The Cheesecake You Never Knew You Needed

For my son’s 21st birthday he requested cheesecake. I knew I wanted to make him a decadent, luxurious, and overly impressive version. I came across a recipe on Epicurious originally published in Gourmet’s November 1999 Issue. This became an instant family hit. This cheesecake recipe is based on the version from 1999 and has become THE most requested dessert from all of my kids. It is the go-to for birthdays, a must-have on Thanksgiving, and craved throughout the year.

This cheesecake is not your pale, light as air type. It is thick and creamy and slightly dense. You really don’t need to eat a big piece but you will want to and don’t be surprised if you find yourself longing for a slice. Like any other New York Style cheesecake this can be topped in a number of different ways, fresh berries, a drizzle of dulce de leche, bourbon-flavored whipped cream, but my people are simple when it comes to desserts. We like it completely and unapologetically plain, just the pure luscious cheesecake.

It is baked at high heat to start, which causes it to puff and create a deep dark top. There is no need for tedious water baths or worrying about cracking. The high heat start and then low and slow to finish create a silky texture and a top that is almost impossible to ruin.

Jump to Recipe

The place to start is with the crust. For us, it’s a graham cracker crust! Simple, buttery, and delicious. You can get fancy and make homemade graham crackers or substitute another type of cookie. Those chocolatey sandwich cookies with a creamy filling (you know the one I mean) are also yummy.

I like to grind my own graham cracker crumb in a food processor, but you can get this already done for you in the baking aisle.

Dump those graham crumbs into a mixing bowl with the melted butter, sugar, and salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until all the crumbs are evenly moist and when you squeeze a handful it holds together. I should have taken a picture of that!!!

This is not a cheesecake that can be made in a pie dish. This calls for a springform pan, 9″ diameter by 3″ high to be exact. Pour all of the graham mixture into the springform pan and using a measuring cup or the bottom of a glass, push the graham to compact and up the sides of the walls 1-2 inches. It does not have to be exactly the same height all the way around.

Ready for the filling…

You are not seeing double…you need 5 – 8oz blocks of whole milk cream cheese at room temperature. I leave mine out overnight so it is the perfect temperature to mix to a silky consistency. If you try to whip cold cheese you are going to end up with a lumpy batter. Trust me, I’ve done it and the end result is not the luxurious mouthfeel you are hoping for!

Put all the cream cheese, sugar, and salt into a stand mixer, using the paddle attachment cream the cheese until it is smooth, add in the eggs and egg yolks one at a time, make sure you scrape the bowl down once or twice getting down the bottom of the bowl where the cream cheese likes to stick. Add in the vanilla. When the mixture is nice and smooth, sift the flour over the top and mix in just until incorporated. You do not want to overmix at this point. We want a delicate texture so we don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared crust and tap it lightly on the counter. If you have any air bubbles pop them with a toothpick. And into the preheated oven. Most cheesecake recipes tell you to cook in a hot water bath low and slow. This is not that kind of recipe. Start your oven as hot as it will go. Ideally 500℉, the original recipes call for 550℉. My current situation is a countertop oven (we are getting ready to renovate, so my real deal is sitting in a box in my garage) and only gets to 450℉, it works fine. Cook it hot for about 12-15 minutes until it’s puffed. The top of the cheesecake will get golden brown, you want this I promise! Reduce the heat to 200℉ and cook until it is almost firm. The middle will still jiggle about the size of a silver dollar. This will take 1-1 1/2 hours.

Goes well with wine. We serve this completely unadorned except for a little birthday bling if the occasion is right!