New York Baked Cheesecake
A tall, dense baked cheesecake on a buttery biscuit base, cooled slowly so the top never cracks.
A baked cheesecake is mostly a lesson in restraint. Beat it gently, bake it low in a water bath, then let it cool so slowly that it is boring to watch. Nearly every cracked, sunken cheesecake was rushed at one of those three points. Done properly the result is dense, faintly tangy and sliceable like a terrine.
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How to make New York Baked Cheesecake
Ingredients
Quantities scale automatically. Cooking times stay the same.
Base
Filling
To serve, optional
Equipment
- 23 cm / 9 inch springform tin
- Large roasting tin for the water bath
- Stand mixer or electric whisk
- Foil
Method
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1
Build the base
Heat the oven to 160C / 325F. Mix the crumbs, melted butter, sugar and salt, press firmly into the base of the springform tin with the back of a glass, and bake for 10 minutes. Cool while you make the filling.
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2
Wrap the tin
Wrap the outside of the tin in two layers of foil, coming all the way up the sides. This keeps the water bath out of the base, which is the only failure mode a water bath has.
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3
Beat the cream cheese smooth
Beat the cream cheese alone on medium-low for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl twice, until completely smooth. Any lumps left now will still be there in the baked cheesecake.
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4
Add sugar, then the rest
Add the sugar and cornflour and beat 1 minute more, then the sour cream, vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt. Keep the mixer on low from here: speed beats air into the batter, and air is what makes a cheesecake rise and then crack as it falls.
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5
Add the eggs one at a time
Beat in the eggs and the yolk one by one on the lowest speed, stopping the moment each disappears. Finish with a few turns of a spatula by hand.
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6
Bake in a water bath
Pour the filling over the cooled base and smooth the top. Set the tin in the roasting tin and pour boiling water around it to come halfway up the sides. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until the outer 5 cm looks set and the middle still wobbles like soft jelly when you nudge the tin.
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7
Cool slowly
Turn the oven off, prop the door open with a wooden spoon and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour. Then lift it out of the water, run a thin knife around the edge and cool to room temperature.
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8
Chill, then serve
Refrigerate uncovered for at least 6 hours, ideally overnight, before releasing the tin. For the strawberries, toss them with the sugar and lemon juice 30 minutes before serving and spoon them over each slice.
Cook’s tips
- Everything at room temperature, mixer on low. Cold cream cheese gives you lumps and high speed gives you cracks.
- Pull it while the centre still wobbles. The residual heat and the long chill finish the set, and a cheesecake baked until firm in the middle will be dry and grainy.
- Run a knife around the edge while it is still warm. As the cheesecake contracts, an edge stuck to the tin is what tears the top open.
Variations
- Swap the biscuit base for crushed chocolate sandwich cookies, with 60 g of butter rather than 85 g.
- Fold 150 g of melted dark chocolate into a third of the batter and marble it through for a chocolate swirl.
- Make it in a 20 cm tin for a taller cake, adding 10 to 15 minutes to the bake.
Storage and make-ahead
Keeps covered in the fridge for 5 days and is at its best on day two. Freeze whole or in slices for up to 2 months, wrapped first in cling film and then in foil, and thaw overnight in the fridge.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 538 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 41 g |
| Fat | 38 g |
| Fibre | 1 g |
| Sugar | 31 g |
| Sodium | 420 mg |
Nutrition is estimated from ingredient averages and will vary with brands and portioning.
