Classic Cheesecake Recipe

definitely the right choice.
A little flavor 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract and 2 of lemon juice. The lemon juice brightens up the cheesecakes overall flavor and vanilla is always a good idea.
Eggs 3 eggs are the final ingredient. Youll beat the eggs in last one at a time until they are just incorporated. Do not overmix the batter once the eggs are added. This will whip air into the cheesecake batter resulting in cheesecake cracking and deflating.
And as always make sure all of the cheesecake batter ingredients are at room temperature so the batter remains smooth even and combines quickly. Beating cold ingredients together will result in a chunky overbeaten cheesecake batter hardly the way we want to start!
How to Make a Graham Cracker Crust
Since classic is the keyword of the day were sticking with cheesecakes main squeeze a graham cracker crust. I reduced the butter from my original graham cracker crust recipe by 1 Tablespoon. I find this crust remains a little more crunchy. Make sure you pack the crust in tight and prebake it to help prevent any sogginess.
You could use this Oreo cookie crust instead. No big changes necessary to the recipe below but I do encourage you to lightly grease the bottom of the springform pan because Oreo crusts tend to stick. Or you could use a Biscoff pie crust instead if youd like.
I like to use the bottom of a small measuring cup to smooth the crust mixture into the springform pan. Speaking of youll need a 9inch or 10inch springform pan. A springform pan has removable sides so you can safely release the cheesecake without having to flip the pan over or struggle to cut the cheesecake inside the pan. Springform pans can leak if youre baking the cheesecake in a water bath more on that below! but this particular pan is reliable. I havent had any leaking issues.
2 images of pressing graham cracker crust into springform pan and spreading filling on top of crust with a spatula.
cheesecake pan wrapped in foil and placed in large pan with water
Cheesecake Water Bath
I promise a water bath is nothing complicated. All youre doing is placing the springform pan in a roasting pan filling it with hot water and baking. Whats the point you ask?
I actually have an entire post and video tutorial for How to Make a Cheesecake Water Bath.
You see cheesecake loves a humid environment. The steam from the hot water will lift the cheesecake up slowly and evenly reducing the risk of cracks on the surface. Additionally this slow and even baking method helps prevent the cheesecake from sinking back down as it cools. Taking a few extra minutes to prepare a water bath for this cheesecake recipe is well worth it.
Cooling Chilling Cheesecake
Another way to help prevent cheesecake cracks is to initially cool it inside the oven. You can see me do this in the video below. When the cheesecake is done turn the oven off crack open the oven door and leave the cheesecake