New York Cheesecake with Graham Cracker Crust
A dense, water-bath-baked cheesecake on a graham crust, sliced clean and cool — the opposite instinct from a deliberately scorched Basque one.
- Serves
- 10
- Prep
- 25 min
- Cook
- 70 min
- Written
Method
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Heat the oven to 325°F. Stir the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and crust sugar together, press firmly into the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan, and bake until fragrant, about 10 minutes. Cool while you make the filling, then wrap the outside of the pan in two layers of foil.
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Beat the cream cheese and filling sugar together until completely smooth, scraping the bowl down until no lumps remain — this is the step that determines whether the batter is silky or grainy.
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Add the eggs one at a time, beating just until each disappears before adding the next. Overbeating here whips in air that puffs the cheesecake up and then cracks it as it falls.
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Beat in the sour cream, flour, vanilla, lemon zest, and salt until smooth and pour over the cooled crust.
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Set the springform in a roasting pan and pour boiling water in to come halfway up the sides. Bake until the edges are set and the center still jiggles like loose gelatin in a small circle in the middle, 60 to 70 minutes.
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Turn off the oven, crack the door, and let the cheesecake sit inside for an hour before lifting it out — the slow cooldown is what keeps the top from splitting.
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Chill uncovered at least 6 hours or overnight, then run a thin knife around the edge before releasing the ring.
Notes
The water bath is the whole difference between this and a Basque-style burnt cheesecake: gentle, even heat instead of a blast at the top, so the custard sets dense and smooth all the way through instead of catching and scorching. Room-temperature cream cheese and eggs matter more than usual here — cold lumps never fully beat out, and they’re what show up as streaks once it’s sliced.
Serve it plain, or with nothing more than a spoon of fruit compote on the side so the tang of the cream cheese stays out front. It keeps five days in the fridge, covered, and the flavor is better on day two than fresh out of the water bath.