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.Â
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!
Â
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.
Ingredients
Directions
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.
Hi
Do you weigh the eggs in the shell or out.
Thanks
Without the shell 🙂
Thanks for the recipe, I’m preparing it right now because my boyfriend is flying from Germany to Guatemala and it’s his birthday and it will be the first time we’ll see each other in person and your Cheesecake will be his surprise because he loves that cake❣️🇩🇪 🇬🇹
Hope he loves it!!
How many eggs it s? Please
Jana
You need to crack them and weigh them 🙂 one egg is roughly 60g
Hi
I will definitely try your recipe of the baked cheesecake. Do you know which temperature should the cheesecake itself has to be to know if it is ready?
Thank you
It’s more of a visual – looking for a slight wobble in the centre then take it out of the oven!
There’s mention of vanilla in step 22 of the Basque cheesecake but is not included in list of ingredients. How much to add please? Thank you.
1 fresh vanilla pod or 1.5 tsp of vanilla bean paste 🙂
Is the baking temps for the the burnt basque cake 200C and 220C with or without fan on? Excited to try this!
220c with fan!
What is the best way to do the Basque recipe in an oven that doesn’t have the fan-assisted feature?
You can use non fan assisted, just lower the temp by 15c
Thank you, I made it for my dad and it turned out amazing!
Great!! So glad
Hi – what kind of cream cheese (fat%) are you using. I’m in the Netherlands and we basically have 2 options Monchou which is 31% fat or Philadelphia which is 21.5% fat which I imagine would make a difference in these recipes.
I used Philly here!! so should be the same i hope 🙂
Hi Matt
I would love to make the burnt basque cheesecake. My fan assisted oven only goes to 200 centigrade. If I want to go to 220 I need to use a circo roasting setting which is for crisping up things OR switch to the conventional oven setting. Which setting do you think would be closest to the original recipe?
Many thanks
Hi Wendy! I would just for about 180C non fan assisted (conventional)
wait mattt above you said increase the temp by 15° for a conventional oven! i’m confused… 180° then 195° or 215° then 235°? ty
Sorry, if doing the basque, lower the temp by 15c if using NON fan assisted oven
Hey! If i wanted to use the base basque cheesecake recipe, do I need to adjust anything if I want to add a flavor? pistachio, strawberry, etc? thank you!
I haven’t tested flavour adaptations I’m afraid
Hi Matt! Wonderful recipe. I was thinking of turning the classic baked cheesecake into a pumpkin spice cheesecake for the holidays. What would I need to swap out?
Thanks! I’m a huge fan from Canada. ❤️
Hi! Oh I haven’t used a pumpkin spice mix before but maybe that could be added into the dry ingredients?
Can we bake Basque in a deck oven?
I’m afraid I’ve never used a deck oven!