(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 tall New York-style cheesecake.

The texture is incredible,

and it doesn't get any easier than this.

If you've never made a homemade cheesecake,

you are in for a treat,

and you're gonna love our homemade 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 oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

You'll need about 12 whole graham crackers

to make one and a half cups of graham cracker crumbs.

There's a few ways to do this.

You can either pulse it in a food processor like so,

or put them in a large Ziploc bag,

then roll them with a rolling pin,

or you can process them in a high-powered blender

until you have crumbs.

Transfer those crumbs to a mixing bowl

and add one tablespoon of sugar

and six tablespoons of melted 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 all baked and ready to serve.

I'll leave a link to the pan that I use

in the recipe notes.

Bake that in the center of a preheated oven

at 350 Fahrenheit for just eight minutes.

Then, take it out of the oven

and let it cool completely to room temperature.

While that's cooling,

you should also start boiling a pot of water.

Once the crust is nearly cooled,

we can start on the filling.

Go ahead and set your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.

In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment,

combine four and a half blocks or two and 1/4 pounds

of softened cream cheese.

Make sure that cream cheese is at room temperature.

Add one and a fourth cups of granulated sugar,

then beat on medium-high speed

using the paddle attachment for five minutes.

It should be light and fluffy.

Scrape down the bowl once or twice as needed,

so you don't get chunks of cream cheese at the bottom.

When you're scraping down the bowl,

make sure you're reaching all the way down to the bottom

and scrape around the paddle attachment.

This will ensure

that you don't have any lumps 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 eggs are fully incorporated

between each addition.

Scrape down the bowl as needed

to make sure your mixture is uniformly smooth.

Once all of the eggs are 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 teaspoons of real vanilla extract.

And I'm using a homemade vanilla extract.

I will link to the tutorial for 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 mixture should 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 the edges of your cheesecake pan.

Using a heavy-duty foil and double layering

ensures that you don't get any water leaks.

Make sure the foil is not touching the rim

to give the cheesecake a little bit of room to rise.

Place the cheesecake pan into a 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 pot earlier into the roasting pan.

You'll need it to go about one and a half to two inches

up the sides of the springform pan.

And here's a quick tip.

Depending on the size of your roasting pan,

you may need quite a bit of water,

so definitely boil more than you think you'll need.

The hot water around the cake keeps it baking

at a consistent temperature.

It also keeps the sides and 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 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.

Without opening the door,

reduce the heat to 225 degrees Fahrenheit

and continue baking for one hour to one hour and 10 minutes

or until the cheesecake is nearly set.

You'll know it's done if you 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 cheesecake cool in the water bath

for 45 minutes.

Then transfer it to a wire rack

and let it cool completely to room temperature.

Now, a cheesecake needs to be fully chilled and set

before serving,

so cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

If you cut into a cheesecake before 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 overnight in your refrigerator.

What I love about using a nonstick pan

is the sides typically don'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 by using the water bath method.

Ho ho ho ho, look at this.

It is perfection.

Ah, and we're gonna get this show on the road

and just do this taste test, because my little girl

has been asking for cheesecake all morning,

and I just can't make her wait any longer.

Okay.

And, if you're gonna serve it right off of the pan,

which I do a lot,

you can just put a little damp paper towel underneath,

and that way, it won't slide around when you slice it.

Tricks of the trade.

Okay.

Wow, wow.

Okay, more tricks of the trade.

The easiest way I found to cut through a cheesecake

to keep it looking really clean and beautiful

is to use a hot knife.

So I've got a knife dipped 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, a nonstick pan, or a sticky,

a non-nonstick pan, just use a warm knife,

take it around the edges before 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 knife and dip it in hot water

between each slice,

you'll have a cleaner cut and you'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)