Cheesecake Types

Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 400°. Butter pan, then line with two overlapping 16x12" sheets of parchment, making sure parchment comes at least 2" above top of pan on all sides. Because the parchment needs to be pleated and creased in some areas to fit in pan, you won’t end up with a clean, smooth outer edge to the cake; that’s okay! Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet.

Beat cream cheese and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium-low speed, scraping down sides of bowl, until very smooth, no lumps remain, and sugar has dissolved, about 2 minutes.

Increase speed to medium and add eggs one at a time, beating each egg 15 seconds before adding the next. Scrape down sides of bowl, then reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Add cream, salt, and vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds.

Turn off mixer and sift flour evenly over cream cheese mixture using a fine-mesh sieve. Beat on low speed until incorporated, about 15 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl (yet again) and continue to beat until batter is very smooth, homogenous, and silky, about 10 seconds.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cheesecake until deeply golden brown on top and still very jiggly in the center, 60–65 minutes.

Let cool slightly (it will fall drastically as it cools), then unmold. Let cool completely. Carefully peel away parchment from sides of cheesecake. Slice into wedges and serve at room temperature, preferably with a glass of sherry alongside.

Serve and enjoy!

Cut parchment paper for the bottom and side of cake pan. You will need a 9” (23 cm) round paper for the bottom, one 4” x 30” (10 x 76 cm) paper for the side of cake pan, and two 2” x 30” (5 x 76 cm) paper strips which will be used for “transporting”. Grease the cake pan and parchment paper (for bottom and sides) with butter. You don't need to use all of it. Place the 2 “straps” criss-cross on the bottom of the cake pan. Then place the bottom and side parchment paper. The grease side of the 9” (23 cm) paper should face up, and face in on the 4” x 30” (10 x 76 cm) paper

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC). You will be baking at 320ºF (160ºC) but when you open the oven to place the cheesecake you’ll lose some heat, so we’ll start off a bit higher.

In a large bowl, add cream cheese, unsalted butter, heavy whipping cream, and granulated sugar. Put the bowl over the saucepan. Using a silicone spatula, mash the cream cheese and butter. Once they are melted, use whisk to blend everything together. Remove from the heat.

In the warm cream cheese mixture add egg yolks, one yolk at a time while whisking. Make sure each egg yolk is blended well with the mixture before adding the next one. Using a fine-mesh strainer, sift cake flour into the batter. Whisk and blend together. Then pass the batter through the same fine mesh strainer to a clean large bowl, creating the silky texture for the batter. Zest half of a lemon into the batter. Make sure you only zest the yellow part, not the bitter white part. Then squeeze half lemon into a small bowl. Measure lemon juice and add to the batter. Whisk well to blend and set aside.

Put the baking sheet inside the oven and pour hot water until half way or 1 inch deep. Close the oven. Add cold egg whites into a large clean mixing bowl (of the stand mixer). Make sure there is no oil or water in the bowl. If you have space in your refrigerator, I highly recommend keeping the mixing bowl cold until you’re ready to use it. Start whisking on medium speed (speed 4) until the egg whites become opaque, foamy, and bubbly, about 2 minutes. Then slowly add 100 g granulated sugar, ⅓ portion at a time while the mixer runs.

Once all the sugar has been added, increase the mixer speed to high (speed 8-9) and beat the egg whites until “soft” to “medium” peaks. When lift the whisk, the egg whites shouldn’t fold ribbons (drizzle) anymore. When you turn your whisk upside down, the egg whites should cling to the whisk and hold their shape for a few seconds, but then start to flop over. Using a whisk, mix in ⅓ of egg whites into the cream cheese mixture until incorporated. Then gently fold in another ⅓ into the mixture. Lastly, pour the mixture back into the mixer bowl (with ⅓ of egg whites still in it) and fold in very gently. Pour the mixture into the baking pan in all at once, avoiding air pockets while pouring. Tap the cake pan a few times on the kitchen counter to release any air pockets in the batter.

Place the cake pan into the baking sheet that’s already in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 320ºF (160ºC) and start baking for 70-75 minutes. Then, reduce the oven temperature to 300ºF (150ºC) and bake for another 10 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the skewer inserted comes out clean. For a convection oven, reduce cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).

