Baked cheesecake

Baked cheesecake recipe

Want to learn how to make a smooth, creamy cheesecake? Nail it every time with this easy-to-follow guide on how to make the perfect baked cheesecake, from the delicious buttery crust to the rich filling with a hint of zesty lemon. It’s a great recipe to add to your repertoire, as it’s so versatile and can be served for many different occasions - think birthdays, celebrations and even just for dessert or afternoon tea.

If you’ve never made a baked cheesecake before, you’ve come to the right place. Here, we’ll show you how to get it right, explaining the step-by-step process to creamy cheesecake perfection. Plus, you’ll find a handy how-to video too, so you can see just how it’s done and how to avoid the common mistakes.

Ingredients you will need for baked cheesecake

A great thing about baked cheesecake is the ingredients are so simple and easy to get — you’ll find all you need at your local Coles supermarket. For the crunchy base, you’ll need to pick up digestive biscuits and butter (you melt the butter and mix into the crushed biscuits). The main ingredient in the creamy filling is cream cheese. This recipe uses 500g and you’ll need to bring it to room temperature before you start, so take it out of the fridge about 1 hour before you use it. While you’re in the chilled dairy section, be sure to grab sour cream and eggs, too. When it comes to this cheesecake, full-fat dairy is the best choice as the fat helps to set the cheesecake. Reduced-fat cream cheese and sour cream can result in a runny cheesecake filling. You’ll need to grab a lemon from the fresh produce department, to add an irresistibly zesty flavour to the filling, and then head to the baking aisle for caster sugar, plain flour and vanilla bean paste, if you don’t already have these at home. Vanilla bean paste gives the cheesecake a delicious flavour while adding flecks of vanilla bean for an authentic look.

Utensils you will need for baked cheesecake

When it comes to prepping and baking your cheesecake, there are a few essential kitchen items you need to get it right. First up, you need a large food processor. It’s essential for finely crushing the biscuits and combining evenly with the melted butter. You’ll also need an electric mixer, which can either be a hand held or stand mixer, to beat the cream cheese and the rest of the ingredients until silky smooth. A silicone spatula helps you scrape down the side of the bowl and lets you get every last bit of the mixture out. The best cake pan for making cheesecake is a springform pan, which has a lever to allow you to separate the side of the pan from the base. This lets you remove the cake without damaging the crust, so you can simply lift it off the base of the pan and transfer to a serving platter. As springform pans aren’t completely sealed at the base, some butter may seep from the pan while it’s cooking so it’s best to place it on a lined baking try to prevent butter from messing up your oven.

Tips for a perfectly smooth and creamy cheesecake

Now that you’ve got your ingredients and equipment, you’re ready to start baking.

1. As mentioned above, you’ll need to start with softened cream cheese. Take it out of the fridge at least one hour before you want to begin prepping your cheesecake, to allow it to come to room temperature. If you skip this step, you’ll find the cream cheese doesn’t process easily and the filling will be lumpy. You could also try grating the cream cheese or unwrapping it and heating in the microwave in 5 second bursts until softened. Once your cream cheese is at room temperature, preheat your oven to 150°C. You’ll want to do this well before you place the cheesecake in the oven, so it reaches the desired temperature. Then, grease and line the base and side of a 20cm springform pan – if the base of your springform pan has a lipped edge, flip it over to the flat side so the cheesecake crust sits flat.
2. Next, place the biscuits in a food processor and process until they’re finally crushed and resemble fine breadcrumbs. Add the melted butter and process until it’s completely mixed into the crushed biscuit. The butter helps the base hold its shape, so any dry patches of biscuit will result in a crumbly and unsteady base. Spoon the biscuit mixture into your prepared cake pan and spread and press it over the base and up the side of the pan – you’re best to do this using a straight-sided, flat-bottomed glass as it will give both an even crust and better control allowing you to get the crust right to the edge. Place the crust in the fridge for 30 mins to chill – this helps it hold its shape during cooking.
3. The next step is to use an electric mixer to beat the softened cream cheese and caster sugar in a bowl until the mixture is smooth and well combined. You don’t want any lumps at this stage. Add the plain flour, vanilla, lemon rind and lemon juice and beat until everything is smooth and combined. Add the eggs and beat until smooth. Add the sour cream and beat until just combined but the mixture is silky. Pour the cream cheese mixture into the chilled biscuit base, using a spatula to scrape as much mixture from the bowl as possible.
4. Carefully place the pan on a lined baking tray and bake for 1 hour or until the filling is just set – you are looking for a slight wobble when you gently shake the tin at this stage. Now, here is the important part: turn the oven off, but leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door ajar to cool for 2 hours. This stops the top of the cheesecake from cracking, which can happen with sudden temperature changes. (If it does crack though, don’t worry - top it with berries to serve and no one will ever notice.) After the 2 hours are up, place the cheesecake in the fridge for 3 hours to chill before serving.