Everyone loves a restaurant-style cheesecake and admittedly Cheesecake Factory makes some of the best cheesecake you’ll ever have.
I wanted to share my favorite restaurant-style cheesecake recipe which as it turns out is the Cheesecake Factories Recipe, which has been floating around the internet for years. I made a few subtle additions to the recipe but kept the integrity of the recipe intact. What I love most about this recipe is the baking technique. This is what gives you a smooth and creamy cheesecake without any of those ugly deep cracks!
What do I need to make a restaurant-style cheesecake?
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make this cheesecake. In chef speak, we call that the mise en place or everything in its place. You’ll notice there are very few ingredients, letting the cream cheese be the star of the show. I love using the glass bowls to set up my ingredients, it really speeds up the process.
How do I make a graham cracker crust for my cheesecake?
The first step in making my favorite cheesecake is to mix the graham cracker crumbs with the melted butter and form the crust into the pan coming halfway up the sides. Wrap the pan’s bottom with foil and place the finished crust in the freezer until needed.
***I use 18-inch heavy-duty foil which completely covers the bottom of the pan without having any seams.
After you’ve blended all the ingredients together, pour the batter into the springform pan and level it out using an offset spatula.
How do I make a cheesecake that doesn’t crack?
Baking a perfect cheesecake without those ugly cracks is easier than you might think.
- Use a water bath. one-half inch of water in the bottom of a baking pan is all you need to make a difference. (I used a half sheet pan)
- Let the eggs come to room temperature before using them.
- Beat the cream cheese mixture until smooth and creamy
- Whip the room temperature eggs before adding them to the cream cheese mixture. Mix the eggs in just enough to incorporate them. Don’t overmix!
- Bake for 12 minutes at 475°F, then reduce to 350 °F to finish the cake.
How do I make a topping for the cheesecake?
If you’re not a fan of strawberries you can use any other fruit that you like or just stick with the classic sour cream topping.
Of course, you can get fancy and add your favorite specialty topping to the cheesecake. Like my favorite salted caramel topping.
Mix the sour cream with the sugar and give it 15 minutes for the sugar to fully dissolve. Then top the cooled cheesecake with the sour cream mixture and refrigerate.
How do I glaze the strawberries?
The easiest way to glaze fruit is to use jelly. Not jam or preserves, just jelly. Heat the jelly in the microwave until it’s liquid, then brush the berries with the liquefied jelly. Refrigerate the finished cheesecake until the fruit sets (at least 15 minutes).
The only problem with a jelly glaze is it won’t do a good job of covering the parts of the cheesecake that aren’t covered by the fruit. And it doesn’t hold up quite as well as a conventional glaze. If you’re serving the cheesecake right away and there isn’t going to be much leftover, the jelly method is easy and does the job.
If you’re planning on keeping the cheesecake around for a few days then I would suggest making a regular glaze for the topping. You can find the optional method in the notes of my recipe.
Letting the cheesecake set up is crucial to the overall flavor and texture of the cheesecake. I always let my cheesecakes set-up overnight to make sure the rich creamy flavor has time to build. If you were to taste the cheesecake right out of the oven, you wouldn’t really think it was very good.
The texture is light and the flavor subtle. As it sits the cheesecake becomes denser (without getting heavy) and the flavors intensify.
**That’s another secret to making a restaurant-style cheesecake.
Kitchen tools I use for my cakes
- 9 -inch Springform Pan
- offset spatula (essential for bakers)
- 9-inch parchment cake circles
- silicone spatulas
- wire whisk
- mixing bowls
More Cheesecake Recipes You’ll Love!
- Authentic Ricotta Cheesecake
- Mascarpone Strawberry Cheesecake
- Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Bars with a toffee crust
- Blood Orange Ricotta Cheesecake
- Chocolate Cheesecake Bars with Pecan Shortbread Crust
Restaurant Style Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
FILLING:
- 4 8 oz. packages cream cheese softened
- 1 ¼ cups sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest finely grated
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
TOPPING:
- ½ cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 3 cups strawberries about 1. 5 containers
- ½ cup strawberry jelly
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 475°F.
Crust
- Place a large pan filled with ½ inch water on the middle rack of the oven.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs with melted butter. Press crust onto bottom and ⅔ of the way up a 9-inch springform pan (line the bottom of the pan with parchment). Wrap the springform pan with foil completely covering the bottom of the pan and about half-way up the sides. **Freeze the prepared crust in the pan until filling is prepared.
