Simple Cheesecake Recipe - A Step By Step Guide

I still remember I made my first baked Cheesecake when I was 23 years old. Without any experience in making cheesecake, I tried this really simple and easy Cheesecake Recipe below. My first attempt was a success. The cake has perfect taste, texture, and presentation. It was unbeatably creamy and mildly rich, you know, so it melts in your mouth. My friends just loved it. This recipe gave me non-stop compliments and satisfied smiles. Cheesecake is one of life's great rewards, this one is no exception.

If you often think that it is hard to make a Cheesecake, you are most probably wrong. I have not failed in making this Cheesecake so far. With this successful attempt, my confidence went up and I have tried a few other Cheesecake recipes.

Cheesecake is a decadent and delicious dessert, indulged by many. Smooth and creamy, it is the tastiest and most elegant way to end a meal. If you planning a party or gathering; why not surprise someone with this delicious Simple Cheesecake? You may attract the crowd coming to you asking for more...

Here is the step-by-step guide to make the Simple Cheesecake :

Preparation time : 30 minutes

Cooking Time : 1 hour

Step 1: You will need

Crust Ingredients

1 cup bread crumbs

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup margarine/butter

Cheese Filling

250g cream cheese

2 eggs

1 teaspoon of baking powder

¼ cup of milk

1 cup of icing sugar (confectioners' sugar) or less

Step 2: Preheat the oven

Preheat the oven to 175ºC (or 350°F)

Step 3: Make the Crust

Pour the melted butter and sugar over the bread crumbs and mix them together well. Then use a roller and roll it flat. Butter 8 inch baking tin and even out the crust mixture on the baking tin by pressing it down and to the sides to form the crust for the cheesecake.

Step 4: Bake the Crust

Bake the crust base in the oven at 350°F for about 10 minutes

Step 5 : Make the Cheese Filling

Add the sugar to the cream cheese in a mixing bowl, then using a hand whisk or an electric mixer to blend the ingredients together until the mixture is well mixed. Then one by one, break the eggs into the mixing bowl and gradually stir them in.

Finally, add in milk and baking powder and stir well.

Step 6: Add the cheese filling to the baking tin

Pour the mixture over the prepared crust and even it out by giving it a little shake.

Step 7: Bake

Place the tin in the centre of the oven and bake the cheesecake for 60 minutes at 175ºC (or 350°F).

Step 8: Remove from the oven and chill

Take the cheesecake out of the oven and leave it to cool down gently (see tips below). Then put it in the fridge keeping it in its baking tin and let it chill overnight.

Step 9: Serve

Take the cheesecake out of the fridge and run a knife around the edges to help release it from the tin. Then, gently ease it out.

If you like, you can decorate the cheesecake with the cut fruits (like strawberry, kiwi fruits, lychee etc).

This is an unbeatably creamy cheesecake which can be enjoyed with or without a splash of cream.

Finally slice it up with a warmed knife. You can warm the knife with hot water and dry it. Repeat each cut with warmed knife, and you will get a clean cut of cheesecake.

Another irresistable dessert :

White Chocolate Cranberries Cheesecake Recipe

COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS FOR MAKING A SUCCESSFUL CHEESECAKE

Should I cool the ingredients before mixing them ?

Yes, you should prepare all the ingredients and allow them to cool to temperature before mixing. This may take about thirty minutes or less.

Cream cheese must be softened before mixing them. If you cannot wait, you can soften the cream cheese in the microwave oven. Unwrap the cream cheese and scoop it out to a microwavable bowl. Microwave it on high temperature for 15 seconds. Add another 15 seconds for each additional bar of cream cheese.

How do I separate the Cheesecake from the baking pan or tin ?

Use a 9 or 10 inch spring form pan (a round pan with high, straight sides, about 2.5 to 3 inches high) to bake the cake. When the cake is baked, the bottom of the pan can be removed from the sides when the clamp is released. This allows the cheesecake to be removed easily from the pan, since turning the cheesecake upside down and back to the top again is not an option, as it will crack the cake. 

If you do not intend to invest in a spring form pan, for any other type of pan you use, before you pour the ready cake mixture into the pan, make sure you brush the sides and the bottom of the pan with melted butter so that when the cheesecake is ready, the cake can be removed from the pan easily without splitting. I normally place a piece of parchment or waxed paper in the bottom and grease it for easy removal.

How do you know when a cheesecake is baked ?

Unlike normal cake, you cannot use a toothpick to poke into the cake to check whether the cake is cooked. To know whether a cheesecake is cooked, ensure that you have baked the cake at the temperature specified and for the duration given. And most importantly, observe the cake. A well-baked cheesecake will be puffed around the edges. When shaken, about an inch in diameter in the center should jiggle like custard would. There should not be any wet or liquid spots in the center.

Which type of oven is better for baking a cheesecake ?

For cheesecake baking, a conventional oven is a better choice than a convection oven. The problem with convection oven is that its forced hot air causes too much browning and often results in the cake collapses in the center.

How to prevent the Cheesecake from cracking ?

After the cheesecake is baked, ensure that it gets a gentle cool down otherwise it may crack. There are a few ways to do this.

1. Remove the cake from the oven. Keep the cake in pan but place it on a wire cake rack. Then, place the cake beside the oven. The residue heat from oven will slow down the cake cooling process, allowing it to cool down gently.

2. Alice Medrich prefers to remove her cheesecakes from the oven, inverts a bowl over it to let it cool down slowly.

3. Some bakers like to keep the cake in the oven after turning it off and keep the oven door open slightly with a wooden spoon to reduce the heat slowly.

About 10 minutes after you have removed the cake from the oven, separate the cake from the edge of the pan by running a warmed knife or narrow spatula in an up and down sawing motion in between the edge of the cake and the side of the pan. You can warm the knife or spatula in warm water and dry it. This will separate the cake from the pan as it cools so that it doesn’t crack.

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