This classic baked cheesecake is rich and creamy yet light, sweet without being overly sweet. This is an easy Cheesecake recipe that anyone can make, thanks to a couple of little-but-important tips I’m sharing!
For your next cheesecake, try the stunning Strawberry Cheesecake or famous Basque Cheesecake!
Baked cheesecake – made easy!
This is an easy Cheesecake recipe. Well, I should say, this is a baked cheesecake recipe that’s made easy with a few key tips that make all the difference.
I think some people find the idea of making cheesecakes daunting, especially ones where the biscuit crust comes up the side like this one. But you know what? In my humble opinion, cheesecake is easier to make than cakes.
You don’t need to worry about the cake rising, or even sadder is when it sinks in the middle while it cools (such a let down after thinking you’ve nailed it!). And it’s definitely easier than making pastry.
The risk of failure with baked cheesecakes is lower. There’s no rising agent, no gelatine to set it. If the surface cracks (but it shouldn’t, with my tips! 🙂 ), just hide it under icing sugar and/or a pile of berries – or the biscuit crust cracks a bit.
See? How would anyone know if the surface is cracked?? 😉
Easy Cheesecake recipe tips
Here are my tips to make this classic baked Cheesecake stress free and easy for you to make:
The biscuit crust is stronger than you think. I always stress that the crust is going to crack (especially the walls) but it always surprises me how well it holds together when I’m handling the finished cheesecake. It’s firm but has a little give so it doesn’t crack with the slightest bend.
Invert the base of the springform pan. Though the ridge around the base of the pan is small, it can be a real pain to transfer the cheesecake out of the base onto the serving platter. We can’t flip cheesecake upside down like with cakes!! So make your life easier by inverting the base so it’s perfectly flat so the cheesecake will slide right off onto the platter.
Paper overhang – this also helps remove the cheesecake. Just slide it right off the cake pan base!
Press biscuit crumbs firmly using something flat. The key to a sturdy crust is pressing the biscuit crumbs firmly into the base and up the wall of the cheesecake. Use something with straight walls and a flat base – I use a measuring cup. I use the side of the cup to press the crumbs into the walls and the base to press down.
Easy Cheesecake recipe tips (cont’d)
Don’t over-beat the batter. Unlike cake batters, we don’t want to aerate cheesecake batter to make it rise too much. If you over-beat the batter causing bubbles in the batter, the cheesecake will rise more when baking then when it collapses as it cools, it will crack.
Room temp ingredients – make sure the cream cheese is softened and the eggs are at room temp. This will ensure your cheesecake filling is beautifully smooth as it should be!
Bake on a low temp – helps ensure the surface doesn’t crack.
No water bath – it’s tedious and makes no difference. See this Strawberry Cheesecake for notes and a side by side comparison.
Cheesecake surface shouldn’t crack…. but if it does, don’t worry! Just hide them under berries or cream!!
What this Baked Cheesecake tastes like
The Cheesecake Spectrum is very broad and this version is a classic one that sits in the middle. On one hand, you have cheesecakes that are very dense and creamy which weigh a ton – like a New York cheesecake that uses twice as much cream cheese for the same size cheesecake. Many no-bake cheesecakes have a tendency to be too heavy – unless you use gelatine like in this No Bake Mango Cheesecake.
On the other side of the Cheesecake Spectrum, you have cheesecakes that are so light and airy, it is almost like a souffle. Like this famous Japanese Cotton Cheesecake on my mother’s website, RecipeTin Japan. Then there’s the beautiful Basque Cheesecake with its signature caramelised surface which is also very light.
This one is in between. It is creamy and definitely indulgent, but not dense. The texture is light when you cut into it but the mouthfeel is creamy. It’s sweet but not overly so. I have more of a savoury than sweet tooth so I don’t enjoy extremely sweet desserts too much.
And lastly, a little touch of lemon zest just gives it that perfect finishing tough.
All those words to describe the cheesecake. I should have just said – THIS IS DARN DELICIOUS!!! – Nagi x
Classic Baked Cheesecake recipe – made easy!
Watch how to make it
This is the Strawberry Cheesecake recipe video. The cheesecake is made exactly the same way as in this recipe, but is topped with a Strawberry Sauce.
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Classic Baked Cheesecake
Ingredients
CHEESECAKE BISCUIT BASE:
- 200g / 7 oz Arnott’s Marie crackers or other plain biscuit (Aus) or 28 Graham Cracker squares (Note 1)
- 120g / 8 tbsp unsalted butter , melted
CHEESECAKE FILLING:
- 1 lb / 500g cream cheese , softened (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp plain flour (all purpose flour)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup sour cream (full fat)
- 1 1/2 cups caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- Zest of 1 lemon
- 3 large eggs , at room temperature
TOPPINGS:
- Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries
- Icing sugar / powdered sugar , for dusting
Instructions
PREPARATION:
- Preheat oven to 160°C/320°F (140°C fan).
