This classic baked cheesecake is rich and creamy yet light, sweet without being overly sweet. This is an easy Cheesecake recipe that anyone can make, thanks to a couple of little-but-important tips I’m sharing!
For your next cheesecake, try the stunning Strawberry Cheesecake or famous Basque Cheesecake!
Baked cheesecake – made easy!
This is an easy Cheesecake recipe. Well, I should say, this is a baked cheesecake recipe that’s made easy with a few key tips that make all the difference.
I think some people find the idea of making cheesecakes daunting, especially ones where the biscuit crust comes up the side like this one. But you know what? In my humble opinion, cheesecake is easier to make than cakes.
You don’t need to worry about the cake rising, or even sadder is when it sinks in the middle while it cools (such a let down after thinking you’ve nailed it!). And it’s definitely easier than making pastry.
The risk of failure with baked cheesecakes is lower. There’s no rising agent, no gelatine to set it. If the surface cracks (but it shouldn’t, with my tips! 🙂 ), just hide it under icing sugar and/or a pile of berries – or the biscuit crust cracks a bit.
See? How would anyone know if the surface is cracked?? 😉
Easy Cheesecake recipe tips
Here are my tips to make this classic baked Cheesecake stress free and easy for you to make:
The biscuit crust is stronger than you think. I always stress that the crust is going to crack (especially the walls) but it always surprises me how well it holds together when I’m handling the finished cheesecake. It’s firm but has a little give so it doesn’t crack with the slightest bend.
Invert the base of the springform pan. Though the ridge around the base of the pan is small, it can be a real pain to transfer the cheesecake out of the base onto the serving platter. We can’t flip cheesecake upside down like with cakes!! So make your life easier by inverting the base so it’s perfectly flat so the cheesecake will slide right off onto the platter.
Paper overhang – this also helps remove the cheesecake. Just slide it right off the cake pan base!
Press biscuit crumbs firmly using something flat. The key to a sturdy crust is pressing the biscuit crumbs firmly into the base and up the wall of the cheesecake. Use something with straight walls and a flat base – I use a measuring cup. I use the side of the cup to press the crumbs into the walls and the base to press down.
Easy Cheesecake recipe tips (cont’d)
Don’t over-beat the batter. Unlike cake batters, we don’t want to aerate cheesecake batter to make it rise too much. If you over-beat the batter causing bubbles in the batter, the cheesecake will rise more when baking then when it collapses as it cools, it will crack.
Room temp ingredients – make sure the cream cheese is softened and the eggs are at room temp. This will ensure your cheesecake filling is beautifully smooth as it should be!
Bake on a low temp – helps ensure the surface doesn’t crack.
No water bath – it’s tedious and makes no difference. See this Strawberry Cheesecake for notes and a side by side comparison.
Cheesecake surface shouldn’t crack…. but if it does, don’t worry! Just hide them under berries or cream!!
What this Baked Cheesecake tastes like
The Cheesecake Spectrum is very broad and this version is a classic one that sits in the middle. On one hand, you have cheesecakes that are very dense and creamy which weigh a ton – like a New York cheesecake that uses twice as much cream cheese for the same size cheesecake. Many no-bake cheesecakes have a tendency to be too heavy – unless you use gelatine like in this No Bake Mango Cheesecake.
On the other side of the Cheesecake Spectrum, you have cheesecakes that are so light and airy, it is almost like a souffle. Like this famous Japanese Cotton Cheesecake on my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan. Then there’s the beautiful Basque Cheesecake with its signature caramelised surface which is also very light.
This one is in between. It is creamy and definitely indulgent, but not dense. The texture is light when you cut into it but the mouthfeel is creamy. It’s sweet but not overly so. I have more of a savoury than sweet tooth so I don’t enjoy extremely sweet desserts too much.
And lastly, a little touch of lemon zest just gives it that perfect finishing tough.
All those words to describe the cheesecake. I should have just said – THIS IS DARN DELICIOUS!!! – Nagi x
Classic Baked Cheesecake recipe – made easy!
