I don’t know what it is, but for some reason every day seems like a good day for cheesecake to me. It really is one of my oldest food memories, and I’ve held onto the stories my Dad would tell about being the only kid who liked cheesecake, and for that reason getting more than his fair share of it on his birthday. I was that same kid.
This particular recipe is different from those I’ve shared in the past for a few reasons. First, this cake has an exceptionally smooth and creamy consistency in the finished bake. The very low oven temperature and extended baking time (mine baked for about 3 hours) ensures that the egg proteins in the batter have all the time in the world to denature (uncurl) and coagulate in a smooth, even network. This is food tech speak for super-smooth.
Secondly, in the past I’ve shared my go-to NY style cheesecake recipe, which calls for a small amount of all-purpose flour in the batter. As some of the guests of the shower were gluten intolerant, I instead made this batter gluten-free. To replace the protein strength that the flour lends, I added just a bit more egg. When paired with a crust made from GF graham cracker (or cookie substitute) this makes a fully gluten banished dessert!
Cheers – Chef Scott
- 350 g graham cracker crumbs
- 252 g butter unsalted
- 15 g red gel color
- 997 g cream cheese
- 335 g sugar
- 18 g vanilla extract Madagascar Bourbon
- 2 g salt
- 96 g whole milk
- 258 g sour cream
- 250 g whole egg about 5 eggs
- raspberry jam as needed
- 943 g heavy cream
- 121 g powdered sugar
- 10 g vanilla extract Tahitian
- 6 g gelatin 160 bloom
- Melt the butter and add it and the red gel color to the graham crumbs, mixing thoroughly until it is the consistency of wet sand.
- Prepare the cake pan (I'm using a 10" pan for this recipe) with baking spray and a disk of parchment paper cut to fit. Wipe the sides of the cake pan with spray as well.
- Sprinkle the graham base over the bottom of the cake pan, pressing it down firmly and evenly. Chill it in the refrigerator until set, and hold until ready to bake.
- Combine the cream cheese and sugar and mix until smooth in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment.
- Combine and mix the remaining ingredients. Add them to the cream cheese mixture in several small additions.
- With each addition, mix on low speed for 30-40 seconds, then scrape the bowl and return to the mixer, mixing until well combined. This ensures a smooth, lump-free batter.
- As an optional step, pass the batter through a fine-mesh sieve to knock out air bubbles.
- Bake at 230F/110C with a water bath for 2-3hr. The cake should be set but still have a slight jiggle in the center.
- *Note: The low temperature and long baking time allows the egg proteins to coagulate slowly, creating a smoother, creamier texture in the finished cheesecake.
- Before getting started, hydrate (bloom) the gelatin in cold water for 5-10minutes.
- Gently heat the heavy cream until warmer than room temperature.
- Squeeze out excess water from the gelatin and heat until melted.
- Add the powdered sugar, vanilla, and melted gelatin to the cream, mixing until well homogenized.
- Let the cream chill and set, covered, in the refrigerator for 8-12hrs.
- Whisk on high speed for 5-10min. to reconstitute and whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks.
- *Note: Gelatin in the recipe stabilizes water in the emulsion, making the whipped cream more shelf stable.
- Whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Optionally, divide the whipped cream and color half of it pink using red gel color.
- Fill a piping bag (no tip) half full down the bag's length with each whipped cream. This will create half white - half pink piping decoration.
- Cut the tip of the piping bag at an angle.
- Pipe small scallops of whipped cream at a slight angle in concentric circles around the cake, beginning at the outside edge.
- Trim the base of several raspberries with a sharp, serrated paring knife.
- Fill each cavity with raspberry jam.
- Garnish the cake with the filled raspberries.
Hello Chef Scott,
I already said in the YouTube comments that this cake looks stunning and I will make it ASAP.
I just want to mention two small flaws: on the blog the size of the cake pan is not mentioned anywhere; on YouTube I have to click all the way to amazon in order to find out.
Also it says in step 3 of the cheesecake batter prep “Combine the cheesecake and sugar”… surely it is “cream cheese and sugar”?
I know, I know, I’m being a bit pedantic, but I want to be able to trust a recipe 100%. While none of this would majorly throw me, it might confuse less experienced folks.
Thanks for the recipe,
cheers,
Catharina
Hi Catharina,
Thanks for mentioning the edits! Both are updated in the recipe 🙂
Cheers – Chef Scott
Tthat’s so great, thank you.
I am doing the prep as we speak and thus going through the instructions again.
Another thing I found (so sorry) that may confuse less experienced bakers who go by the recipe but haven’t seen the video: the raspberry jam is a lovely addition, but you don’t mix it in with everything else as suggested in step 4 of the batter, right? Just saying…
(You might come to hate me, but I honestly point these things out as a most positive criticism and hope you don’t take offence)
Cheers,
Catharina
Hi Chef Scott,
just a quick feedback on the finished product:
It is one of THE BEST cheesecakes I have ever made, and that’s means something if my trusted NY cheesecake recipe is shoved off its pedestal.
The only thing I will change is the size of the cake; I found he slices (even very slim ones) far too big. I’ll probably make two smaller cakes next time and adjust the baking time.
Thanks so much,
Catharina