Turn off the oven and leave the oven door ajar for 15-20 minutes with the cake inside. If you take the cake out immediately, the sudden change of temperature could cause the cake to shrink or collapse. You want the cake to slowly shrink down to half the height, roughly from 4 inches to 2 inches. Remove the pan from the oven. Gently pull out the cake using the 2 parchment paper straps (with another set of hand). Remove the parchment paper around the cake (leave the bottom one). Combine apricot jam and hot water in a small bowl. Brush the apricot mixture over the top of the cheesecake. Let cool to room temperature. You can serve the cake at room temperature (fluffiest!) or chill the cake for 1-2 hours before serving. You can store the cake in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days or in the freezer for 3-4 weeks. Defrost the cake overnight in the refrigerator. The cold cheesecake is dense, so leave it at the counter till chilled/room temperature before serving.

For the raspberry sauce, Add the raspberries, ⅓ cup granulated sugar, 3 Tbsp water, 1 tsp lemon juice to a saucepan over medium heat. Allow it to bubble and begin to mash the raspberries as they soften. Cook for about 20 minutes or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Pour it in to a heat safe container and chill before serving.

For the graham cracker crust, Preheat your oven to 350F and prepare your 9 inch springform pan. Lightly coat the entire inside with cooking spray and place two strips (or as many as it takes to cover the walls) of parchment paper up against the sides. They should peak over top the pan just a little.

In a small bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs (finely ground in a food processor), sugar, melted butter, cinnamon, and salt. Combine until you get the texture of wet sand then poor it into the pan. Firmly press it down into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. It should almost reach the top. I like to use a small measuring cup to pack it in.

Bake for 10 minutes then set it out to cool while you prepare the cheesecake.

Drop the oven temperature to 305F and place a large baking pan on the very bottom rack of your oven. I just used a 9×13 baking pan. While you prepare the cheesecake, get a medium sized pot of water boiling over the stove. You’ll pour this into the baking pan once you’re ready to bake.

Before you start, make sure your cream cheese and eggs are at room temp. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! If you forgot to leave them out or are just impatient (like me) you can fill a bowl with warm water and let the cream cheese or eggs sit in there for about 20 minutes. If you need to bring up the temperature of both, make sure to place them in separate bowls.

For best results, I recommend using a stand mixer. A hand mixer is also an option, but be very careful and only work on low speed. In a small bowl, mix together the eggs, lemon juice, and vanilla with a fork. Set aside.

With the paddle attachment, mix the room temp cream cheese on medium-low speed just until it’s smooth (30 seconds to 1 minute). Add in the sugar and cornstarch and mix on low for about 30 seconds. Stop and let it sit for a couple minutes, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then mix again for another 30 seconds or until it comes together.

With the mixer on the lowest setting, slowly add in the egg mixture. It should take 3-4 pours and PATIENCE. You’ll be tempted to bump up the speed but don’t do it! Take the bowl off the mixer and use a rubber spatula to fold in the sour cream.

Pour the batter into the pan once the crust is cooled and tap the pan against your counter a couple times to bring up any air bubbles that might have been caught in there. Place the cheesecake on the middle rack and carefully pour the boiling water into the pan below. (If you don’t have two racks, place the racke in the middle of the oven and wrap the base of the cheesecake pan in foil. Place it into the roast pan before pouring in the water).

Bake for an hour and 40 minutes. It will puff up a little in the oven but will come back down when it’s cooling. Once it’s done, leave the cheesecake in the oven, turn off the oven, and crack the door open. Let it sit in there for an hour. After the hour is up, put the cheesecake in the fridge uncovered and let it chill overnight. The next day, remove the springform pan, slice, and top with your homemade raspberry sauce, powdered sugar, or leave it as is. Enjoy!

Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C and lightly grease an 8″ cake tin (you can use a ceramic dish as well).

Blend together the eggs and sugar either in a food processor or blender (you can also whisk by hand but try to avoid having too many lumps in final mixture). Add the ground almonds, rice flour, half and half (or milk and cream) and cottage cheese and mix. Pour the mixture into your tin/dish and bake for around 1 hour until it rises up and is lightly browned on top.

As the cheesecake is almost finished baking, slice the strawberries and place in a bowl with the sugar and a few grinds of black pepper (if using - it is nice in there). Toss them gently and leave to macerate.

When the cheesecake is cooked enough, remove from the oven and allow to cool. Serve warm or lukewarm topped with the strawberries (you can put the strawberries on top a little before serving and some of the juice will sink in which is really tasty).