Making New York cheesecake will require a baking technique that might be challenging to pull off. But after learning the baking trick, you may have a great taste of America’s test kitchen cheesecake. So, the New York cheesecake has a browned top, which is distinctive, and a velvety texture that it owes to our excellent baking technique.
In our baking technique, we put the cheesecake in a 500-degree oven for about 10 minutes. Then, we lower the oven’s temperature to 200 degrees for the rest of the baking period. It is important to note that the success of having cheesecake with a browned top and velvety texture depends on lowering the oven’s temperature at a specific rate.
If you lower the temperature of the oven too fast, your cheesecake will be soupy. And if you lower the temperature too slow, the cheesecake will be burned and probably have cracks and become grainy. So, you should get the temperature falling at a specific rate for an amazing New York cheesecake by America’s test kitchen!
Consistency in your baking technique will improve the success of your cheesecake. You should bake your cheesecake for 3 hours at a lower temperature and then remove it from the oven when looking to heat the oven to 500 degrees. After this, you will place the cheesecake back in for 10 minutes and drop the temperature to 200 degrees.
When you finish the cheesecake at 500 and 200 degrees, it will have the proper appearance and texture with no risks. And adding a hybrid graham cracker to the cheesecake will make it have the flavor to make it delicious. Also, it will give it the structure that withstands prolonged contact with the wet filling. So, if you’re looking to bake some cheesecake, be sure to read on to find out how!
New York Cheesecake America’s test kitchen Recipe
Ingredients
For the crust, you will need:
- 2
ounces of dark brown.
- 2
ounces of all-purpose flour.
teaspoon salt.
- 7 teaspoons of melted and unsalted butter.
- 6 whole graham crackers that you’ll break into pieces.
For fillings, you will need:
- 2 ½ pounds of softened cream cheese.
- 10.5 ounces of granulated sugar.
- ⅛ teaspoon of salt.
- ⅓ cup of sour cream.
- 2 teaspoons of lemon juice.
- 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract.
- 6 large eggs and 2 large egg yolks.
Instructions
- For the crust part, you should adjust the oven racks to the upper-middle and lower-middle positions. And then heat the oven to 325degrees. Begin processing the cracker pieces and sugar using a food processor for about 30 seconds. Once finely ground, add flour and salt and then pulse to combine the mixture. 2 pulses might be enough.
- Add 6 teaspoons of melted butter and pulse until crumbs are uniformly moistened. You might need up to 10 pulses for this part. Take out a 9-inch springform pan and brush its bottom with ½ teaspoon of melted butter.
- Press the crumb mixture evenly into the bottom of the pan with your hand. Also, firmly pack the crust into the pan using the flat bottom of a measuring cup or ramekin. Bake the crust for about 13 minutes on the lower-middle rack. Then transfer the crust into a rimmed baking sheet and let the crust cool completely. Then reduce the temperature of the oven to 200 degrees.
- For the filling part, you want to make sure you beat the cream cheese, ¾ cup of sugar, and salt for about a minute. And you will need a mixer that is fitted with paddles for this part. Also, you will need to make sure that the mixer is operating at medium-low speed so you can beat the mixture for about a minute.
- Clean the mixer by scraping the beater and bowl. Then, add sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. And beat the mixture at low speed for about a minute also. This will make sure that all ingredients have been properly mixed up or combined.
- Once again, scrape the beater and bowl then add 2 large eggs at a time, beating them for 30 seconds until all the six eggs have been added. Pour the filling through a fine-mesh strainer.
- Brush the bottom of the 9-inch springform pan with the remaining ½ teaspoon melted butter. Then pour the filling into the crust and let them sit for 10 minutes. Bubbles will rise to the top, and you will use a fork to remove any air bubbles on top.
- Once the oven’s temperature falls to 200 degrees, you should bake the cheesecake on the lower rack for about 45 minutes. Once this time has elapsed, you should take the cake out of the oven and pierce the surface with a toothpick to remove any air bubble. Return the cheesecake to the oven for 2 hours and 45 minutes.
- Remove the cake and increase the oven’s temperature to 500 degrees. Now, bake the cheesecake on the upper rack for 4-12 minutes. This will make sure that the cake is evenly browned. Let the cake cool down for 5 minutes then run a paring knife between your cheesecake and the side of the springform pan. Let the cheesecake cool down for 3 more hours. Then tightly wrap the cake using plastic wrap and place it in a refrigerator until it’s cold and firmly set. This might take up to 6 hours!
You can unmold the cheesecake by removing the sides of the pan. To do this, you will need to slide a thin spatula between the cheesecake’s crust and pan bottom. Once the cheesecake is loosened a bit, you can slide it to a serving plate. But you will need to let the cheesecake sit there at room temperature for 30 minutes.
Then you slice it. But you will have to dip the knife in hot very water and wipe it dry between each slicing. This is pretty much how you will serve the cheesecake. Preparing cheesecake is, therefore, simpler if you have a detailed recipe.
