This extra rich and creamy cheesecake is freezer friendly and so delicious! Perfect for special occasions!
Although I love to travel, I’m a homebody at heart, so after 15 days in LA… IT FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME!
And despite the fact that I’m still battling a severe case of jet lag, I couldn’t resist sneaking into the kitchen and baking us something sweet. But I also couldn’t face the grocery store just yet, so I had to make due with ingredients I already had on hand.
MY RECENT VIDEOSEnter this Extra Rich and Creamy Cheesecake! It’s make with simple ingredients like cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla, and heavy cream. Basically things most bakers always have on hand! And the results? Well let’s just say this cheesecake rivals anything you’d buy from a fancy bakery.
Tips and Tricks for Recipe Success:
- Before you begin, be sure to lightly spray the entire baking pan with non-stick spray. If you don’t have – or don’t use – canned sprays, you may grease the pan with butter or even shortening. Greasing the entire pan will ensure your crust and cheesecake don’t stick to the pan. No sticking = perfect slices.
- Because this recipe begins with the crust, that is also where we will begin. To make the crust you will need melted butter, crushed graham cracker crumbs, and sugar. Yep – just three ingredients! You can buy graham cracker crumbs from the grocery store, or make your own by pulsing sheets of graham crackers in your blender or food processor.
- When pressing the crust down into the bottom of the spring form pan, you’re going to want to press it down very firmly. A firmly packed crust will bake up nice and thick, and most importantly, won’t crumble much when sliced. I recommend starting to press the crumbs down in the center of the pan and then working the crust out and just a little bit up the edges.
- Room temperature ingredients are crucial when it comes to making a cheesecake! So be sure you bring your cream cheese, eggs, and heavy cream to room temp before you begin making the batter.
- And finally, we need to talk about the dreaded water bath. I say dreaded because I know so many folks fear making one or have had really bad experiences with them. But baking your cheesecake in one is a must if you want silky smooth, creamy, crack free results. My big tips here are to wrap your pan in multiple layers of heavy duty aluminum foil and to only fill the pan up an inch. And you’ll want to push the cheesecake into the oven very carefully, so that the water doesn’t move around too much. Many reader’s have told me they sometimes use a crockpot liner in addition to ensure no water gets in; I’ve never tried this but wanted to through the idea out there in case you want to give it a shot.
- If you’re not up for trying a traditional water bath – or just ran out of aluminum foil – you can place your spring form pan in a larger pan, and then place them in an even larger pan. Then fill that pan with a few inches of water. Does that make sense?
And that’s it! I hope you love this rich and creamy cheesecake as much as I do! And to all if the moms out there – Happy Mother’s Day!
If you try this recipe for extra rich and creamy cheesecake, let me know what you think! Leave a comment below, and don’t forget to snap a pic and tag it #bakerbynature on instagram! Seeing your creations makes my day ♥
Extra Rich and Creamy Cheesecake
Prep
Cook
Inactive
Total
Yield 9" cheesecake
This Extra Rich and Creamy Cheesecake is freezer friendly and perfect for special occasions!
Ingredients
For the Crust:
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 7 tablespoons butter, melted
For the Creamy Cheesecake:
- 5 blocks of full-fat cream cheese (40 ounces total), softened to room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 5 large eggs plus 3 egg yolks, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
Instructions
For the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F).
- Lightly spray a 9" springform pan with non-stick spray.
- Wrap the bottom and sides of the pan with heavy duty tinfoil. I recommend doing several diligent layers here to ensure no water creeps through when you place the pan in the water bath. Set pan aside.
- In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and melted butter; stir well to combine. Firmly pat the mixture into the prepared pan.
- Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes. Place partially baked crust on a cooling rack and set aside while you prepare the filling.
For the Creamy Cheesecake Filling:
- In the body of a high power blender, food processor, stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, or in a very large bowl using a hand held mixer, beat the softened cream cheese until completely smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Add sugar and vanilla and beat smooth, scraping down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed. Add in the eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Add in the cream and beat until it's just incorporated in the batter.
- Pour filling into prepared crust and, using a silicon spatula, smooth the top.
- Place the cheesecake pan into a large, deep pan. Fill the pan with 2 inches of hot water. This is your water bath and will help ensure your cheesecake comes out crack free.
