Delicious cheesecake with base and soft curd cream. No wonder that this classic is so popular! And with my tips for the best cheesecake, it will definitely not sink in anymore.
Fancy a piece of the best cheesecake in the world?
This easy cheesecake with a base of short pastry and velvety curd cream gets by entirely without cavities, craters and unsightly cracks. I have perfected the recipe in many trials.
I've been reading baking books and magazines, asked our readers, asked grandma. The question: How do you make a pastry that rightly bears the title "The best cheesecake"?
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Taste and Occasion
Super creamy curd mass, buttery and crumbly base: That's the way it should be! What is the best cheesecake recipe is, of course, as so often, a matter of taste.
We like the traditional alternative with short pastry especially well, and many readers feel the same way. They like their cheesecake easy and classic. Without much ballyhoo. Another group likes American Cheesecake, and another likes cheesecake without a base.
In my search for the ultimate recipe, I did a lot of research, did polls, and of course baked a lot. Above all, I wanted to find out what to do about sunken cheesecake. I think the result of the tests can be seen and tasted! Voilá, my favorite classic alternative - now also an absolute favorite of many readers.
And it's the perfect cheesecake to prepare in advance: You can store the cake either well covered in the refrigerator, where it can stand for a good 3 days. Or you can freeze it in individual pieces.
Ingredients
Does your cheesecake always tear during baking? Not anymore in the future! Basically, the result depends on the ingredients used, in this case also on the stability of the curd mass.
While American alternatives such as the New York Cheesecake are traditionally baked with cream cheese, which is firmer anyway, grandmother's cheesecake with curd tends to soften on its own, making it more prone to cracking. My tips: Drain the curd well, use oil for the cream and don't set the oven too hot.
How to make The Best Cheesecake
First of all, prepare the cheesecake curd by draining it to make it a little drier. To do this, line a sieve with a kitchen towel or a kitchen roll. Put the curd in it and place it in the sink or over a bowl.
For the short pastry dough, put flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add eggs and cold butter in flakes and knead it with the dough hooks and finally with your hands to a homogeneous dough. Form it into a ball, wrap the dough cling film and refrigerate it for about 30 minutes.
For the next step, grease the springform pan, dust it with flour and preheat the oven to 338°F / 170°C. Roll out the short pastry with a rolling pin. Line the bottom of the springform pan with dough and pull up one edge.
Either roll out the dough sheet large enough to cover the rim. Or form a roll from part of the dough, place it on the short pastry base at the edge of the mould and form a high rim with your fingers. Prick the short pastry base several times with a fork.
For the cheesecake mixture, mix the eggs with the sugar until foamy. Stir in the drained curd. Stir in lemon zest, vanilla pudding powder, oil and milk until no more pieces are visible. The mixture is quite liquid.
Pour the cheesecake mixture into the mould on the shortcrust pastry base. Place the cake in the oven on the lowest shelf. The cake has to bake for about 60 to 70 minutes in total. The hour baking time is for rough orientation. The cake may still be slightly soft in the middle because the curd cream will become firmer as it cools down anyway.
If your cake starts to get a little brown on the top, cover the cake with baking paper or aluminum foil or switch the oven to underheat. Generally, you should choose a rather low temperature.
Top Tip
In order to prevent the cheesecake from collapsing do not bake the cake in one piece, but in several stages. During the baking process, a large knife is used to remove the cake from the edge all around, allowing the air to escape, which otherwise results in cracks and curvatures and thus collapse.
When the baking time is over, the cake remains in the oven. The door is opened a little bit, for example with a wooden spoon. Let it cool down at room temperature and then put it in the refrigerator. There the curd mass becomes creamy and firm and easy to slice.
Admittedly, the procedure described here is a little more complicated than simply putting the cake in the oven and waiting until it is ready. But it is worth it. Even if you haven't dared to bake cheesecake yet, I really recommend you try it. You will not regret it!
And maybe one more consoling hint at the end: Many readers wrote to us that they don't really care if the cheesecake has shrunk or not. The main thing is that it is delicious. And it is!
Recipe Card
The Best Cheesecake Recipe
Equipment
- Springform Pan (appr. 10 inches)
Ingredients
- 200 grams (1 ⅔ cups) wheat flour
- 130 grams (1 cup) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 pinch salt
- 100 grams (½ cup) sugar
- 1 egg, medium-sized
- 1 egg yolk, medium-sized
- 150 grams (¾ cup) butter , cold and in pieces
For The Filling
- 750 grams (3 ⅓ cups) curd, preferably 20% fat; drained in a cloth
- 4 eggs, medium-sized
- 2 teaspoon lemon zest, grated
- 200 grams (1 cup) sugar
- 32 grams (5 tablespoon) vanilla pudding powder , for cooking (2 small bags)
- 100 milliliters (7 tablespoon) sunflower oil
- 300 milliliters (1 ⅓ cups) milk
Instructions
- First, prepare the curd by draining it to make it a little drier. To do this, line a sieve with a kitchen towel or kitchen roll, put the curd in it and place it in the sink or over a bowl. Then prepare the short pastry.
- For the dough, put flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt and sugar in a bowl. Add the eggs and the cold butter in flakes and knead with the dough hooks and finally with your hands to a homogeneous dough. Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- Grease the springform pan and dust with flour. Preheat the oven to 338°F / 170°C. Roll out the short pastry with a rolling pin. Line the bottom of the springform pan with dough and pull up one edge. Either roll out the dough sheet large enough to cover the rim. Or form a roll from part of the dough, place it on the short pastry base at the edge of the mould and form a high rim with your fingers. Prick the short pastry base several times with a fork.
- For the cheesecake mixture, mix the eggs with the sugar until foamy. Stir in drained curd. Stir in the lemon zest, vanilla pudding powder, oil and milk so that no more pieces are visible. The mixture is quite liquid.
- Pour the cheesecake mixture into the mould on the shortcrust pastry base. Place the cake in the oven on the lowest shelf. The cake has to bake for about 60 to 70 minutes in total.
Notes
Ingredient substitutions
Similar Recipes
Getting bored of regular cheesecake? If you want to try something new I can recommend you my delicious recipe for a No-Bake Oreo Cheesecake. Or how about a healthier version? You should try my Low-Carb and Sugar-Free Cheesecake, as well.
Nutrition
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About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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