish to make a larger cake, double the recipe above and bake it in a 9 inch round tin and add 10 minutes to the indicated baking time. 

Preparing the cheesecake crust

The process of making this easy homemade cheesecake starts with the crust. But before that, get the tin ready. This is a small batch cheesecake recipe, and requires a 7 inch round springform tin.

Easy Cheesecake Recipe - Preparing the Crust

1. Springform tins are the best as trying to flip a cheesecake out of a normal tin can be quite disastrous. For easy transferring of the cheesecake into a serving plate, line the bottom of the tin with parchment paper. 
2. Next, get the crust ready. Crush your cookies to a fine crumb. You can do this in a food processor or place your cookies in a ziplock bag and use a rolling pin to crush them. Transfer the crumbs to a bowl and add the sugar to it. Give it a quick mix.
3. Add the melted butter (cooled). 
4. Mix well.
5. Press the moistened crumbs evenly into your prepared pan into an even layer. You can use the back of your spoon to do this or use the back of a glass or measuring cup to help with the even distribution of the crust.
6. Once the crust is done, set it aside. 

Making the cheesecake filling

1. In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese. Beat until it is creamy on medium speed with an electric mixer (hand mixer or stand mixer). Use a paddle attachment. In creaming the cheese, the time taken would depend on the temperature of the cheese. If the 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 the cream cheese, approximately 30 seconds will do. If the cheese looks creamy with tiny specks of cheese in it, that is good enough. For best results, use room temperature ingredients.
2. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl, add the sugar and beat for approximately 20 seconds. 
3. Scrape the bowl again. Add both eggs and vanilla extract and beat for another 10 seconds until the eggs are incorporated. Scrape the sides of the bowl and give the batter a final round of 10 seconds of mixing. If you overbeat the batter, you will start seeing lots of air bubbles in the batter. If this happens, your cheesecake will still be good but with lots of bubbles on the surface which can be unsightly. 
4. Pour batter into the prepared crust. Level the top.

1. This cheesecake needs to be baked in a water bath. 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 the right sized baking tin to put your springform pan into, you can always wrap the sides of your springform pan securely with aluminum foil and then place it directly into the water-filled baking dish. 

🍽️Serving & storage

• Keep the cake chilled in the refrigerator in an airtight container to prevent it from becoming dry. The cake should last for a good 4 to 5 days. The whipped cream topping is best added before serving.

💡Expert tips

Baking cheesecakes can be a daunting task for some people. The most common complaints I hear are of cracked cheesecakes and rubbery textures.

Follow my tips below and you will learn how easy baking cheesecakes can be:

Make sure the oven temperature is not too hot

• Cheesecakes are best baked in slightly lower temperature. A general rule of thumb is to lower the temperature by 10 degrees Celsius than the temperature you use for normal cakes.

Do not overmix the cheesecake batter

• If you notice in the recipe below, I have specifically mentioned the amount of time for each beating step.
• Over beating the batter can cause too much air to be trapped in the batter and when you bake, these air bubbles will cause your cheesecake to have unsightly bubbles on the surface. 

Place your cheesecake on the lowest rack in your oven

• This placement will ensure the top of the cake does not get too browned and does not crack.

Make sure the interior of your own is moist when baking the cheesecake

• Bake the cheesecake in a water bath. Also known as bain-marie, a water bath means baking with a dish of water placed in the oven. The main intention is to help keep the oven moist while baking and this helps cheesecakes from drying out and cracking.
• If you are using a springform pan, simply wrap the bottom of the pan with foil and place the tin in a larger pan filled with water, making sure the water level is lower than the foil you wrapped around your cake tin.
• The other way, which I have explained above, is to place your springform pan (unwrapped) into a slightly larger pan and placing both into another larger dish filled with water.

Disable the 'fan' function in your oven

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

Avoid over baking the cheesecake

• To avoid over baking, check that the cake is done by pressing the sides lightly. It should be firm to the touch but the center should still be wobbly.
• Switch the oven off and let the cake rest in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. The cake will continue to cook as it cools down. Cooking the cake too long can turn its texture rubbery.
• Also, letting it cool down slowly in the oven helps avoid sudden temperature change that could also cause your cheesecake to crack. 

💭FAQs