- Carefully place the pan in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off and let the cheesecake sit, undisturbed, for 30 minutes inside the oven with the door shut. The cheesecake should be still slightly wiggly.
- Remove cake from oven and gently run a knife very around the edge of the cake. Place the cheesecake on a cooling rack and cool completely, then loosely cover the pan with saran wrap and chill for at least 8 hours.
- Cheesecake will keep, covered in the fridge, for 5 days. Cheesecake may be frozen for 2 months. Thaw overnight before slicing.
Courses Dessert
Cuisine Cheesecake
Looks delicious and can’t wait to try! Thank you for sharing. Just a quick question. In the tips section you mentioned Sour Cream but I don’t see it in the actual recipe. Does this cheesecake need it? Thanks!
Hello!! It’s heavy cream, not sour cream. You add it at the end, it is mentioned in step #3 of the creamy cheesecake filling (cream). Hope it helps
No Worries, Sour Cream workshop just fine. It is being used bij the cheesecake factory within cheesecakes aswell and I have made mine this wau and it is perfect. Either way use heavy Cream or sourcream.
Hi, so looking forward to trying this! My favourite dessert is cheesecake and this sounds devine. Quick question, what cream cheese do you recommend? We usually use Philadelphia cream cream cheese for desserts in our part of the world, is there a specific cream cheese or one that you use that you would advise to use in this recipe? Thank you.
I used store brand regular (full cat) cream cheese and it turned out delicious!
I made this for Father’s Day but feel 60 min just wasn’t enough baking time.
I think it says bake for 1 hr then leave in oven for another 30 minutes before taking it out of oven to cool.
wow, the cake looks delicious and very attractive, thank you for sharing
This looks amazing, but we dont need a full cheesecake sitting around the house.
Do you have any tips for freezing? Specifically, freezing it in individual slices? How do you wrap it or package it?
Hi S! If you’re freezing the whole cheesecake, you’ll want to let it cool completely in the fridge, then wrap the whole pan tightly in a double layer of saran wrap and then a single layer of foil and freeze it for up to 2 months. Thaw the cheesecake overnight in the fridge and eat it within 3 days.
If you’re freezing slices, you want to place the slices on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and place the baking sheet in the freezer for about 6 hours, or until the slices are solid. Then wrap each one individually in a double layer of saran wrap and freeze for up to 2 months. Again, the slices should be thawed in the fridge overnight and eaten within 3 days.
Make individual cakes in cupcake tins . That way you can freeze and eat 1 at a time as wanted.
I would love to make this cheesecake, but I would like to add chocolate. How much should you add. Thanks
Hi Dawne. I would suggest checking out this recipe 🙂 https://bakerbynature.com/ultimate-chocolate-cheesecake/
What can I use for a water bath? I completely missed this part and now I just have a 9″ tin, oh dear
Made this cake for a friends birthday. Admittedly, I was a little worried as the batter seemed a little runnier than other recipes, BUT she baked beautifully in an hour, turned off the oven and let her stay in the oven for another hour. She was firm, no breaks… loved it
I made this – superbly delicious and decadent !
Everyone loves it! Thank you for the recipe !
I have one question thou.
Without baking paper lined, I lost quite a bit of the bottom crust when I cut and serve the cheesecake. They get stuck to the base.
Is this supposed to be right?
Oh my, this is sooo good! I even used only half the amount of sugar called for and used Stevia for the other half. I drizzled sugar free homemade Carmel sauce over it and it was heavenly!
Thank you for sharing!
Can you tell us how many calories and fat count is in this cheesecake?
I don’t mean to be rude, but if you were going to have a cheesecake, just go all the way, don’t substitute the heavy cream for some fat free stuff or get 0 sugar cream cheese or none of that stuff. the beauty of eating cheesecake, is the satisfaction and not feeling guilty
I dont have a pan large enough to fit me 9 inch pan either. I put a pan of warm water in the bottom rack of the oven under the cheesecake while baking. It seems to help and i usually have no cracking.
Hi can I add Butterfingers in this recipe? I’ve been dying for a Butterfingers cheesecake recipe but can’t seem to find one.
Could I substitute Coconut sugar for this? Also, use almond flour for the crust?