- Prepare pan – Get a 20cm/8" springform cake tin. Turn the base UPSIDE DOWN (Note 4), butter lightly and place a square piece of parchment/baking paper on the base. Then clip into the springform pan – excess paper will stick out, see photos in post and video. Butter and line the side of the pan.
CHEESECAKE BISCUIT BASE:
- Blitz – Break up biscuits roughly by hand and place in a food processor. Blitz until fine crumbs (Note 5). Add butter, briefly blitz until dispersed and it resembles wet sand.
- Press into pan – Pour into the prepared cake tin. Use a spatula to roughly spread it out over the base and up the walls. Use something with a flat base and vertical edges (I used a measuring cup) to press the crumbs up the wall almost to the top of the sides, and flatten the base.
FILLING:
- Beat cream cheese – Use a mixer or beater to beat the cream cheese until smooth – about 30 seconds on medium high,.
- Finish batter – Add flour, beat until just combined (10 sec). Add vanilla, sour cream, sugar and lemon zest. Beat until just combined (10 – 15 sec). Add eggs one at a time, beat in between until just combined (10 sec each). Don't over beat, we don't want to aerate the batter.
- Bake – Pour into prepared crust. Bake for 55 minutes. The top should be a very light golden brown, not cracked, and near perfectly flat. It should jiggle slightly when you gently shake the pan.
- Cool in the oven with the door open 20 cm / 8" (Note 6), then refrigerate for 4 hours+ in the pan.
- Remove springform pan sides. Use overhang paper to slide cheesecake off the cake pan. Then slide the cheesecake off the paper.
- Serve – Top with berries and dust with icing sugar!
Recipe Notes:
- Australia: Arnott’s Marie Crackers, Arrowroot and Nice are ideal, I’ve made it with all these.
- US: Use 28 squares / 14 full sheets, yes I measured it with my last Graham Cracker packet I brought back from my last trip.
- UK: Digestives are ideal, I LOVE digestives!
Nutrition Information:
More cheesecake recipes
I love a good cheesecake. Proof!
Life of Dozer
The recipe video I shot was a fail because a certain very large-furry-rascal with Giant Paws bumped the tripod while filming so I ended up with 10 minutes of footage of my dirty bench top.
I was extremely cranky with him. Yet look at him, eyeing the cheesecake! He still thinks he’s going to get some!!! Not a chance Dozer, not a chance!!!
Made it last night and follow through all the tips and notes provided. It turned out nice and smooth and no crack!! Yum!! It is so decilious!!
I did reduce the sugar to 250g. Thank you for the recipe!!
Wahoo, I’m so glad you loved it Phyllis!!
My first cheesecake turned out amazing. Thank you for sharing your recipe Nagi 🙂
I reduced the sugar to 1 Cup for my taste.
Perfect! – N x
Hello, I’ve just made this for the 5th time :). How many days does this keep for. Thank you.
I’ve kept it for around 5 days… it didn’t last any longer than that before it was eaten 😂
OMG i got lots of compliments about this cheesecake😍 i added 2tbsp of matcha powder to make matcha cheesecake and it worked really well💖 definitely become my go-to recipe from now on!!!
Woah, sounds great Zara, I’ll have to try it!
I have made it twice in a week. Great tips about room temperature ingredients and cooling in the oven for no crack. I found the first time that the time required was a good 15 minutes longer at 140 fan and also I thought it was too sweet ( that’s a lot of sugar). Second time baked for an hour at 150 fan and also cut the sugar by a third. It is perfect – excellent texture and flavour. And the crust up the side is divine. Thanks Nagi!
Hi, if I’m in the UK and skipping the sour cream do I just use more cream cheese?
Hi Thandie! Nope, just skip the sour cream and proceed with recipe 🙂 N x
I’m so glad it worked out for you Karen!
Hi. I baked this today but the centre (about an 1/8th of a cup) was still not completely cooked through. Should I bake say at 150 fan for 50 minutes ?
Hi Geoff, it may depend on the oven and might need slightly longer to set. It should still have a slight wobble when you take it out but should set once refrigerated. – N x
Hi Nagi, just wondering why you don’t list Arnott’s Granita biscuits as a choice for Aussies. Aren’t they the same as UK digestives?
I think they are drier 🙂 But yes Granitas will work fine! Any plain biscuit will actually work fine for biscuit bases 🙂 Even some flavoured ones like Ginger snaps!
Hi Nagi, I found Hobnobs at my local IGA on special 🙂
So I made it. The first thing I noticed was that I had way more filling than crust. I only used about ¾ of the mixture to get to the top of the crust. Once baked, the filling had risen well above the crust and after cooling the middle of the filling sagged, pulling the sides of the crust inwards. This is convenient in a way because it’s created a “dished” top for the filling but I don’t think it’s supposed to look like that. Any idea where I went wrong?
