(upbeat music) (both grunt) (hands clapping) – Hi, everybody.
It's Natasha of NatashasKitchen.
com, and today, I'm gonna teach you how to make a cheesecake to remember.
This is an impressively tallNew York-style cheesecake.
The texture is incredible, and it doesn't get any easier than this.
If you've never madea homemade cheesecake, you are in for a treat, and you're gonna love ourhomemade cherry topping.
And I want cheesecake, so let's get started.
(hands tapping) (bell chimes) I'm gonna show you how we make our easy go-to cheesecake crust.
Start by preheating your ovento 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
You'll need about 12 whole graham crackers to make one and a half cupsof graham cracker crumbs.
There's a few ways to do this.
You can either pulse it ina food processor like so, or put them in a large Ziploc bag, then roll them with a rolling pin, or you can process themin a high-powered blender until you have crumbs.
Transfer those crumbs to a mixing bowl and add one tablespoon of sugar and six tablespoons ofmelted unsalted butter.
Use a spoon to stir that together until the crumbs are evenly moistened.
Transfer those moist crumbs to a nine-inch springform pan.
And I love using a nonstick springform pan for easier release of the crust once the cheesecake is allbaked and ready to serve.
I'll leave a link to the pan that I use in the recipe notes.
Bake that in the centerof a preheated oven at 350 Fahrenheit for just eight minutes.
Then, take it out of the oven and let it cool completelyto room temperature.
While that's cooling, you should also startboiling a pot of water.
Once the crust is nearly cooled, we can start on the filling.
Go ahead and set your ovento 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the bowl of a stand mixerwith the paddle attachment, combine four and a halfblocks or two and 1/4 pounds of softened cream cheese.
Make sure that cream cheeseis at room temperature.
Add one and a fourthcups of granulated sugar, then beat on medium-high speed using the paddle attachmentfor five minutes.
It should be light and fluffy.
Scrape down the bowlonce or twice as needed, so you don't get chunks ofcream cheese at the bottom.
When you're scraping down the bowl, make sure you're reaching allthe way down to the bottom and scrape around the paddle attachment.
This will ensure that you don't have anylumps of cream cheese.
After about five minutes, the mixture should be completely smooth.
Reduce to medium speed.
Next, add six large room-temperature eggs, adding them one at a time, and waiting until the eggsare fully incorporated between each addition.
Scrape down the bowl as needed to make sure your mixtureis uniformly smooth.
Once all of the eggsare well incorporated, scrape down the bowl once more, then reduce the speed to low, and add 1/4 cup of sour cream.
Also add one and a half teaspoonsof real vanilla extract.
And I'm using a homemade vanilla extract.
I will link to the tutorialfor this in the notes.
It has just two ingredients, and it makes everything taste better.
Mix that together on low speed, just until it's well incorporated.
Then turn the mixer off.
The cheesecake mixtureshould be completely smooth.
Now our best trick for making a cheesecake that's level without any cracks is to use a water bath method.
Take two heavy-duty large sheets of foil, layer them on top of each other, then wrap them around theedges of your cheesecake pan.
Using a heavy-duty foiland double layering ensures that you don'tget any water leaks.
Make sure the foil is not touching the rim to give the cheesecake alittle bit of room to rise.
Place the cheesecake pan intoa large deep roasting pan, and I'll link to this one in the notes.
Now pour all of that cheesecake filling over your cooled crust.
Next, we're gonna add the water that you boiled in the potearlier into the roasting pan.
You'll need it to go aboutone and a half to two inches up the sides of the springform pan.
And here's a quick tip.
Depending on the sizeof your roasting pan, you may need quite a bit of water, so definitely boil morethan you think you'll need.
The hot water aroundthe cake keeps it baking at a consistent temperature.
It also keeps the sidesand top lighter in color and prevents cracks.
Using hot mitts for safety, carefully transfer that to the center rack of your preheated oven.
Bake that at 450 degreesFahrenheit for 15 minutes.
Without opening the door, reduce the heat to 225 degrees Fahrenheit and continue baking for onehour to one hour and 10 minutes or until the cheesecake is nearly set.
