New York Cheesecake with Classic Shortbread Crust

This is everything you need to know to bake the ultimate rich and creamy New York-style cheesecake. The recipe includes a classic shortbread crust with the option for a graham cracker crust if that's your preference.

"This is hands down the perfect cheesecake. Great texture and flavor, is not overly sweet, and something I always get requests for. Another winner!" - Judy

This New York Cheesecake recipe includes everything I know about making it, storing it, freezing it, serving it, and even transporting and decorating it for a special occasion.

The really good news here is that making the kind of rich and creamy New York Cheesecake that everyone will be talking about for years is actually quite simple.

• This base cheesecake recipe can be used to create any kind of flavored cheesecake you desire
• The recipe includes a classic shortbread crust without graham crackers
• BUT, for all you graham cracker lovers, I've also included instructions for how to make a graham cracker crust instead

I've made this cheesecake countless times over the years, including for a few weddings. One bride told me recently that even though she's been married for over 12 years, people still bring up her wedding cake as the best cheesecake they've ever eaten.

I cannot think of a better compliment for a cheesecake recipe than that.

What is New York-Style Cheesecake?

New York-style cheesecake is tall, dense, and incredibly rich and creamy. The pinnacle of indulgence.

The center of a New York Cheesecake should be silky smooth and soft - somewhat like the consistency of really good pastry cream. Then, moving out to the edges, the cake should gradually get firmer, changing ever so slightly from soft and creamy to drier and cake-like.

The flavor of a classic New York Cheesecake is pure and simple. Elegant. The cake should taste rich, slightly tangy, not cloyingly sweet, with just a hint of vanilla or a touch of citrus.

New York Cheesecake should NOT be thin, airy, gummy, chewy, dry, or heavy.

Critics of New York Cheesecake (yes, they exist) claim that this style of cheesecake is too dense. On this point, I want to offer what I think is an important distinction: New York Cheesecake should be dense but not heavy.

Let me clarify - a dense, ultra rich texture is the entire point of a New York Cheesecake. If you're looking for a light-as-air kind of dessert, you're not going to find it in a New York-style cheesecake. But, dense and heavy are not the same thing.

The best analogy I can think of is the difference between a really good chocolate truffle and chocolate fudge. Both are rich and dense. But the truffle has a lightness to it, while the fudge feels heavy. Not a perfect comparison, but one that hopefully communicates the distinction I'd like to make.

In this recipe, the texture is dense but not heavy. It's rich and creamy in a way that melts on your tongue rather than something you have to work to chew your way through.

Base Cheesecake Recipe Ingredients

1. Cream Cheese, obvi. This is not a time to skimp. Use high-quality full-fat cream cheese in this cheesecake.
2. Granulated sugar. The overarching quality of a really good New York cheesecake is rich and creamy, not cloying. As such, this recipe includes enough sugar to make the batter sweet, but not overly so.
3. All-purpose flour. Including a very small amount of starch creates a cohesive batter that bakes up into cheesecake that's easy to slice and has rich, velvety mouthfeel.
4. Salt. A little bit of salt makes everything better, even cheesecake.
5. Whole eggs and a few extra egg yolks. Eggs give cheesecake structure and richness and are essential to achieving a thick, stable, "set" consistency. But it's the egg yolks that give cheesecake a smooth, rich texture. To create an ultra creamy consistency, this recipe uses just enough whole eggs for structure, and a couple of extra yolks for extra richness.
6. Heavy Cream. Most New York Cheesecake recipes call for sour cream, but I prefer heavy cream. Cream cheese already has a mildly tangy flavor and this recipe includes a whopping 32 ounces of cream cheese. Adding more tang in the form of sour cream interferes with the rich, elegantly simple flavor that's essential to an exceptionally delicious slice of cheesecake. Another bonus: Heavy cream also has a higher fat content than sour cream, further contributing to this cake's silky, ultra creamy texture.
7. Vanilla. Use pure vanilla extract, not the imitation stuff. Alternatively, you can scrape the inside of a vanilla bean into the batter for an even more intense vanilla flavor.

Classic Shortbread Crust Ingredients

Although the vast majority of cheesecake recipes call for a graham cracker crust, "traditional" New York Cheesecake has a buttery, shortbread crust.

The crust is a simple mixture of 4 ingredients:

1. All-purpose flour
2. Granulated sugar
3. One large egg
4. Butter. I prefer to use salted butter, but if you're sensitive to salt, use unsalted.

This recipe makes a mild-flavored shortbread crust that's only very slightly sweet because its purpose is to showcase the star of the show - the cheesecake. The crust isn't trying to compete with the cheesecake. It's just there to support it.

Personally, I prefer this traditional shortbread crust to the sweeter, stronger flavors of a graham cracker crust. But, honestly, I'm not much of a traditionalist in anything. Eat what you like, I say.

If you're a graham cracker lover, you'll find instructions in the notes section of the recipe card for how to make a New York Cheesecake with a graham cracker crust.

Step-by-Step Photos and Instructions

New York-style cheesecake might be one of the most impressive and indulgent desserts to serve, but it's one of the easiest desserts to make. Here's how:

Before you get started making the shortbread crust, take a moment to prepare the pan so the cheesecake will not stick. Spray the inside of a springform pan with non-stick baking spray. Cut out a parchment round to fit the bottom of the pan and press it into the pan. Then, lightly spray the parchment with a bit of non-stick baking spray.

