I strategically saved the best for last! The final Valentine’s Day dessert option I am sharing with you, is my Classic New York Cheesecake. Now, if you follow our channel or this blog, you probably already know how I feel about cheesecake…I LOVE IT!!! I love alllll kinds of cheesecake, but the one I am about to share with you is so versatile, silky-smooth, and decadent. It is just as delicious plain as it is all dressed up with whipped cream, fresh berries, chocolate or fruit syrup, or caramel sauce…and trust me…I’ve tried EVERY combination!
Similar to my Strawberry Tiramisu Cake I shared with you as a Valentine’s Day dessert option, I love this cheesecake option as well, because you’ll have LEFTOVERS for the entire week! Plus, this can be made a day or two in advance, so you have less to prepare on Valentine’s Day!
So let’s talk about the ingredients! For the crust, you will need graham crackers, sugar and butter. For the filling, you will need cream cheese, sugar, milk, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour.
Begin, by preheating your oven to 350˚F and preparing a 9-inch springform pan by lining it with a parchment paper round and greasing the sides. Next, wrap the outside of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil, place it in a large roasting pan, and set it aside.
Crust: To make the crust, begin by mixing together your graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a medium bowl. Then, press the mixture into the bottom and halfway up sides of your prepared springform pan and set it aside while you make your filling.
Filling: For the filling, in a large bowl, beat your cream cheese on high with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in your sugar and beat until it is completely incorporated with your cream cheese. Blend in your milk, and then mix in your eggs, one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate them. Mix in your sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth. Then, scrape down the sides and bottom of your bowl with a rubber spatula. If scraping your bowl produces any lumps in your batter, beat it one more time with your hand mixer to make sure your ingredients are completely combined. Pour your filling into your prepared crust.
Bring a kettle or saucepan of water to a boil on your stove. Once it’s boiling, transfer your roasting pan (with your unbaked cheesecake inside) to an oven rack. Pour your boiling water into your roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the outside of your springform pan. Bake your cheesecake in a water bath for 1 hour, or until center of your cheesecake only slightly jiggles. Remove it from your oven and let it rest until your springform pan is cool to the touch. When cool, remove the aluminum foil from the outside of your pan and run a knife or icing spatula around the outer edge of your cheesecake to release the sides from the pan and set it aside. Let your cheesecake come to room temperature on your counter and then refrigerate it, uncovered, overnight.
Garnish your Classic New York Cheesecake as desired. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Classic New York Cheesecake
16
servings30
minutes1
hour425
kcalA Classic New York Cheesecake that is silky-smooth and decadent. A melt-in-your-mouth dessert that can be enjoyed as equally plain as it can be dressed up with any topping from fresh berries to caramel sauce.
Ingredients
CRUST
15 graham crackers, crushed
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 Tablespoons butter, melted
FILLING
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ cup milk
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup all-purpose flour
Method
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan by lining it with a parchment paper round and greasing the sides. Wrap the outside of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil and place in a large roasting pan; set aside.
- Crust: In a medium bowl, mix together graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter. Press into bottom and halfway up sides of prepared springform pan; set aside.
- Filling: In a large bowl, beat cream cheese on high with an electric hand mixer until smooth and creamy. Add in sugar and beat until completely incorporated. Blend in milk, and then mix eggs in, one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth. Scrape down sides and bottom of bowl with rubber spatula. If scraping produces any lumps in batter, beat one more time with hand mixer to make sure ingredients are completely combined. Pour filling into prepared crust.
- Bring a kettle or saucepan of water to a boil on stove. Once boiling, transfer roasting pan (with unbaked cheesecake inside) to an oven rack. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it reaches about halfway up the outside of the springform pan. Bake in a water bath for 1 hour, or until center of cheesecake only slightly jiggles. Remove from oven and let rest until pan is cool to the touch. Remove aluminum foil from outside of springform pan and run a knife or icing spatula around the outer edge of the cheesecake to release sides from the pan; set aside. Let cheesecake come to room temperature on the counter and then refrigerate, uncovered, overnight.
- Garnish as desired. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
