Desserts · classic

New York Cheesecake

Name: New York Cheesecake
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Greece
Ingredients: 1½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 12 crackers); 5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted; 2 tbsp sugar; ⅛ tsp salt; 900 g cream cheese, room temperature (4 × 8 oz blocks); 2 cups sugar; 3 tbsp plain flour; 4 tsp vanilla extract; 1 tsp lemon zest (1 lemon); 2 tsp fresh lemon juice; ¼ tsp fine sea salt; 6 large eggs; ½ cup sour cream; as needed berry sauce (optional)

Dense, tall, and silky — the New York standard. Graham-cracker crust, four blocks of cream cheese, six eggs, baked low in a water bath and rested overnight. Adapted from Once Upon a Chef.

2.5 hr 10 servings medium

659 kcal 59g carbs 43g fat 11g protein (1/10 per serving)

Ingredients

For the crust

1½ cups graham cracker crumbs (about 12 crackers)
5 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tbsp sugar
⅛ tsp salt

For the filling

900 g cream cheese, room temperature (4 × 8 oz blocks)
2 cups sugar
3 tbsp plain flour
4 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp lemon zest (1 lemon)
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp fine sea salt
6 large eggs
½ cup sour cream

To serve

as needed berry sauce (optional)

Origin

Ancient — served at the first Olympics, 776 BCE, Greece

Variant

New York, 20th-century adaptation, USA

Method

00
Heat oven to 190 °C (375 °F), rack in lower middle. Wrap a 9- or 10-inch springform pan in two layers of heavy-duty foil — bottom and up the sides — to keep water out. Spray the inside with nonstick spray.
01
Crust: stir graham crumbs, melted butter, 2 tbsp sugar, and ⅛ tsp salt until evenly damp. Press in an even layer over the pan base. Bake 10 minutes. Remove.
02
Drop oven to 160 °C (325 °F). Put a kettle of water on to boil.
03
Filling: in a stand mixer with paddle, beat cream cheese, 2 cups sugar, and flour on medium until just smooth, about 1 minute. Scrape sides and bottom. Add vanilla, lemon zest, juice, and salt. Beat on low to combine.
04
Add eggs one at a time on low speed, scraping between additions. Fold in sour cream until uniform. Do not over-mix — air whipped in here cracks the surface later.
05
Set the springform inside a large roasting pan. Pour batter over the crust. Place the roasting pan on the oven rack, then pour boiling water into the roasting pan to come about 2.5 cm up the sides of the springform.
06
Bake at 160 °C (325 °F) for 1 hr 30 min – 1 hr 45 min. Edges set, centre wobbles gently when nudged but is not liquid. If the top browns too fast, tent loosely with foil.
07
Lift the roasting pan to a wire rack. Let the cheesecake sit in the water bath until the water is only warm, about 45 minutes. Lift the springform out, peel off the foil. Run a thin knife around the edge to release. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 8 hours, ideally overnight.
08
To serve, release the springform sides. Slice with a sharp knife dipped in hot water and wiped clean between cuts. Top with berry sauce if using.

Notes from the kitchen

·Cream cheese must be fully at room temperature. Cold blocks leave lumps that no amount of beating fixes — only smooths the air bubbles around them.
·The water bath is non-negotiable for the silky texture. Foil-wrap the pan well; standard 12-inch foil tears at the seams. Heavy-duty, two layers, no seams under the base.
·Slow and steady. Don't crank the oven to shorten the bake — the surface cracks and the centre weeps.
·Overnight chill is part of the recipe, not optional. The cake firms up and the flavour deepens significantly.
·Freezes well up to 3 months: chill firm, double-wrap in foil or sealed freezer bag, thaw overnight in the fridge.