Watch how to make it
This is the Strawberry Cheesecake recipe video. The cheesecake is made exactly the same way as in this recipe, but is topped with a Strawberry Sauce.
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Classic Baked Cheesecake
Ingredients
CHEESECAKE BISCUIT BASE:
- 200g / 7 oz Arnott’s Marie crackers or other plain biscuit (Aus) or 28 Graham Cracker squares (Note 1)
- 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
CHEESECAKE FILLING:
- 1 lb / 500g cream cheese , softened (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 large eggs , at room temperature
TOPPINGS:
- Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
PREPARATION:
- Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan).
- Prepare pan – Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly and place a square piece of parchment/baking paper on the base. Then clip into the springform pan – excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video. Butter and line the side of the pan.
CHEESECAKE BISCUIT BASE:
- Blitz – Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz until fine crumbs (Note 5). Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.
- Press into pan – Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls. Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I used a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
FILLING:
- Beat cream cheese – Use a mixer or beater to beat the cream cheese until smooth – about 30 seconds on medium high,.
- Finish batter – Add flour, beat until just combined (10 sec). Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 – 15 sec). Add eggs one at a time, beat in between until just combined (10 sec each). Don't over beat, we don't want to aerate the batter.
- Bake – Pour into prepared crust. Bake for 55 minutes. The top should be a very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan.
- Cool in the oven with the door open 20 cm / 8" (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan.
- Remove springform pan sides. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
- Serve – Top with berries and dust with icing sugar!
Recipe Notes:
- Australia: Arnott’s Marie Crackers, Arrowroot and Nice are ideal, I’ve made it with all these.
- US: Use 28 squares / 14 full sheets, yes I measured it with my last Graham Cracker packet I brought back from my last trip.
- UK: Digestives are ideal, I LOVE digestives!
Nutrition Information:
More cheesecake recipes
I love a good cheesecake. Proof!
Life of Dozer
The recipe video I shot was a fail because a certain very large-furry-rascal with Giant Paws bumped the tripod while filming so I ended up with 10 minutes of footage of my dirty bench top.
I was extremely cranky with him. Yet look at him, eyeing the cheesecake! He still thinks he’s going to get some!!! Not a chance Dozer, not a chance!!!
It worked perfectly. I tripled the lemon so it was deliciously zesty and used butternut snap biscuits for the base which added a lovely texture and flavour.
i used 250g nice biscuits +150g butter and baked the mix for 10 min .used vanilla bean paste.
300g sour cream and Lime juice and zest ( we like it
(tangy) and of course mix it as per the original instructions
slight variation to recipe used 250g biscuits+150g butter then 500g cream cheese +165 caster sugar .then2tbsp plain flour 1tsvanilla bean paste +1tsp lime zest+1tbsp lime juice
than 3 eggs than 300g sour cream oven temp 160 fan force x 50 min plus cooling down as your recipe .in that order. topping this time i had chocolate melted and pour over the top P.S we prefer Lime as it has a stronger flavour and my baked cheese cakes dont crack on top for the same reason as you pointed out ..thank you
Best recipie ever
I made this cheesecake and it’s come out perfect, twice 😀 I’d like to know can I use qark to make it a bit more tart ? In Germany they use a lot of if, not so much in the UK but my mother is Austrian and I’m used to them tasting more “cheesy” ? But the cake as it is was easy to make so really appreciate your recipe ❤️😍
This cheesecake recipe was a massive favourite in our family, my fiance said it was the best cheesecake he’s ever had!! Recipe saved to my favourites.
Not sure what’s gone wrong. It’s been 65min and the cake still looks like batter – albeit with bubbles forming on top.
Butter has leaked out – I’m so glad I put a tray underneath.
Mine is currently still in the oven at nearly 75 minutes now! My oven in fan forced but I think 140 was too low. Hopefully it still turns out alright as I have to take it for a dessert tonight!
…think I over-beat mixture as there’s a dome forming. Been 20min now, have covered with foil in case it browns
Ended up taking 30min extra time altogether. Cheesecake formed a slight concave whilst in the fridge.
