Best Basic Cheesecake Recipes

BASIC CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a medium bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, chopped walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and melted butter. Mix well and press into the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together until smooth. Beat in sour cream and heavy cream. Blend in the flour and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, add eggs one at a time. Pour batter over crust.
• Bake in the preheated oven for 60 to 70 minutes, or until center is almost set (filling will be soft). Refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight before removing from pan.

BASIC CREAM CHEESE PIE (MOM'S CHEESECAKE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325.
• Combine in blender: egg, sugar, sour cream, vanilla. Blend.
• While still blending, add cream cheese pieces and pour in the melted butter.
• Pour into crust and bake for 30 minutes.

BASIC CHEESECAKE WITH FLAVOR VARIATIONS.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 for standard baking, or 375 for a convection oven.
• Melt butter, and mix crust ingredients, press into the bottom, and up the sides of a springform pan. You can use whatever size you have from 8 to 12 inches, the smaller the pan, the higher the cake, but I like a wide, low one, too. Chill the crust while you make the filling.
• Cream together cream cheese and sugar.
• Add eggs one at a time.
• Add extracts and zest, mix well, be careful not to incorporate too much air, so you don't get cracks on the top of the custard.
• Pour filling into crust. For better texture, you may choose to first wrap the pan in foil, and place into a large baking dish of hot water. The recipe works both ways, but I like the results from a waterbath.
• Bake the cheesecake for an hour, then turn off the oven, and don't open it for 30 minutes.
• If using sour cream topping, spread it on top of the cheesecake ten minutes before the hour bake time is up.
• Cool cheesecake completely, and refrigerate for a few hours before slicing. Fishing line makes a great slicer, since the cheesecake will be very sticky to your knives.
• Variations: This is the fun part. As long as you stick to the basic proportions, you can do lots of flavors. I'm up to 17 personally.
• Use chocolate cookie crumbs for the crust, leave out the lemon, and add 1/4 cup pf cocoa to the filling for chocolate cheesecake.
• Add a teaspoon of lime zest to the crust, leave out the cinnamon, and sub 1/4 cup key lime juice for vanilla and lemon in the filling for key lime cheesecake.
• Sub one of the packages of cream cheese for a can of pumpkin, add cinnamon, ginger, and clove to the filling, use gingersnap crumbs for the crust. This one is especially good if you add a lot of cinnamon to the sour cream topping, and drizzle the slices with some caramel sauce and more gingersnap pieces.
• Leave out the lemon, and sub one of the packages of cream cheese for a cup of peanut butter, use a chocolate cookie crust, and top it with chopped up peanut butter cups.
• Use a chocolate crust, leave out the lemon, and use mint extract and green food color in the filling for grasshopper cheesecake. Add chocolate chips if you like.
• Sub the sugar in the filling for 1 cup brown sugar caramelized with 1/2 a stick of butter for a caramel cheesecake.
• Sub half the sugar in the crust for sweetened flaked coconut, leave out the cinnamon, sub vanilla and lemon for rum extract and lime, make sour cream topping with half sour cream, half Thai Kitchen coconut milk (it's the only one I've found thick enough) add the juice of the lime instead of lemon and more flaked coconut to topping. this is the one my brother always wants instead of a birthday cake.
• If you try your own variant, I'd love to know what it was, and how it turned out. Have fun!

BASIC PHILLY CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325F degrees.
• Combine crumbs, sugar and melted margarine and press onto the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Bake for 10 minutes, remove from oven and raise oven temperature to 450F degrees.
• To make filling, combine softened cream cheese and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer, beating at medium speed until well mixed.
• Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition; blend in vanilla then pour into crust.
• Bake for 10 minutes at 450F, then reduce heat to 250F and for 25-30 minutes more, or until set.
• Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan.
• Chill; top individual slices with desired topping, if any, just before serving.

BASIC CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Butter a medium sized spring form pan with 1 tablespoon butter.
• Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter.
• Mix the cinnamon, brown sugar, and graham cracker crumbs together, then stir in the melted butter.
• Coat the crumbs well with the butter, then press them into the bottom of the spring form pan.
• Place pan in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
• Whip the cream cheese in a mixer.
• With the mixture running slowly, sprinkle in the sugar and cornstarch, then add in the eggs and vanilla.
• Slowly add the cream or half and half until all ingredients are well mixed.
• Pour into the spring-form pan.
• Place the pan on a cookie sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the top begins to brown and the cake is firm.
• Cool at room temperature and refrigerate.
• Serve well chilled.

