My favorite dessert is this deep, rich New York-style cheesecake. It contains a fantastic method for allowing the cheesecake to continue baking in the oven to prevent cracks from forming while the dessert cools.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Additional Time: | 3 hrs |
| Total Time: | 4 hrs 15 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 (9-inch) cheesecake |
Ingredients
- 18 graham crackers, crushed
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 1 cup sour cream
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
- 1 ½ cups white sugar
- ⅔ cup milk
- 4 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan.
- Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter together in a bowl until evenly moistened. Press crumb mixture into the bottom and about 1/2 inch up the sides of the springform pan.
- Whisk sour cream, flour, and vanilla extract together in a bowl; set aside.
- Stir cream cheese and sugar together with a wooden spoon in a separate bowl until evenly incorporated, 3 to 5 minutes; add milk and whisk until just combined. Whisk in eggs, one at a time, stirring well after each addition. Stir in lemon zest, orange zest, and sour cream mixture; whisk until just incorporated. Pour mixture into prepared springform pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven until the edges have nicely puffed and the surface of the cheesecake is firm except for a small spot in the center that will jiggle when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour.
- When the cheesecake is done, turn off the oven and let it cool in the oven for 3 to 4 hours. This prevents any cracks from forming on the top of the cheesecake.
- Serve this cheesecake with my
- .
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 556 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 47 g |
| Cholesterol | 161 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Protein | 11 g |
| Saturated Fat | 22 g |
| Sodium | 408 mg |
| Sugars | 33 g |
| Fat | 37 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
My family loves this cheesecake!! My daughter wants it every year for her birthday. I too had to much Graham cracker, not enough butter for my crust. I have made this probably ten times and just realized tonight that I’m using too many Graham crackers. I was using 18 full crackers. I think it means for you to use 18 of the squares…. I omit the citrus usually as well. Mine usually cracks, but we don’t care. The first time I made it, I joked that it wanted to be pi! See photo
Totally awesome. I will make again and again. Tyvm
I was skeptical at first, I have never added flour to my cheesecake it was fabulous! I did bake in a water bath and no cracks!
it was ok, made it to the letter, chef for 30yrs. crust not so good, needs a water bath, not used to the cracks, but that’s not an issue. would not use the flour,but not a big deal. flavor is ok. served it to friends and they ate it up. took home leftovers.
Excellent! This recipe made a smooth, creamy cake! I really like the crust, not sweet, thus a nice balance to the sweeter taste of the cake itself. Thank you for an easy to follow, clear recipe!
The cheesecake was fine, the flavor turned out no better or worse than other cheesecakes I’ve made. Leaving it in the oven, however, left the largest cracks I have ever had in a cheesecake. Also the top went crusty and brown, remarkably the cheesecake wasn’t dry–it just looked terrible on the outside. I’m not trying that suggestion ever again. I agree with others, the crust is too dry to stick together, it needs twice as much butter. For my springform pan, it made way too much crust (especially since it wouldn’t stick to the sides of the pan). I only had 3 packages of cream cheese so I did 2/3 of the filling recipe–it was lucky that I did as the full recipe wouldn’t have fit in my pan.
I have made this recipe several times, always with different toppings. It’s so versatile, and I love the citrus accents. Definitely my go to recipe!
Did the recipe for 6 servings. Amazing!!
This is my favorite cheesecake recipe. Never fail with this recipe. I added one tablespoon of brown sugar to the crust and it was delicious.
Only change was I used golden Oreos for the crust.
First time making a cheesecake the recepie was really easy and the cheesecake was supppperr gooooodd.
Delicious recipe! I didn’t have sour cream, so I used heavy whipping cream, since I was going to use a different recipe. It still turned out fabulously! Made it the day before my son’s birthday so it could chill in the fridge overnight. Tastes even better two days after.
I used this recipe as a starting point to make a gluten and dairy free cheesecake. I made quite a few alterations like using lactose-free cream cheese spread and whipped coconut cream with lemon juice instead of sour cream. I also added crushed pecans and ginger to my gluten free graham cracker crust. It came out amazing. I read a comment on here with a tip to put a tray of water on the bottom rack great tip! I also like to tap the cheesecake on the counter and let it sit for a minute before baking to get the air bubbles out. 3 hours to cool down in the oven, then 1 hr in the fridge to chill.
My first time making a cheesecake ever — turned out fabulous! Only change I made was to increase the butter by another 2-3 tablespoons for the crust. It just wasn’t enough for the amount of crackers called for in the recipe. I served this with a drizzle of raspberry sauce & chocolate sauce. Everyone loved this cheesecake at the party. I couldn’t believe I made this! Thank you Chef John!
Lost my NY cheesecake recipe. This was as close to it that Ive found. Everyone loved it!
I love making this recipe. My family especially loves when I make it
My husband and I LOVE this cheesecake! It really is the best cheesecake we’ve ever had! We make it using 2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks, rather than 4 whole eggs. Makes it a little more dense. Flavor is A+!
Best I’ve ever tasted. Added more butter to help graham cracker stick better, and a dash of cinnamon.
Sooo good, sooo perfect and sooo delicious & you absolutely need to make Chef John’s strawberry glaze! He Never disappoints! Thank you Chef John
Followed the recipe but added more butter to make the graham crackers stick better. Substituted fat free half and half for milk. Made his strawberry sauce to go on op. Mine cracked, but the sauce covered it up. Everyone who tasted it, said it was the best they ever had!
Perfect! The zest makes the taste! I used a blender to grind up the graham crackers. Mine cracked (a lot). It cooked for 65min which turned out to be too long. Next time I’ll cook for less time or, as others suggest, I’ll put a pan of water in the oven.