Old-Fashioned Cheesecake Recipe From Scratch! (2024)

FAQs

What is the oldest cheesecake? ›

Over 4,000 years ago in the fifth century BC, the ancient Greeks on the island of Samos created the earliest known cheesecake. This rudimentary cheesecake was made with patties of fresh cheese that were then pounded smooth with flour and honey.

Avoid Overcooking

DON'T overbake. Overbaking a cheesecake can cause cracks on the surface. The center of the cheesecake should still be a little wobbly, the filling still pale, and the outer ring slightly puffy and firm. It will continue to cook as it cools and maintains that smooth and rich texture.

Is Cheesecake a pie? When baked in a pie pan, like in this recipe, a cheesecake could be considered a pie. What happens if you put too much sour cream in cheesecake? Sour cream adds tanginess and moisture, so if you use too much, it can make the cheesecake too tangy and the additional moisture can make it runny.

Cheesecake is clearly a different animal from bundts or cupcakes, but sour cream has a place here too! Combined with even more densely rich cream cheese, sour cream actually tempers the star ingredient a touch, softening its texture. It also adds another layer of tangy flavor and moisture to a cheesecake.

A traditional cheesecake is a lesson in simplicity. Made with just three simple ingredients; cream cheese, sugar and eggs, it's one of the more popular styles of cheesecake. Not just limited to cream cheese, different countries and places have their own spin on tradition, often using ricotta, mascarpone and quark.

Eggs: Three whole eggs hold the cheesecake together. I also add an extra yolk, which enhances the cake's velvety texture. (Whites tend to lighten the cake, which is actually fine — if you don't feel like separating that fourth egg and don't mind some extra airiness in the texture, just add in the whole egg.)

The cake will not set properly if there is no egg in the preparation, and you will just have a cream cheese pudding. As delicious as cream cheese pudding sounds, it's actually more like buttercream.

Eggs and milk have high protein and moisture content, and they're the primary ingredients in cheesecake, so when cheesecake is left at room temperature, conditions are ripe for bacteria to multiply. According to the USDA's Food Keeper App, cheesecake should be consumed within 5 to 7 days of refrigeration.

You could add a few drops extra if you wish but be careful as too much acid could start to curdle the other ingredients.

Over mixing the eggs will incorporate too much air into the batter, which will result in the cheesecake deflating and possibly cracking when it comes out of the oven.

Is sour cream or whipping cream better for cheesecake? ›

The addition of cream gives a velvety, smooth texture, but too much of it and you begin to mask the cream cheese flavor. Sour cream supports the underlying tang of the cream cheese, but, if overdone, it takes over as the dominant flavor. You need a little of each -- cream for texture and sour cream for flavor.

Yogurt is your best substitute for sour cream. Whether you're baking or making a dip or sauce, yogurt is a 1:1 sub. That means if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sour cream, you can replace it with 1 cup of yogurt. Full-fat Greek or natural yogurts work best, but low-fat or even nonfat can be used, too.

Avoid Overmixing: Unlike other cakes, where beating air into the batter is key, overmixed cheesecake can rise, fall and then crack from that excess air. Keeping ingredients (cheese, eggs, liquids and flavorings) at room temperature can help.

The major component of this dessert's delicious flavour is undoubtedly high-quality cream cheese. After that, you add sugar, full cream, or sour cream. For a baked variant, some recipes ask for eggs and flour, while those for unbaked cheesecakes call for gelatin or its plant-based equivalent (agar-agar).

Eggs and milk have high protein and moisture content, and they're the primary ingredients in cheesecake, so when cheesecake is left at room temperature, conditions are ripe for bacteria to multiply. According to the USDA's Food Keeper App, cheesecake should be consumed within 5 to 7 days of refrigeration.

The most expensive cheesecake sold for $4,592.42 (£3,496.44; 3,955.57€) and was made by chef Raffaele Ronca (USA) at Ristorante Rafele in New York, NY, USA on October 30, 2017.

One of the first recorded recipes, dated in the first century and called “libum,” is a far cry from the creamy cake we know today. Calling for two pounds of “well crushed” cheese mixed with flour and a single egg, this version was formed into a loaf and baked in a hot fire under a brick.

Our first restaurant opened in Beverly Hills, California in 1978 with the initial intention of promoting the sale of cheesecakes and other baked desserts to other foodservice operators, retailers and distributors.