But, it tasted amazing and was a massive success. Plus went really well with your berry sauce recipe. 👍👍
How would I convert this to gluten free
Would the filling still set without the flour ie just omit it
and could I make the crust with almond meal
So good and so easy
This was brilliant. I made it today. The little time stamps really helped me to not airate the batter.
Wow! This was the most delicious cheesecake. The texture was creamy and the flavour from the lemon was beautiful. It was the perfect end to our BBQ and everyone loved it. One friend commented that it was so good it could just be served on its own!
The absolute best cheesecake recipe every. I LOVED IT!
Made it at Easter it turned out perfectly also I made your fish pie
at Easter it was so good
I made your baked cheese
OnEaster it was a huge success also made your fish
Pie another success your recipes are allways a winner
thank u so much
Hi Nagi,
I love your blog and recently bought your cookbook. I am struggling a bit with your cheesecake recipes as the smallest pan I have is 23cm. Have looked online for a 20cm but they all seem to be 23cm. Is it easy to adapt the recipe or should I just keep searching for the correct sized pan? Hoping you can help as I need to make it for a function this weekend. xxx
Ok so….
Note 3 for your recipe mentions lemon juice or water though the actual ingredients and filling process mentions neither. Now I love lemony cheesecake so I still put juice of half lemon in with the zest. I’m sure it’ll be ok, right??
Also I did it gluten free using both GF Arrowroot biscuits and ginger nut. Love a bit of ginger. Then I also did Lactose free using lactose free cream cheese and Greek yoghurt. Fingers crossed 🤞
Lol I also didn’t have any Plain GF flour so I used GF Self Raising but figured your suggestion of working with the top cracks could be employed here to catch the plethora of berries I plan on topping it with.
I know this recipe is quite a few years old now but hopefully you still see this Nagi. Your recipes are always my go to if my google search pops up a suggestion for a hankering I’ve got.
Merry Christmas 🎄
Hi Rachael, I have a feeling that the note referring to lemon juice/water might belong to Nagi’s strawberry (topped) cheesecake – the one that is shown in this video.
I used this recipe to make a Biscoff baked cheesecake – swapped in Biscoff biscuits for the crust, reduced sugar by 100g and poured a tub of melted Biscoff spread on top before I popped it in the fridge. It worked well, except I do think next time I would need to use about 50% more biscuits and less butter (as the Biscoff biscuits seem quite buttery). I had a pool of butter under my oven tray! Suspect it would be absolutely perfect with the suggested biscuits as per recipe
Hi Nagi, Thank you so much for another fabulous recipe. This was my first baked cheesecake and it turned out to be a beautifully creamy cheesecake with a really smooth texture and it tasted divine. One question though. A lot of butter/oil run out of the bottom of the pan and being my first baked cheesecake, I wasn’t sure if this was normal? I used all of the same ingredients except for the Marie biscuits – I didn’t have any so I used Butternut Snaps instead. Any thoughts?
Hi,
I want to try and make this with lactose free ingredients for my partners birthday.
I can get lactose free cream cheese blocks easy enough but can only find lite sour cream that is lactose free. Will lite sour cream work? Should I change the ratios? Or could I sub in full fat greek yogurt (I can get that lactose free).
If anyone is reading this and wondering for themselves. I used the lactose free greek yogurt and it worked well.
Best cheesecake better than store bought ! Was a huge success
Love this cheesecake! Everyone who has tried it says it’s the best cheesecake they’ve ever had.
Would I be able to make this a pumpkin cheesecake by adding a cup of canned pumpkin and some pumpkin pie spice? Or would I have to tweak the other ingredients, such as the eggs and flour?
This is always a winner with my family and friends. Thank you Nagi for this invaluable recipe, well all your recipes are invaluable. 🥰
2nd time I’ve made this. It was a hit!
I only have one critique the estimated time. As a complete amateur it takes me about 2 1/2 hours! Every time I read the recipe I’ve missed something!
🥵🥵🙄 Hahaha