by Diana Rattray
Gussy this classic crustless cheesecake up with your favorite pie filling, ice cream topping, or a fresh fruit sauce.
You might want to top it with this dulce de leche, homemade caramel sauce, or apple dessert filling.
Recipe Variations
- Fruit Swirl: Swirl a few tablespoons of fruit purée into the batter just before baking.
- Chocolate Chip: Fold in a few ounces of chopped dark chocolate or mini chocolate chips.
- Cookie Crust: Instead of graham crackers, process shortbread or gingersnap cookies.
- Chocolate Swirl: Swirl melted chocolate into the cheesecake just before baking.
Classic Cheesecake
Impress your guests with a homemade classic cheesecake and customize it with your favorite topping. Try variations like fruit swirl or chocolate chip for a delicious twist.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Category: Desserts, Cakes
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
Scale
For the Crust
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (or 12 full graham cracker rectangles)
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 5 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
For the Cheesecake
- 4 8-ounce packages cream cheese, full fat, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Put graham crackers in a food processor and process to make fine crumbs. Put the crumbs in a bowl and add the 4 tablespoons of granulated sugar and 5 tablespoons of melted butter. Mix well.
- Gently press the crumbs into the bottom and partway up the sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Beat cream cheese and sour cream together until well blended. Add the flour, lemon juice, and vanilla; mix until well blended.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Pour the filling into the prepared springform pan.
- Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with heavy duty foil.
- Set the wrapped pan in a larger pan, such as a roasting pan.
- Add about 1 1/2 to 2 inches of hot water to the outer pan.
- Bake for about 60 to 70 minutes, or until set. The cheesecake will have a slight jiggle in the center. Turn the oven off and open the oven door slightly.
- Let the cheesecake cool in the oven for about 1 hour.
- Remove the cheesecake to a rack and let stand for 2 hours. Loosen the rim of the pan and let the cake cool completely before removing the rim.
- Serve with slightly warmed cherry pie filling, a dessert sauce, or a fresh fruit sauce.
