Classic New York Cheesecake with Philadelphia Recipe

New York Cheesecake

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Cheesecake is a dish of European and American cuisine. Simply put, it’s a dessert made with cheese or farmer’s cheese. There are countless variations and recipes, from cottage cheese bakes to soufflés.

As a rule, cheesecakes are made from regular cheeses such as ricotta, Havarti or farmer’s cheese, but most often from cream cheese. Sometimes fruit, liqueurs, eggs, sweets, vanilla, chocolate and so on are added. The general idea of the dessert is a sweet cheese mixture laid over a layer of crushed cookies or crackers. Often, though, a sponge cake base is baked for it.

The base of the American cake is Philadelphia cream cheese. Made from milk and cream, this unripened cheese has a delicate texture more like butter and is a bit similar to mascarpone.

Every country has its own versions and recipes. We’re making the so-called New York cheesecake. North America has several kinds that vary a lot by region. The American dessert is usually baked and made with very thick cream, cream cheese and eggs.

Ingredients

8-12 servings

For the crust

  • Shortbread cookies 2-3 packs (185 g each)
  • Butter 150 g
  • Sugar 1 tsp (5 g)

For the filling

  • Philadelphia cream cheese 500 g
  • Powdered sugar 200 g
  • Flour 1-2 tbsp (10–20 g)
  • Vanillin to taste
  • Eggs 3
  • Liqueur (coffee or cream) 50 ml
  • Cream (33% fat) 100 ml

For decorating

  • Fruit, powdered sugar, cocoa, chocolate to taste

Step-by-step recipe

Cookie crust

Making this American culinary masterpiece, whatever the recipe, takes some skill and know-how. Although, I admit, my daughter got it right the first time, and it was incredibly delicious. You’ll need a blender and a baking pan, preferably a springform, 26 or 28 cm in diameter: the diameter only affects how thick the shortbread layer is.

  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Put the shortbread cookies in a blender.

    Shortbread cookies for the cheesecake crust.

    Grind them thoroughly into “dust”. The finer the better. You should end up with something close to cookie flour.

    Shortbread cookies ground into fine crumbs in a blender.

  1. Warm the butter until soft, but don’t melt it. Mix the butter with the cookie crumbs, add 1 tsp of sugar (5 g) and mix thoroughly.

    Butter mixed with cookie crumbs in a bowl.

  2. Put the cookie mixture into the pan and press it down firmly. It’s handy to do this with a glass, not a faceted one but the kind bars use now, with a big flat bottom.

    By the way, the crust can be any thickness, and the ratio of crust to filling can be anything too. Often it’s a thick crust with a little filling, or the other way around. We think the tastiest version is a thin one, with equal crust and filling and a total height of no more than 4 centimeters.

    Cookie crumb mixture pressed into a springform pan.

  3. Put the pan with the cookie crust in the oven for 10 minutes. Take the pan out of the oven and let the crust cool to room temperature.

    Baked cookie crust in a springform pan.

Cheese filling

  1. Mash the Philadelphia cheese with a fork, add the powdered sugar and mix. Now a very important point: using a whisk or a mixer on the lowest speed, so no air bubbles form, stir the mixture, then add 1-2 tbsp of flour (10–20 g) and vanillin to taste. Keep stirring and add the eggs one at a time.

    Cream cheese mixed with eggs in a bowl.

  1. Add the liqueur, 50 ml. Which one is up to you: Baileys, Kahlúa or any coffee or cream liqueur you can get, even Sheridan’s.

    Adding coffee liqueur to the cheesecake filling.

    Stir, and only then add the cream. Mix until completely smooth.

    Cream added to the cheesecake filling and mixed until smooth.

Baking and chilling

The biggest problem is the cheese filling, which always tends to crack, so it’s very important to keep the temperature steady and heat it absolutely evenly. If cracks do appear, the top is usually cleverly disguised with fruit, cream, chocolate and so on.

  1. When the filling is ready, pour it into the pan over the cookie crust. Smooth it with a spatula, making sure there are no bubbles.

    Cheesecake filling poured over the cookie crust in the pan.

  2. Put the pan in the oven at 180°C for 45 minutes. Keep an eye on the dessert: every oven is different, and you may need to lower the temperature while it bakes. I’ve seen recipes that pour water into the baking tray or bake it in a water bath, but I prefer the traditional way.

    The cheesecake is done when the edges are firm and the cheese filling in the middle wobbles slightly.

    Cheesecake in a springform pan going into the oven.

  3. Turn off the oven, open the door a little and let the cheesecake cool in the oven. But the dessert isn’t ready yet. Put the pan in the fridge for 5-6 hours or overnight.

    A superb, delicious cheese treat.

    Baked cheesecake chilling in the fridge.
    Chilled New York cheesecake, a sweet cheese treat.

Serving

  1. Decorate the cheesecake with fruit to please the eye and sprinkle with powdered sugar, cocoa or chocolate. Chilled cheesecake is exceptionally good with morning coffee.

    Classic New York cheesecake decorated with fruit

Calories and macros

830 kcal

Serving ≈ 200 g

  • Protein10 g5% of kcal
  • Fat56 g61% of kcal
  • Carbs70 g34% of kcal

100 g406 kcalProtein 4.9 gFat 27.4 gCarbs 34.3 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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