Filling
- With your stand mixer (or hand mixer) whip the cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice, zest and vanilla. Blend until smooth and creamy. S
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, then add the eggs to the cream cheese mixture. Blend just until eggs are incorporated. *do not overmix
- Remove the crust from the freezer and pour in the cheesecake filling.
- Carefully place the cheesecake into the preheated water bath. Bake the cheesecake for 12 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F. Let the cheesecake continue to bake until the top of the cheesecake turns golden. That should be about 50 to 60 minutes.
- Place the cheesecake on a wire rack to cool.
Topping
- Combine sour cream and sugar until smooth. Set aside till needed.
Assembly
- When the cheesecake is cooled spread the topping evenly over the cake. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
- wash and destem strawberries then cut then in half long way.
- place strawberries cut side up on the top of the cheesecake
- heat the strawberry jelly in the microwave for about 30 seconds until liquid. Brush strawberries with melted jelly and chill for 15 minutes or until ready to serve.
Notes
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh strawberries, washed, cleaned and mashed
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- ¾ cup water
- Few drops red food coloring
Instructions
- Mash the strawberries and set aside until needed
- In a small saucepan, combine sugar and cornstarch. Next, add the water and mashed strawberries.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring constantly
- Add food color to make the glaze more red.
- Return mixture to stove and continue to cook for 2- 3 minutes until thick. Keep stirring!
- Remove the glaze from the heat and transfer to a bowl. Allow the glaze to cool for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Denise
This beauty was mixed together, baked and is cooling as I type this review. So maybe it’s rushing things to give this 5 stars, as we haven’t tasted it yet, but I am confident it will be a winner despite calamities during the prep. Got interrupted during the mixing and mistakenly set the vanilla aside. My 9″ springform clasp broke when I removed the prepared pan from the freezer. I had a 10″, and set the parchment+crust into the pan. This meant no crumbs along the sides,but that will work out. I realized the vanilla omission 1 minute into baking, and carefully as I could, whisked it in. It probably didn’t reach the very bottom, but I think my homemade cherry topping will hide that mistake. The cheesecake looks perfect, so you know it’s a solid recipe when it can survive the issues I had. I wanted to note I used a metal deep-dish pizza pan for the water bath. This was so easy to handle with the steaming water.
Jamie
I love the generous slices of strawberry on top and the creaminess of the cheesecake! It definitely reminds me of the restaurant cheesecakes but even better since it’s homemade!
Gloria
Oh my, I want to grab this off my computer screen. What a delicious looking cheesecake. The perfect dessert of ANY occassion.
Jo
I’m so tempted and craving for a good slice of cheesecake now, looking at your pics. This version of cheesecake looks absolutely delicious!
Femi. O
I am a major fan of the cheesecake factory cheesecake so I’m glad I’ve found a way to reproduce it at home especially now that we’re unable to go out. Definitely appreciate the chef tips to make the cheesecake without cracks. Pinning for later.
Amy Liu Dong
I am so happy to know about this, I can now make a delicious cheesecake at home using these steps. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe!
Veronika
This cheesecake remind me summer! It looks absolutely delicious and I would love to have a slice of it right now!
Paige
My compliments to the chef! This looks amazing and delish and not hard to make either. Photos are mouthwatering!
Loreto and Nicoletta Nardelli
We’re pretty sure your fabulous looking strawberry cheesecake tastes far better than any restaurant one! Thanks for the chef’s tips, greatly appreciated!
Analida Braeger
I love all the tips on the no-crack cheesecake! I am glad I found your recipe and I am pinning to make later. Thanks so much!
Sharon
Cheesecake is one of my favorites! I love this restaurant-style cheesecake, it is exactly like the one I get from my favorite restaurant.
Tiff M
So the water bath is the big secret?! I’ve been taking cooking classes for just over a year now and I never knew this! Thanks for the insight. Trying some new baking recipes with my kiddos during this 14-day madness! Thanks
Chef Dennis Littley
The water bath and evidently not too much water. I use to add water about half way up the pan and they never turned out as well. I used a sheet pan and could only add an inch of water which worked out perfectly. Have fun making the cheesecake!