All About Cheesecake

Dec 18, 2017
4 min read

I will say, I am quite tired of making this cheesecake. This is my mother-in-law's recipe and I've made it for probably hundreds of people, at every family event, including my brothers engagement party. I constantly get asked for this recipe, well my friends, here it is! Cheesecake is generally a very sensitive dessert, especially regarding temperature but I've made this cheesecake with cream cheese and eggs straight out of the fridge and I don't really see a difference. I know some people are always looking for a cheesecake that doesn't crack, well this one might but on the bright side you will cover it with cool whip and topping ! However there are a few things you could do to avoid cracking, I'll list them down below.

People make cheesecake in SO many different ways, some add flour, sour cream, heavy whipping cream, lemon juice, etc. but this cheesecake is pretty simple...for a baked a cheesecake. It's pretty plain so you can add what ever topping you want or you can use it as a base and turn it into a completely different cheesecake. There's an invisible layer between the cream cheese and the cool whip that no one ever notices, it's sour cream with sugar, that gives it a little tang, which doesn't really go with certain flavors so I've omitted this layer when adding different flavors. I've turned this into a pumpkin cheesecake, tiramisu, smore's and a double chocolate s'mores cheesecake and it's turned out pretty darn good! The original recipe is made in a 9"x13" glass pan but like I've said I've made it every way possible, including mini spring form pans and a muffin pan.

CHEESECAKE

YIELD: 1 cake | PREP TIME: 30 min | COOK TIME: 50-55 minutes | TOTAL TIME: 1 hour 25 min

INGREDIENTS:

Crust:

1 package (about 12 sheets) honey graham crackers
1 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1-2 tbsp. milk

Batter:

24oz. (3 packages) cream cheese
1 cups granulated sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract *optional

Invisible Layer (optional):

16 oz. sour cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Cool Whip:

8-12oz. cool whip*
1-2 tbsp. sour cream**

*Depending on what size your pan is. For a 9" springform I use 8oz. and for a 9"x13" pan I use 12oz.

**Depending on how much cool whip you're using - you can barely taste the sour cream in the cool, it's just prevents the cool whip from melting when you leave it out for a party.

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Crush graham crackers in food processor (or by hand if you want).
Pour melted butter and milk over graham cracker crumbs and mix with a spoon until milk and butter have blended evenly with the crumbs.
Spray pan with non stick spray and press crumbs into pan evenly, going as high up on the sides as you'd like. Set aside
Beat cream cheese with sugar at a medium-high rate in stand mixer for a few minutes, until fluffy.
Add in only THREE eggs and beat another few minutes at a low-medium rate
Add in other three eggs and beat for 5-10 minutes at a low-medium rate until batter is thick and creamy. In the past, I've beat the batter until it peaked almost like whipping cream but that isn't necessary unless you want your cheesecake to be extremely fluffy!
Pour batter over graham cracker crust and bake for about 35 minutes.
Mix sour cream (leave 1-2tbsp. for cool whip) with sugar.
Remove cheesecake from oven when it is still jiggly but not too jiggly that it will break through when setting sour cream on top. Spread sour cream mixture evenly on top and bake for about another 15-20 minutes, until edges are golden brown and center is still slightly jiggly.

LOVE NOTES

Using room temperature ingredients may help with preventing cracks and lumps in your cheesecake. I've used cold ingredients and had lumps BEFORE baking that baked fine without lumps in the final product. I've also used room temperature ingredients and still had the cheesecake crack.
Baking at lower temperatures for longer amounts of time may prevent cracking (tried this too and cheesecake came out normal).
Allowing cheesecake to sit in oven for a little while after turning it off may prevent cracking and then once removing allow cheesecake to come to room temperature before refrigerating.
Making water bath for cheesecake may prevent cracking. (I do not like water baths, putting my delicious cheesecake at risk is not my thing so if I do a water bath I usually just put water in a pan and set it next to the cheesecake in the oven. It may not be as great but it still adds some moisture to the environment without putting my cheesecake at risk)!

I will say, I didn't even like cheesecake before I tried this one so it's definitely a game changer! Let me know what you guys think about this recipe and especially if you try out a different cheesecake flavor. As always if you have any questions at all or any suggestions about future blog posts let me know down below!