You'll know it's done ifyou gently wiggle the pan and you see a slight wobble in the center of your cheesecake.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven and let the cheesecakecool in the water bath for 45 minutes.
Then transfer it to a wire rack and let it cool completelyto room temperature.
Now, a cheesecake needs tobe fully chilled and set before serving, so cover with plastic wrapand refrigerate overnight.
If you cut into a cheesecakebefore it's fully chilled, it can be soupy in the center.
And totally normal.
I just happened to have another cheesecake that's been setting overnightin your refrigerator.
What I love about using a nonstick pan is the sides typicallydon't stick to the pan once it's cooled overnight.
The springform mold should release easily, and the sides will look perfect.
The professional look of this cheesecake can only be achieved byusing the water bath method.
Ho ho ho ho, look at this.
It is perfection.
Ah, and we're gonna getthis show on the road and just do this tastetest, because my little girl has been asking forcheesecake all morning, and I just can't make her wait any longer.
Okay.
And, if you're gonna serveit right off of the pan, which I do a lot, you can just put a littledamp paper towel underneath, and that way, it won't slidearound when you slice it.
Tricks of the trade.
Okay.
Wow, wow.
Okay, more tricks of the trade.
The easiest way I found tocut through a cheesecake to keep it looking reallyclean and beautiful is to use a hot knife.
So I've got a knifedipped in hot water here to warm it up nicely, and then just dry it off.
And if you see that your cake is sticking to the sides of the pan, if you have, say, anonstick pan, or a sticky, a non-nonstick pan, just use a warm knife, take it around the edgesbefore you loosen it off, and that'll do that.
Anyways, our knife is warm and dry, and we're just gonna cut right into this.
And you wipe the knifeand dip it in hot water between each slice, you'll have a cleaner cut andyou'll be plating like a pro.
Okay, so that's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna serve this, 'cause I want cheesecake bad.
(laughs) Here we go.
Oh, and look at that texture.
It is so fluffy and whipped.
Velvety smooth.
Yum.
Get in my belly.
Yeah, look at that.
Woo-hoo.
Remember that topping Iwas telling you about? That's right, homemade cherry sauce.
And this is great year round, because you can use frozen cherries, which is what I did, 'causecherries are not in season yet.
But it's okay.
It doesn't even matter.
Look at how saucy this is.
Yum.
It just tastes like the besthomemade cherry pie filling.
It is fantastic.
Super easy to make.
I'll link to the recipe in the notes because you have toget your hands on this.
It's also really goodover pancakes, on waffles, and cheesecake, of course.
Okay, lots of cherry sauce.
Okay.
Yum.
I love when there's a littlebit of cherry juice drip.
Look at that, look at that.
That's what I'm talking about.
(laughs) Okay, okay.
I'm so excited.
Here we go.
Diving in.
Gonna get my little bit ofeverything, especially a cherry.
Mm.
Mm.
Yeah.
That is definitely a NewYork-style cheesecake.
The texture is phenomenal.
It literally just melts in your mouth.
Oh, and I love the crust too.
It's so simple.
This is gonna become anew favorite for you.
And can you even believe how easy it is to make a cheesecake? It's just a little bit of waiting, okay, a lot a bit ofwaiting, while it cools, but it really is so easyto bake a cheesecake.
It's a keeper of a recipe.
And make sure, make sure, you try that cherry sauce.
It'll make your day.
All right, now I'm gonna getmy kids in on this taste test, because they have beenwaiting very impatiently.
Oh, kids! (laughs) Okay, all right.
Someone's hungry for cheesecake.
Okay, I'll give you a big bite.
Haumph.
Oh, it's a big bite.
Was it too big? Is it awesome? – Mm-hmm.
– I'll have cherry sauce.
– Oh yeah.
Look at those two cherries on here.
Whoa.
Here, I'm gonna let youhandle that business yourself.
(laughs) – I want this.
– You want more? Okay.
What do you think? Do I get the thumbs up? (laughs) Yes.
Okay, guys, let's have some cake.
I hope you guys enjoyed this video, and we'll see you in our next one.
(girl vocalizing).
