Cheesecake 101
Cheesecake 101
It’s hard to pick my favourite between these 3 different cheesecake recipes! These are 3 foolproof recipes for No Bake, Baked, and Burnt Basque cheesecake.
I don’t even want to know how many cheesecakes I’ve eaten in my lifetime! I find it impossible to sit down and have a single slice. I just have it out with a fork next to it and pick it at it all day (Chandler and Rachel style!).
The No Bake Cheesecake recipe is super quick and easy – it probably only takes 15 minutes once you’ve got all your ingredients ready. It would be a great one to do with kids. It has a lovely smooth finish and a classic tangy, sweet taste. For a more professional finish, I make mine in a cake ring and use a blowtorch to heat up the edges before lifting the ring off, and a hot knife to create the perfect slice.
The Baked Cheesecake recipe is a bit more difficult but the smooth texture is like nothing else! Make sure you watch it in the oven as it will crack if you over bake it. The texture is more dense than the No Bake cheesecake, but it’s much creamier.
Lastly, the Burnt Basque Cheesecake. This recipe may seem more difficult, but it’s got no crust so it’s actually pretty easy to prepare. The texture is somewhere between the Baked and No Bake cheesecake. What I love about this cheesecake is you get a sort of Creme Brulee taste from the caramelisation on top, which sets it apart from the others.
I honestly can’t pick my favourite!
Once you’ve mastered these, check out my no-bake baileys cheesecake and my baked chocolate orange cheesecake recipes!
Ingredients
Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.
Blend the biscuits, then mix in the lemon and salt and half the melted butter. Add more butter to bring the mixture together, but make sure it’s not soggy.
Flatten the biscuit mixture into the base of your tin and freeze for 10 minutes.
Add all the filling ingredients to a bowl, and whisk gently to combine. If it feels too thick you can add some more cream to loosen it slightly. It doesn’t need long so don’t beat it for too long.
Take your tin out the freezer and spread the filling firmly into the cake tin. Flatten the top.
Freeze for 30 minutes, then chill it in the fridge for at least 4 hours.
Line the base of your cake tin with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 175C.
Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat.
Blend the biscuits, then mix in the lemon and salt and half the melted butter. Add more butter to bring the mixture together, but make sure it’s not soggy.
Bake the base in the oven for 10 minutes, then take it out to cool.
For the filling, add the cream cheese to a stand mixer bowl and beat on a low speed for 2 minutes until smooth. Sift in the flour and sugar and beat to combine.
Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat to combine.
Finally add the eggs and beat again until combined.
Take your bowl off your stand mixer and tap it firmly on your surface to remove any air bubbles.
Pour the filling mixture onto the baked base and flatten the top.
Place the tin in a larger, 9” cake tin to make sure none of your mixture seeps into the water, then place this tin in a deep tray, filled with boiling water.
Bake at 175C (non fan assisted) for 20 minutes, then at 160C for another 40 minutes or until there is a wobble in the centre. Keep checking it and be careful not to overbake it.
Cool the cheesecake to room temperature, then refrigerate it, uncovered, for 6 hours or overnight.
Add the cream cheese to a stand mixer bowl and beat on a low speed for 2 minutes until smooth.
Sift in the flour and sugar and beat to combine.
Pour in the cream and beat to combine.
Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
Once combined, take your bowl off your stand mixer and tap it firmly on your surface to remove any air bubbles.
Line the cake tin with crumpled parchment paper and pour the mixture in. You need about 3/4” space at the top of the tin for the cheesecake to rise.
Bake fan assisted, at 200C for 20 minutes, then another 15 minutes at 220C. It should be a deep brown colour and still jiggly.
Cool the cheesecake to room temperature, and then I like to refrigerate for 4 hours before serving.
I would be very curious about your tests of Polish cheesecakes! I would be happy to share my recipes! Greetings from Poland ♥️
Please do!
Can we bake Basque in a deck oven?
I’m afraid I’ve never used a deck oven!
I’m hoping to make a pumpkin cheesecake, too, but without pumpkin pie spice mix. My (current) plan is to use
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp mace
I’ll follow the recipe and will report back on how it goes.
Matt, I just tried and loved your current pumpkin spice cheesecake. Congratulations to all you hard-cooking chefs at Cheesecake 101!
Sounds yum!
What if the eggs weigh more than your recipe, say 240g after adding 1. Do you take some out or just leave it as is? If you do take some out, do you remove whites or the yolk or just mix it first? It’s my 1st time to try this and so I’m not sure if there’s room for error. Thanks:)
Crack the eggs, whisk them, then weigh them. Add/remove what you need. then add to the recipe!