Cheesecake

Name: Cheesecake
Total time: 420 min
Yield: 10
Ingredients: 12 oz cream cheese (full-fat, at room temperature); ¾ cup graham cracker crumbs; 3 tbsp butter (melted); ½ cup sugar (for the filling); 1 tbsp sugar (for the crust); 2 unit eggs (room temperature); ¼ cup sour cream; 2 tbsp heavy cream; 1 tbsp flour; 1 tsp vanilla (extract); 1 tsp lemon (juice); 1 pinch salt

Dessert · American

12 ingredients · 420 minutes · 10 servings

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257kcal4.1g protein18.9g fat18.6g carbs~$0.65/ serving*

Contains gluten, dairy, egg

Restrictions

Containsgluten · dairy · eggIt is in an ingredient you cannot leave out.

Diets

VegetarianPescatarianNo porkNo alcohol · check

Worked out from the ingredient list. It knows nothing about brands, shared equipment or cross contamination, and it is not a certification — if you have an allergy, you still have to read the label.

Ingredients

Servings:

12 oz	cream cheese (full-fat, at room temperature)
¾ cup	graham cracker crumbs
3 tbsp	butter (melted)
½ cup	sugar (for the filling)
1 tbsp	sugar (for the crust)
2 unit	eggs (room temperature)
¼ cup	sour cream
2 tbsp	heavy cream
1 tbsp	flour
1 tsp	vanilla (extract)
1 tsp	lemon (juice)
1 pinch	salt

Optional

Not counted above. The dish works without them.

1 tsp	lemon (zest)
½ cup	blueberries (for topping)
½ cup	sour cherry (for topping)

Steps

Mix3 min
by hand
graham cracker crumbs + 1 tbsp sugar + melted butter, until the crumbs clump when pressed — then press firmly up the sides and across the base of a 6 in springform. Loose crumbs float off into the batter and make the bottom greasy rather than crisp.
Bake10 min
350°F
the crust alone, until it smells toasted and sets. A raw crust turns to paste under a wet custard; a pre-baked one stays a barrier.
Mix4 min
low speed, paddle
cream cheese + 0.5 cup sugar + flour + salt, scraping the bowl twice, until absolutely no lumps remain. This is the only stage that can smooth the batter — cold cream cheese never fully breaks down, and once eggs are in, more beating only adds air. Air is what makes a cheesecake dome and then crack as it cools.
Mix2 min
lowest speed
+ sour cream + heavy cream + vanilla + lemon juice, just to combine. The acid firms the set slightly and cuts the flatness of pure dairy.
Fold2 min
minimal agitation
+ eggs one at a time, stopping the moment each disappears. Eggs are the entire structure here; whipped eggs mean a soufflé that collapses into a crater.
Bake60 min
325°F, water bath, foil-wrapped pan
set the springform in a larger pan, wrap the base in foil against seepage, and pour boiling water halfway up the sides. Bake until the outer inch is set and the middle 2 in still wobbles as one mass when nudged — around 150°F at the center. The water caps the edge temperature at boiling, so the custard sets evenly instead of curdling at the rim; a cheesecake baked to a firm center is already overcooked and grainy.
Rest60 min
oven off, door ajar
leave the cake in the cooling oven, then run a thin knife around the rim while still warm. Cracks come from the custard contracting faster than the crust it is stuck to — a slow cool and a released edge give it nowhere to tear.
Store360 min
refrigerated, uncovered 1 hr then loosely covered
chill at least 6 hours, ideally overnight. The set is not finished when the cake is cool — the fat has to recrystallize, which is what turns a soft baked custard into something that slices cleanly. Cover only after the surface is dry, or condensation will bead on top.