To make the shortbread crust, dump all the ingredients into a bowl and mix until they are moistened and form a dough.

Press the dough into a springform pan that's been lined with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick baking spray. The dough should cover the bottom of the pan and rise about a half-inch up the side of the pan.

Prick the dough all over with a fork and then bake for about 15 minutes

Let the crust cool while you make the cheesecake batter.

Use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until creamy and completely smooth.

Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks and beat until they are incorporated into the batter.

Add the cream and vanilla and mix just until incorporated.

Pour the cheesecake batter into the crust. The batter will come up nearly to the top of the pan.

Bake the cheesecake at 475 degrees F (246 degrees C) for 15 minutes.

Leaving the oven door closed, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees F (93 degrees C) and bake for 50-60 minutes longer.

How to know when the cheesecake is done: Very gently shake the pan. You should see a small amount of movement, a slight wobble, in the center of the cheesecake, but it will be clearly set. If the center appears liquidy when you gently shake the pan, it needs longer to bake. Be patient. Cheesecake cannot be rushed.

Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed for 30 minutes.

Remove the cheesecake from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack. Pop it in the refrigerator, uncovered, for about 2 hours, until it's chilled. Then, cover the cheesecake and continue refrigerating for a total time of at least 8 hours.

Do You Have to Bake Cheesecake in a Water Bath?

Nope.

This cheesecake is not baked in a water bath. Instead, it’s baked at a high temperature for 15 minutes, then at a very low temperature to ensure it stays creamy inside.

Baking the cheesecake at a high temperature for a few minutes creates a steam-induced "spring" in the cheesecake batter that keeps the consistency from being overly heavy.

When you bake cheesecake at a low temperature for the entire time, usually in a water bath, it creates an ultra dense texture that can feel heavy. This method avoids that.

Here's the downside: your cheesecake might crack. The steam from baking cheesecake in a water bath helps it rise nice and slowly, reducing the risk of cracks on the surface of the cake.

I care MUCH more about texture and flavor than cracks in the surface. I've used this cheesecake recipe hundreds of times for every kind of occasion - even for wedding cakes. Sometimes it cracks, sometimes it doesn't.

As you can see in the photo above, the cheesecake I baked for these photos has a crack in the top. Do I care? Not even a little bit. Did I rush to bake another one just so it would look perfect for the photos? Nope.

I'll choose taste and texture above aesthetics every single time. No contest.

How to Bake a Cheesecake Wedding Cake

You can bake this cheesecake in any size cake pan, but be sure to use deep pans with 3-inch sides. Remove the cheesecake from the pan by setting it in a larger pan that's been filled with hot water. Run a knife around the outside of the pan to release the sides of the cake.

Then, set a large baking sheet that's been covered in parchment paper over the top of the cake and flip the whole thing over onto the baking sheet. Quickly, set another baking sheet that's also been covered in parchment paper over the cake and flip it again so it's right side up.

Tips for Baking Cheesecake in a Standard Cake Pan (not a springform pan):

1. Be sure the cake is well chilled (at least 8 hours in the refrigerator) before trying to turn it out. If you want added assurance, pop it in the freezer for a couple of hours.
2. This is a tall cake, but it's not as tall as a traditional layer cake. If you're wanting to create the appearance of tall, decorated layers, set the cheesecake on top of a styrofoam cake dummy and then decorate the entire thing. That's what I did in the photo below - each of the 6 cheesecakes sit atop a styrofoam round to create the appearance of tall layers.
3. Every wedding I ever made this for was in the middle of summer. To deal with the heat, I decorated the layers with Italian Meringue Buttercream, then put them in individual boxes and set them in the freezer at least a week before the event. I removed them from the freezer right before transport, setting them up at the venue and adding finishing touches. When it was time to serve, the cakes were thawed, but still perfectly cool.

Storage and Freezing Instructions

• This cheesecake will keep well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 4 days.
• Or, freeze this cheesecake for up to 3 months.

Some recipes claim that you can't freeze cheesecake that doesn't include sour cream. This is simply not true. This cheesecake, which contains heavy cream instead of sour cream, freezes beautifully for up to 3 months.

The most important thing to remember when freezing cheesecake is to wrap it well. I usually wrap it in 2 layers of plastic wrap and then a layer or two of aluminum foil.

To freeze the whole cheesecake: Leave the cake in the pan or remove it to a flat plate or cake board. Allow the cheesecake to thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight.

To freeze slices of cheesecake: Separate slices with pieces of parchment paper, then push the slices together, wrap them up, and pop them in the freezer. The parchment paper separators will allow you to remove as few or as many slices as you like.

Cheesecake Topping Ideas

My favorite thing to serve with New York Cheesecake is Cherry Sauce.

Cherry sauce is one of those things I make all summer long, spooning it over ice cream, cakes, pancakes, waffles, scones, biscuits and cheesecake. But, you can also use frozen cherries to make it any time of year.

Other great cheesecake topping options include:

• Butterscotch Sauce
• Salted Caramel Sauce
• Whisky Sauce
• Maple Brown Butter Roasted Fruit Sauce
• Blueberry Sauce
• Hot Fudge Sauce
• Caramel Rum Sauce

FAQs

New York Cheesecake is a Building Block Recipe

Building block recipes are tried-and-true recipes that I consider foundational to great home baking. They are the kind of recipes I come back to over and over again, sometimes baking them as is, but often using them as a jumping off point to create something new. > Scroll through all Building Block recipes.