SIMPLE BASIC UNBAKED CHEESECAKE WITH VARIATIONS.

Steps:

• BASE:.
• In a food processor or blender combine the biscuits and melted butter until fine crumbs.
• Press the crumbs evenly and firmly into a 23cm (9") round springform tin or one with a removable base.
• Smooth with a spoon and place in fridge.
• FILLING:.
• Beat the cream cheese for a few mins on low speed with an electric beater until soft and lump free.
• Slowly add the sugar while continuing to beat on low.
• Once the sugar is incorporated slowly pour in the cream while still beating on low.
• On a higher speed whip the cream cheese & cream mixture til it holds its shape completely when the beater passes through the mix and it looks a little grainy.
• Spoon into the chilled base and smooth with a spatula.
• Chill for at least 4hours or overnight.
• Remove from tin and place on serving dish.
• Cut into portions using a hot dry knife. Between each slice, clean & reheat knife by dipping into hot water & drying. This makes neater portions.
• VARIATION #1.
• RIPPLED JELLY CHEESECAKE:.
• Make a basic cheesecake and place in fridge while you prepare jelly.
• Place 250mls water, 90g raspberries or other berries and 3Tblsp sugar into a pot and simmer for 2mins.
• When cooled a little, puree in a blender until smooth and return to clean pot on the stove and over a low heat stir in 1tsp gelatine until dissolved.
• Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into a metal bowl and chill until it reaches a thick soup like consistency.
• Pour this over the chilled cheesecake and use a fork to fold in the jelly by working in circles.
• When the jelly is partially worked in, tap the tin on the bench until the surface flattens, then place in fridge for at least 4hrs to set.
• VARIATION #2:.
• CHOCOLATE CHIP CHEESECAKE.
• Make basic cheesecake using either plain or chocolate biscuits for base.
• Melt 120g dark chocolate, then squiggle onto the surface of made cheesecake before chilling.
• Using a fork, quickly work circles of chocolate through the cheesecake. The chocolate will set while you are doing this.
• Tap the tin on the bench to settle & flatten the surface then chill for 4hrs or overnight.
• For a real treat you can use both the jelly and chocolate in the one cheesecake to make it a "Rippled Jelly & Chocolate Chip Cheesecake :).

BASIC (CREAM CHEESE) CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Crust:.
• Cream butter and sugar together.
• Add egg yolk and vanilla.
• Gradually add flour and lemon zest, and mix until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
• Grease the bottom only of a 9-inch springform pan.
• Pat dough evenly over the entire bottom of pan.
• Bake bottom crust at 350°F for 5 minutes.
• Cool completely before greasing sides of pan.
• Filling:.
• Note: All ingredients MUST be at room temperature!
• In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar together on lowest speed until well blended, scrape sides of bowl.
• Add flour and salt, then add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each.
• Scrape bowl, then add 2 egg yolks.
• Add vanilla, lemon zest and heavy cream, stir to mix well.
• Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in a preheated 500°F oven for 8 minutes.
• Turn oven temperature down to 350°F and continue baking for one hour.
• Remove from oven and cool cake completely before removing the sides of pan.
• Refrigerate until ready to serve (at least 4 hours).
• Note: I have never used a water bath with this recipe and have never had the cheesecake crack. Overbeating the filling and overbaking the cake is what will cause cracks.

BASIC LEMON CHEESECAKE

Steps:

• Combine melted butter and biscuit crumbs.
• Press into greased pie dish.
• Refridgerate while preparing topping.
• Beat cream cheese till soft, gradually add milk while beating.
• Add lemon juice and beat till combined.
• 2 lemons is just a guide- add as much or as little as you like depending on your taste.
• Pour onto base and refridgerate until firm- best overnight but otherwise at least 2 hours.
• Margarita variation: Substitute the lemon with a commercial margarita mix (lime and triple sec) and tequila.
• Add to taste- i think i used 1/2 cup margarita and 2 shots of tequila.
• The taste does get stronger when it sets.
• Chocolate slice: use plain choc biscuits in the base and press into slice tin.
• Swirl melted chocolate into topping before refridgerating.
• Cut into squares.