Basic Cheesecake Recipe

The delicious cheesecake is a popular dessert which is made with fresh cheese and has a base similar to a biscuit or a pastry. It can be also made with sour cream and depending on the ingredients, the taste can be anything between sweet to tangy. Due to this, in some places it is also served as an appetizer. It is found in different varieties, depending upon the filling that is used. Let us now understand some popular recipes in detail.

Making cheesecake is considered to be a difficult task. However, not many people know that making it is actually very simple and it can be easily done at home. It can be made in two ways. One is the traditional way of making cakes i.e. baking, while the other method used for preparation is, by chilling it in the refrigerator. Let us take a look at both ways of making it, along with the traditional filling recipe.

Ingredients for Crust

• Graham Cracker Crumbs, 8 oz.
• Ground Cinnamon, 3 tsp.
• Butter, (melted) 5 tbsp.
• Brown Sugar, 3 tbsp.
• Nutmeg, ½ tsp.
• Walnuts, (finely chopped) ¼ cup

Ingredients for Filling

• White Sugar, 8 oz.
• Vanilla Extract, 3 tsp.
• Cream Cheese, 8 oz.
• All-purpose Flour, 3 tbsp.
• Sour Cream, 8 oz.
• Heavy Cream, 8 oz.
• Eggs, 3

Directions for Preparing a Crust
The first step to make the cheesecake crust is to take cracker crumbs and chopped walnuts in a large mixing bowl. Add cinnamon, brown sugar and nutmeg to this bowl. Mix well after adding the melted butter. Take a 9-inch spring form pan and lay these mixed ingredients in it.

Press them in the bottom of the pan and bake in a 175 °F preheated oven for 10 minutes. Once this is done, place the mixture on a wire rack to cool completely.

Directions to Make Filling
To make the filling, combine sugar and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. You can take the help of an electric mixer to beat these ingredients together. Add the heavy cream, as well as the sour cream into the bowl and blend again. Add all-purpose flour and vanilla extract. Add eggs into the bowl, one at a time, by beating well after each addition.

The Final Step
Assemble all the ingredients together, before baking it. Take the crust which should have been completely cooled by this time. Pour the cake filling on the crust and place it in a 175 °F preheated oven for 60 - 70 minutes. Allow it to cool on the wire rack for an hour and then place it in the refrigerator for 6 - 8 hours.

If you do not have an oven or find baking very time-consuming, you can choose the other method for preparing it. In this recipe, you can make it by refrigerating the cake, rather than baking it.

Ingredients

• Butter or Margarine, 1 oz.
• Cream Cheese, 0.27 lb.
• Digestive Biscuits, 10
• Condensed Milk, 1 small tin
• Juice of 1 Lemon

Directions to Make Crust
Crush the digestive biscuits in a mixing bowl till they are powdered completely. Add butter to the powdered biscuits and mix thoroughly. Grease a 9-inch pie dish with oil and place the powdered biscuits at the bottom of the dish. This forms the crust.

Directions to Make Filling
In a mixing bowl, combine condensed milk and cream cheese together. Stir for two minutes and then add lemon juice to it. Continue stirring for some more time till all the ingredients are fully combined.

The Final Step
In the final step, pour the filling mixture into the pie dish that has the crust and place it in the refrigerator. Allow the mixture to remain in the refrigerator till it sets completely. You can check occasionally to see whether it is fully done.

These are the two ways in which you can make this delicious dessert. You can make certain variations of this recipe to make a different type of cheesecake. You can decorate it with different type of fruits like raspberries, strawberries, etc., while serving.