Hello, I can’t wait to try this recipe!
If I wanted to add smooth peanut butter to the cheesecake, would it ruin the consistency of the batter and affect the baking? If this isn’t the cake, how much peanut butter would you suggest adding?
thanks for your help!
I made this a few days ago and it was delicious and got rave – and I do mean rave – reviews. The only thing I changed was I baked it 15 minutes longer basically because I was afraid of the jiggle. I would also cut back on graham cracker crust which was a little too thick for me. I’m 64 years old and this was my very first cheesecake but it surely won’t be my last! (How do I post a photo? Mine looked so beautiful.)
It looks like a “flan” more than a cheesecake…but still delicious!
I have made many cheese cakes but have never been able to get that impressive look on top. How is that done?
David, i have learned that allllllll the ingredients must be at room temperature. That is important. Also, i dont have a pan to fit the 9 inch pan so i put a pan of warm water under the cheesecake while it bakes. It seems to help. I have made this twice and no cracks and super creamy. Love this recipe.
If you don’t have heavy cream, could sour cream be substituted?
I can’t wait to make this. It sounds so delicious. I noticed that you said use the whisk attachments. Normally when I make cheesecake they ask to use the paddle attachment. Is there a reason why you suggested the whisk attachment?
I made the recipe over the holidays and it turned out awesome. Would the cooking time be the same if you divided it into smaller (4”) pans?
Hi when you say 5 blocks do you mean 5 packs of like 250g ?300g packs of cream cheese. When I checked from ounce was about over 1kg. ? Is this correct ?
Thanks for your help. And looks delicious!☺️
Yes, that sounds correct (40oz=1133.98grams) so 5 Blocks :0)
I made this cheesecake for Christmas and it was a big hit!! This cheesecake is so creamy and delicious. It was actually better than a the cake BOUGHT in a bakery by someone! I will DEFINITELY be making this again and again!! Thanks for this great recipe!
OMG! This cheesecake is pure heaven. I have a great Cheesecake recipe handed down to me by my beloved Momma. It is wonderful, but, has a lot of ingredients and steps, and is a little heavy. This recipe is so simple to follow. And, the outcome is delicious/creamy, and looks like a bakery cheesecake. I followed the directions and didn’t change ingredients or use any health conscious ingredients. WHY DO PEOPLE DO THAT? Although, ovens are different, so after the 60 minutes (1 hour), it was not golden color on top like the picture from the recipe. So, therefore, I switched my oven to Convection Bake for 5 minutes only and it turned a golden brown. Than, I shut the oven off and left it for about 40 minutes. Pure Perfection! Thank you Ashley aka Baker By Nature for sharing this recipe with everyone. I will be sure to add this to my Recipe Book and continue to make this Cheesecake for a long long time, and pass it down to the next generation in my family. Just curios, where did you find this great recipe???? By the way, I love so many of your recipes. I share your love of cooking and baking. #cookingbyvera
I have been wanting to try this recipe for a long time now, but, have been putting it off. I have my beloved mommas Cheesecake recipe that we have been making for years, and it is delicious, but a little heavy. So, yesterday I decided to try your recipe. Well, it is AMAZING! Just PERFECT. The perfect combination of CREAMY/SWEET HEAVEN. I made a couple of last minute decisions though. As all ovens cook differently, after the 1 hour (60 minutes) it was not golden brown like yours on top. So, I switched my oven to Convection Bake, and for 5 more minutes it turned that golden brown color on top. I also left it in the oven for about 40 mins with the door shut. And, for all of you out there who want to change the ingredients up, WHY??? If you are going to go through the trouble of making Cheesecake, don’t change anything. This recipe will definitely be added to my Recipe Book.
Wow…incredibly delicious, wonderful directions, and not so intimidating to make!! Thank you!!!
I’m making this tomorrow, can I use a 10” springform pan? Would cook time be the same?
Best cheesecake recipe ever!!!
So creamy and delicious
My family said it was like eating high end restaurant quality cake hhhmmmmm yummmmm.
Thank you
I made this cheesecake recipe last night, and OH MY!! It was absolutely AMAZING!! Every ingredient, bake time was perfect! Absolutely delicious….thank you for sharing your recipe.