How To Make A Cheesecake From Scratch
Cheesecakes are a favorite comfort food for many around the world. From North America to Asia, from the ancient Greeks to modern day Philadelphia, this sweet and savory dessert satisfies all cheese and cake lovers. Interestingly, it is both a cake as well as being a pie, most commonly made with a crust of cookie or biscuit crumbs.
Despite its popularity, a cheesecake is surprisingly easy to make, especially with the detailed, step-by-step instructions in the recipe below. You will just need to:
Prepare the crust (no baking required … yet)
Whip up the filling and pour it over the crust
And leave it to bake for about an hour
And the list of ingredients is short: you must have cream cheese, of course, along with milk, sugar, eggs, butter and the cookie or biscuit crumbs, along with a little flour and vanilla extract.
The toughest part in baking a cheesecake is actually the waiting time, as you must let it chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours for the filling to set and firm up properly, thus helping to develop the characteristic sweet and savory taste of the cheesecake.
There was one time I had made this very same cheesecake and because of the wonderful smell of it being baked, I couldn’t wait to taste it immediately after pulling it out of the oven. As it was still hot from the oven, the filling was very light and its taste was too subtle, and my impatience had left a small hole in the otherwise perfect cheesecake.
But after it had been chilled, the filling had firmed up and the taste was much stronger and nicer.
So, here’s your opportunity to make a cheesecake for yourself. But you have to promise yourself that you will resist tasting it until it had chilled thoroughly … you will not regret it!
| Prep Time | 30 minutes |
| Cook Time | 40 minutes |
| Passive Time | 5 hours for cooling & chilling |
| Servings |
cake (12 servings each)
|
- 4.5 oz graham crackers (or digestive biscuits)
- 4 oz butter, unsalted (melted)
- 1 tablespoon sugar, white granulated (for the crust)
- 3.5 oz sugar, white granulated (for the filling)
- 34 oz cream cheese
- 2 tablespoon flour, all-purpose (plain)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 oz milk, fresh whole (2 oz or 57 g)
- 3 eggs (about 2 oz or 55 g each)
Ingredients
For the Crust
For the Filling
|
|
- If chilled, allow the eggs to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Get the ingredients ready by weighing & measuring them into separate bowls.
- For the butter, weigh the butter into the microwave-safe bowl, cover loosely with cling wrap and slowly heat the butter in the microwave for 10 seconds on high at a time until the butter has almost fully melted (let the residual heat in the butter melt the rest).
- In another bowl, beat the eggs slightly with the table fork or wire whisk.
- Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a mixing bowl and using a wooden spoon, crush the graham crackers into fine crumbs and then mix in the sugar and melted butter. Pour the mixture into the pan and press it into a uniform layer on the base and sides of the pan, up to about 2 inches (5 cm) up the sides.
- Add the cream cheese into another mixing bowl along with the 7 oz (200 g) sugar, flour and vanilla and beat with the stand mixer or hand mixer until thoroughly combined. Add the milk and beat the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Add the egg and beat filling until combined.
- Pour the filling into the crust-lined pan and place the springform pan in the middle of the rectangular baking pan and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the filling around the sides (about 2 1/2 inches or 6.4 cm from the edge) appears to have been set when shaken gently, turning the pan around halfway through the baking.
- Cool the springform pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Gently loosen the edge of the cheesecake from around the sides of the pan using the small knife and then gently remove the sides of the springform pan and allow the cheesecake to cool completely.
- Transfer the cheesecake into the refrigerator and chill it for at least 4 hours before cutting and serving the cheesecake.
Equipment Required (in order of use)
- Up to 6 extra bowls to hold the ingredients (with at least one that is microwave safe)
- Kitchen weighing scale (preferably digital)
- Measuring spoons & cups
- Table fork or wire whisk
- 2 mixing bowls
- Wooden spoon
- 8-9-inch (20-23 cm) springform cake pan
- Stand mixer or hand mixer with wire whisk attachment
- Rectangular baking pan large enough to hold the springform cake pan
- Convection oven
- Oven mitts
- Toothpicks
- Wire rack
- Small knife
- Refrigerator