Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a great dessert to try out if you’re looking for something quick and easy and because it’s so simple it’s almost impossible to mess it up. Cheesecake is also great for someone that has unique tastes or certain preferences when it comes to dessert because it’s so easy to customize it to your liking. Cheesecake is also a very popular dessert and it can be made a day in advance and then eaten which saves you the hassle of making it the same day as a party or a big dinner you may be having. For the most part cheesecake is fast, fun, and simple which makes it the perfect dessert if you’re pressed for time. Plus it’s not complicated - just take a look at the basic ingredients below and you’ll be able to create a cheesecake perfect for whatever occasion or taste you might have!

For any basic cheesecake you’ll need the following ingredients:

16 oz of plain cream cheese at room temperature
three cups of sour cream
three eggs
one cup of sugar
one fourth of a teaspoon of salt
two teaspoons of vanilla
a crust* (see note at bottom)
whatever mixes or toppings you want your cheesecake to have.

The mix for a cheesecake is pretty basic but before you begin putting all your ingredients together you want to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. You’ll also want to place your oven rack in the center of the oven so it’s not too close to the heat but not too far away either.

Get a large bowl and an electric beater and beat the eggs, the sour cream, and the cream cheese together until they’re evenly blended.

Next add the sugar, the salt, and the vanilla into the cream cheese mixture and beat it until it’s smooth.

This is the point where you want to add any different ingredients or fillings into your cheesecake. If you’re adding another liquid such as chocolate, caramel, or a fruit syrup make sure that the liquid is at room temperature and you may want to watch for the consistency of the cheesecake as well. You may need to balance it out with more cream cheese to keep a firmness to your cheesecake. You’ll also want to be sure you don’t over compensate in the way of sugar. Sauces and fillings that contain a lot of sugar can be used in place of the cup of sugar this recipe requires though you may want to add a little more just to be sure. When in doubt do a tiny taste test but be careful as this contains raw eggs which can make you sick if consumed. If you want to keep your cheesecake plain or you aren’t sure which topping you want to use you can leave your cheesecake as it is and just provide a few toppings for people to choose from and sprinkle on top of their cheesecake.

*Once you’ve completed your mixture you’ll want to put it in a crust that goes with whatever toppings you’ve selected. If you want to you can buy a pre-made pie crust at the store but homemade varieties are much tastier. You can make a crust out of ground up graham crackers, cookies, almonds or other types of nuts, and many more - just pick whatever sounds best with your cheesecake. It helps to add a bit of melted butter to your mixture and then press it into a pie tin to give it a nice flavor. You’ll also want to pre-bake your crust for fifteen minutes or so to make it nice and firm but don’t let it bake too long or it will dry out. Make sure to weight it down with tinfoil and beans (or pie weights) prior to baking it to help it retain it’s shape.

Once your crust has baked take it out and let it cool. When it’s cool you can add your cheesecake mixture to it and bake that in the oven (at 350 degrees) for an hour or so until it’s set up around the edges. The middle will still be a bit soft which is just fine. Once your cheesecake is done baking take it out of the oven at let it rest for a couple of hours. Once it’s cooled off completely you’ll want to put it in the fridge and let it set up for a minimum of two hours but it’s much better to leave it in overnight so that it’s nice and firm.

Once your cheesecake has set up in the fridge you can take it out and cut slices of it to serve. This is a time to heat up and sauces or set out toppings you might want to enjoy with your cheesecake as well. Fruit, nuts, caramel, butterscotch, chocolate, and even ice cream are all great choices and go very well with cheesecake.

After you’ve gotten the basic cheesecake recipe down you can begin to alter it more to include other ingredients and neat presentations like chocolate swirls, peanut butter, raspberries, strawberries, different candies, and so on. Experiment with your recipes until you find ways that work for you and combinations that taste great and remember to have fun making your cheesecake!