Here, we’re laying out all the tips and tricks—from the graham cracker crust to the dreaded water bath—that you’ll need to become a classic cheesecake expert.
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00:00 Hey, it's McKenzie here and we are in the Delish kitchen
00:03 and today I am making a cheesecake.
00:05 I know, so intimidating to a lot of home bakers,
00:07 but I promise this one is foolproof and it's perfect.
00:10 It's classic, straightforward, and you'll love it.
00:13 I really love this cheesecake recipe
00:15 and it is our classic vanilla cheesecake
00:18 that is the base for so many of our cheesecakes
00:21 on delish.com.
00:22 So the great thing about it is that
00:24 if you can master this one,
00:25 you can master all of our cheesecakes on our site.
00:28 Living here in New York,
00:30 no offense to those that love a Junior's sponge cake crust,
00:34 but we strongly believe that a cheesecake
00:37 should have a graham cracker crust.
00:39 To make our crust for our cheesecake,
00:40 we are going to pulse the graham crackers
00:42 in a food processor until they're really fine crumbs.
00:45 Dump your crumbs into a bowl,
00:47 add your sugar, add your salt, give that a stir,
00:51 pour in your melted butter, give that a stir again
00:54 until it looks like wet sand.
00:56 So this is what you're looking for.
00:58 It's like wet sand so that it really holds together
01:00 when you press it.
01:01 Before we add in the crust to our springform pan,
01:03 you want to wrap the outside of your pan
01:06 with aluminum foil so that it's really nice and tight
01:09 because later we're gonna bake this in a pan of water
01:12 and we don't want any water getting into our springform pan.
01:15 Nobody wants a soggy cheesecake.
01:18 Do at least two layers.
01:19 There's plenty of butter in our crust already,
01:23 so there's not really a need to grease down
01:25 your springform pan on the inside.
01:27 It's gonna be just fine.
01:28 And just spread this around
01:30 and bring it up the sides of your pan as well.
01:33 And then start pressing in with a spoon.
01:36 You wanna really make sure you're packing it on.
01:39 It's all smooth, packed in, nice and tight.
01:43 So now this goes into the oven at 325 degrees
01:46 for about 12 to 15 minutes,
01:49 just until your edges start to turn golden.
01:57 And let that cool while we make our filling.
02:00 While your crust cools,
02:00 you can make the filling to your cheesecake,
02:02 the most important part, right?
02:04 First thing, it's really important
02:05 that all of your ingredients for your cheesecake
02:08 is at room temperature,
02:09 your cream cheese, your eggs, your sour cream.
02:11 This will help when you are beating your filling
02:14 to be a really smooth and not lumpy cheesecake mixture.
02:18 In a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth.
02:22 Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one.
02:26 Add sour cream and vanilla, beat again.
02:29 Add flour and salt.
02:32 Mix until smooth.
02:33 We just made our creamy filling,
02:35 so now we're going to pour it into our graham cracker crust
02:38 and smooth the top.
02:39 Let's talk about a water bath.
02:42 This is what's going to make sure your cheesecake
02:44 is smooth, creamy inside, and does not crack on top.
02:49 I think a water bath is what intimidates
02:51 a lot of people with cheesecake,
02:52 but really, it's the easiest thing.
02:55 All you have to do is find a roasting pan that is deep
02:58 and then larger than your springform pan.
03:01 Pour some boiling water straight from your kettle
03:03 into the bottom of the roasting pan.
03:05 A really helpful tip with your water bath
03:07 is to not pour the boiling water in
03:09 until the cheesecake is in the oven.
03:11 That way, you don't have to carry around
03:12 the heavy pan full of water and it sloshes everywhere.
03:15 And then as your cheesecake bakes,
03:16 it will steam and create a lot of moisture in your oven,
03:20 which will slowly cook your cheesecake
03:22 and ensure there's no cracking on top.
03:24 The cheesecake bakes at 325 degrees
03:26 for about one hour to an hour and a half,
03:29 just until the center is slightly jiggly.
03:31 It's been about an hour,
03:32 so we wanna check on our cheesecake
03:34 to see how much it jiggles,
03:36 'cause you don't want it to fully set
03:38 because it will continue to bake as it cools.
03:40 So give your pan a little shake
03:43 and see how that jiggles just in the center there
03:46 and the edges are set?
03:47 That is perfect.
03:49 It's exactly what you want it to look like.
03:52 So now our cheesecake is ready to start cooling.
03:55 I left it in the oven.
03:56 We're gonna turn the oven off
03:58 and then prop the door open with a wooden spoon.
04:00 This is a safe way to do it,
04:02 but you want your cheesecake to cool down slowly
04:05 and that will help prevent it from cracking.
04:07 So you wanna let it cool in your oven for about an hour.
04:10 Let it cool down all the way.
04:12 Once your cheesecake is completely cooled down
04:14 to room temperature,
04:15 you now have to put it into the refrigerator
04:17 for at least four hours,
04:19 just until your cheesecake is really cold.
04:21 (upbeat music)
04:24 I have made this cheesecake
04:27 or a very similar variation of it hundreds of time.
04:31 Like that's, I promise that's not an exaggeration.
04:33 I think I make it weekly here at Delish
04:36 and I fall in love with it more and more every single time.
04:40 I love this cheesecake recipe.
04:41 It's perfect.
04:43 The cheesecake, it's creamy, it's silky.
04:46 It's not overly sweet.
04:48 It's definitely rich.
04:49 A small slice is plenty.
04:51 I always keep coming back
04:52 for that graham cracker crust though.
04:54 I love, I love a graham cracker crust,
04:56 especially against like the creamy texture of the cheesecake
04:59 and that crunchy graham cracker crust
05:00 is the perfect pairing.
05:02 I love it and I know you will too.
05:04 The cheesecake is perfect as is.
05:06 You can eat it plain,
05:07 but topped with a little cherry pie filling
05:09 or chocolate or a salted caramel.
05:12 But this is the ultimate cheesecake from Delish
05:15 and everyone on this team is obsessed with it
05:17 and we just love it.
05:19 Now that you've mastered our classic cheesecake,
05:21 try some of our other ones on delish.com.
05:23 (upbeat music)
05:26 (upbeat music)