This week I chose to make something I absolutely love… CHEESECAKE! It just so happened to be my friends birthday on the weekend and he happens to love cheesecake as well, so it was a perfect gift. This cheesecake created some issues for me as I discovered it on Instagram, and the whole recipe was in grams which I had to convert. I found a way to make it work and it was a hit with everyone!

Recipe:

Cooking time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Makes: 1 22cm cheesecake

Crust Ingredients:

  • 1 1/3 cup Graham cracker or crumbs
  • 1/3 cup melted butter

Cheesecake filling Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 cups cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup (140g) whipping cream
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 3-4 tsp cinnamon

Icing Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup (300g) cream cheese
  • 100 ml whipping cream
  • 2/3 cup icing sugar

Crust preparation:

  • If using whole graham crackers, crush them finely.
  • Combine the crumbs and melted butter and press the mixture down into the bottom and sides of a 22cm springform pan.
  • Bake at 400 degrees fahrenheit for 8 minutes.

Filling preparation:

  • Combine cream cheese and sugar and whisk until just combined.
  • Add in the whipping cream and whisk again.
  • Add the eggs and the vanilla and whisk well until the mixture has no lumps.
  • Pour half of the mixture into the springform pan, add the cinnamon to the remaining mixture. Pour the cinnamon mixture into the springform pan, creating a swirl pattern.
  • Bake in the oven at 325 degrees fahrenheit with a water bath underneath, for 50-60 minutes.
  • The cheesecake should still be slightly jiggly when its done.

Icing preparation:

  • Whisk together the cream cheese and icing sugar until smooth with an electric mixer.
  • Add in the heavy cream and whisk for a minute or two until it thickens.
  • Once the cheesecake is cool, spread the icing on top.
  • Let the cheesecake set overnight or for 5-6 hours in the fridge.

Tips and Tricks:

  • For some of the conversions that aren’t exactly even, I included the grams as well so a kitchen scale could be used if you have one. This webpage lists common ingredients and their conversions.
  • For the crust, add the butter slowly, you want to make sure the mixture isn’t too wet, it should look like wet sand.
  • Soften your cream cheese before mixing to help create an easier mixing experience.
  • When mixing the cheesecake filling, ensure that there are no lumps left. I recommend getting all the lumps out when you combine the sugar and cream cheese, and continue to mix well while adding ingredients. If there are lumps in the batter when pouring into the pan, those lumps will remain in the baked cheesecake.
  • To create a water bath, add water into a large baking or roasting pan, put it on the lower shelf of the oven, and the cheesecake on the shelf above the water bath. Do not put the cheesecake into the pan with water!
  • Try not to overmix the icing, stir until everything is combines and it thickens slightly.