P
American
New York Cheesecake
A thick (8-10cm tall) cake of dense, creamy, slightly tangy cream cheese filling on a thin (5mm) graham cracker crumb crust (graham cracker crumbs mixed with melted butter and sugar, pressed into the base of a springform pan). The filling: cream cheese (the dominant ingredient — 900g for a standard cake), sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon juice, and sour cream or heavy cream. Baked in a water bath at 160°C for 60-75 minutes until the edges are set but the centre jiggles when the pan is gently shaken. The cake sets fully as it cools.
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I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
For the crust
200 g
graham cracker crumbs
finely ground
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
75 g
unsalted butter
melted
Your own market
30 g
caster sugar
Your own market
For the filling
900 g
full-fat cream cheese
at room temperature
Your own market
200 g
caster sugar
Your own market
3
eggs
at room temperature
Your own market
1 tsp
vanilla extract
Your own market
1 tbsp
lemon juice
freshly squeezed
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
120 ml
sour cream or heavy cream
Your own market
For the optional sour cream topping
200 g
sour cream
Your own market
30 g
caster sugar
Your own market
II
The Method
1
Heat the oven to 160 °C. Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the base of a 23 cm springform pan to a depth of 5 mm. The surface should feel compact and hold its shape when pressed with a finger.
2
Beat the room-temperature cream cheese on medium speed until completely smooth. Add the sugar and beat until incorporated. Cold cream cheese will leave lumps that no amount of further mixing will correct; the mixture at this stage should be perfectly homogeneous and glossy.
3
Add the eggs one at a time, mixing only until each disappears into the batter. Add the vanilla, lemon juice, and sour cream or heavy cream, and mix just until combined. This is where the dish lives or dies: overmixing beyond this point incorporates air that will cause the cake to rise in the oven and crack as it cools. The batter should be smooth and ribbon-like, with no visible streaks.
4
Wrap the outside of the springform pan tightly in two layers of heavy-duty foil, sealing it against water ingress. Pour the filling over the crust. Set the springform inside a larger roasting pan and pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come 2–3 cm up the sides of the springform.
5
Bake at 160 °C for 60–75 minutes. The cake is done when the edges are fully set and matte, and the centre — roughly a 7–8 cm circle — gives a distinct, slow jiggle when the pan is gently shaken. It should jiggle, not slosh. The centre will appear slightly underdone; it is not.
6
If using the sour cream topping, stir the sour cream and sugar together and spread in a thin, even layer over the surface of the baked cake. Return to the oven for 5 minutes. The topping should appear just set and opaque.
7
Turn off the oven, crack the door open, and leave the cake inside for 1–2 hours. Rapid cooling causes cracking. When the cake has reached room temperature, transfer to the refrigerator and chill for a minimum of 4 hours before unmoulding. The fully cooled cake will be dense, firm to the touch at the edges, and uniformly set across its surface.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Philadelphia-brand full-fat cream cheese at room temperature, combined with sour cream for its tang; the cake served absolutely plain, in the Junior's tradition — no topping of any kind.
02
Estate — Full-fat cream cheese at room temperature with a thin sour cream topping, baked in a proper water bath and slow-cooled in the oven: a smooth, uncracked surface.
03
Market — Full-fat cream cheese, correctly tempered, with heavy cream in place of sour cream; water bath used; result is rich and dense, with somewhat less tang.
04
House — Full-fat cream cheese insufficiently tempered, no water bath, or cooled too quickly; filling may be slightly lumpy or the surface cracked, though the flavour remains acceptable.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The batter is smooth, glossy, and ribbon-like with no streaks before it enters the oven.
◇Sight. The baked edges are fully set and matte; the central 7–8 cm gives a slow, unified jiggle when the pan is shaken — not a liquid slosh.
◇Touch. After full refrigeration the cake is dense and firm at the edges, uniformly set across its entire surface.
◇Sight. The unmoulded cake stands 8–10 cm tall with a flat, smooth top and no cracks.
◇Where it lives or dies. The eggs must be mixed in only until combined — overmixing incorporates air, which raises the cake in the oven and cracks it on cooling.
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VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Buffalo Trace Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Buffalo Trace Distillery · Kentucky Bourbon Country
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
Whisky
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
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The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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