Everyone loves a restaurant-style New York Cheesecake and admittedly Cheesecake Factory makes some of the best cheesecake you’ll ever have.
I wanted to share my favorite New York 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!
If you love cheesecakes, my Chicago Style Cheesecake and Ricotta Cheesecake are two of other favorite cheesecakes.
What ingredients do I need to make a New York 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 New York 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.
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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.
What ingredients do I need to make a strawberry topping for a 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 New York 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 New York 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!
Classic New York 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.
Denise
Cheesecake is a staple of life! Your cheesecake looks absolutely divine, the strawberries look fresh, its the perfect dessert!
Ben
Boom shacka lacka! I love good cheesecake, and for me, that’s hard to come by. I’m fairly picky. This looks like it will definitely be a winner for me.
Gloria
Cheesecake is a great dessert, especially for entertaining. Some people feel intimated to make it. Mine always gets that wonderful crack…but that is OK. This would be a hit in our house for sure.
Rose Ann Sales
T.hanks for the recipe,strawberry cheesecake has always been my favorite. Gotta try this one.
Melissa
Your recipe for this restaurant strawberry cheesecake looks amazing! I can’t wait to give it a try! Thanks for this amazing looking dessert.
Barbies Beauty Bits
I so love me so cheesecake. This was some inspiration, I will be having me some this weekend!
Lizzie Lau
Cheesecake is one of my favorites! I’ve never baked it without having it crack. How did I not know about this technique?
rika
That looks so good! Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts! I still have some leftover graham crackers at home, can’t wait to make it.
Amy H
My son loves cheese cake! I know he will be ecstatic when I make this for him!
Tiffany La Forge-Grau
I prefer a homemade crust with my cheesecake. This is such an easy recipe to follow for it.
Rosemary
Loving this cheesecake and want to eat it right off the screen. I’m going to have to try this recipe for sure! Yum!
Jenn @ EngineerMommy
Cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts of all time. Your pictures look incredible! I totally need to try your recipe. My husband would love this for dessert tonight.
Lynndee
I have a sweet tooth and cheesecake is one of my favorites. I would love to make that. Looks delicious!
Catalina
I am drooling over this cheesecake! Love how inviting it looks!
Lisa Martin
I;m always looking for new sweet treat to try for my husbands birthday. I am going to make this one this year! It looks amazig and he loves cheesecake.
Brittany Strawbridge
This looks delicious! My favourite type of cake is definitely cheesecake…my pregnancy cravings don’t help!
Christy Hoover
This looks positively delicious! My family and I love a good cheesecake.
Tasheena
This looks so yummy, cheesecake is one of my favorite desserts. Looking forward to making this.
Amber Myers
Oh my, this is my love language. Cheesecake makes me incredibly happy. I will have to try this for sure.
melissa chapman
That cheesecake reminds me of Junior’s here in New York. I would love to make a cake half that good and yours looks amazing.