I baked it in my smoker over nectarine wood so I’m looking forward to tasting it a little later once the topping has cooled!
hey, i was just wondering if the cheesecake is meant to be fully cooled before putting it into the fridge?
Hi Katie, Cool it in the oven, it can be slightly warm when you put it in the fridge – N x
A very nice textured, straight forward cheesecake. A
i
I actually halved everything as there are just the two of us. Shortened the baking time a little as it was more torte sized, but it worked very well. I used Nice biscuits which were fine and topped it with raspberry coolie and fresh raspberries. Very tasty. Thanks for the easy recipe.
Have now made this cheesecake for a party. Used the full recipe to make 18 patty cakes (~7mm).
Placed a tablespoon of biscuit mix into each patty pan and tamped down with small glass. Did not bother with biscuit up the sides as the paper holds the cheese mix. Can be supported in muffin pans for perfectly shaped results. Shorter baking time needed for mini cheese cakes.
They looked very pretty and were easy to share and eat in a party situation. All guests loved them. Thanks.
Sounds like you nailed it Angela!
Very delicious, easy to make and has now become the family’s favourite cheesecake! My 3 teenage girls did some help in the kitchen and it was a nice bonding time for us too! Thanks for sharing this recipe Nagi.
Made this for my brother birthday. It was easy and fabulous. So creamy and rich. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
That’s so lovely Xenia!
This Cheesecake is the perfect recipe. My crusts are always too solid – this time it was perfect (I used digestives) and baked beautifully even with my horrible oven that never behaves itself – I just had to leave it in a bit longer and wait for my wobble to be a bit more solid. I then changed the berry topping with walnuts, pistachios and baklava type honey syrup as we are going into winter now.. but everyone absolutely loved this cheesecake. Your recipes are simply marvelous – thank you 🙂
Thanks so much Chivonne!!
Did a practice run for an Easter version of this last weekend… devoured at a friend’s house for dinner!! They wanted the recipe!!!! Speaks for itself really… am just making again now for Easter celebrations with family tomorrow, A total winner of a cheesecake!
Just popped my first ever baked cheesecake in the oven. I took some liberties for a gluten free person. Gluten free ginger nuts with some almond meal in the base and almond meal for the flour on the filling. I also used repadura sugar and maple syrup instead of refined sugar. Fingers xd:)
Thanks Nagi
Cheers
Ruth
I’d love to know how it goes Ruth!
Hi Nagi
I live in South Africa. I love your blog and recipes!!!
Can the baked cheesecake recipe be doubled without any hitches?
Ps I love the pica of Dozer
Hi Bridgid, thanks so much for the feedback! I honestly haven’t tried to double this one, the only problems you’d encounter is the cook time and possibility of it cracking – N x
Thank you for such a well written and thoughtful recipe – even down to what kind of biscuit to use for what country! This is my first cheesecake and the daunting task was made easier by such a thorough recipe and instructions. It’s currently in the oven cooking fingers crossed it comes out looking even remotely like yours! 🙂
I’d love to know what you think once it’s done!
Hi Nagi, I don’t even look at recipe books anymore – just head to your site – thank you. It’s too late to ask because my cheesecake is in the oven but I doubled it!. I should have asked in advance – have I just made a mistake and how long is this giant going to take to cook? Oh well, fingers crossed 🙂 May your website never leave us
That cheesecake is divine – doubling it and cooking for 1 hour seemed to work although it made a massive cake – topped with your strawberries – birthday boy extremely happy
Wahoo!
Hi Linda, sorry for the late reply, how did you go??
Made this today and the 4hr wait is killing meeee! Cannot wait to get into it tonight. Everything looks right but the top didn’t go golden gorgeous like yours but its definitely set.
P.S- we are madly in love with your white sauce chicken enchiladas! I have been making them for awhile now and they are absolutely amazing! So hard not to dip my finger in the sauce every time I make it ❤
Yummo! Easy to bake and easier to eat. Great recipe. Will make agai and again. Thank you!
Thanks so much for the great feedback Sonia!
Hi this is the first baked cheesecake I have ever made and when I turned the oven off it sank in the middle. It had started to brown a fair bit on the outside and cracked on one side of the top surface. Does this mean it over cooked? Why did it sink? Thanks. I have loads of berries to cover it so I’m not worried, but would really like to conquer it another time.
Hi Jacina, that doesn’t sound right at all! What temp did you have the oven on? – N x
made this for my uncle’s birthday. this is my first time making cheesecake and its the tastiest cheesecake ive ever tasted. my families loved it. i think cheesecakes taste generally pretty much the same but it balls down to texture. this is not heavy and dense or even too light. its just right!
Thanks so much for the awesome feedback Sara!