(upbeat music) (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) Here we go. Oh, and look at that texture. It is so fluffy and whipped. Velvety smooth. Yum. Get in my belly. Yeah, look at that. Woo-hoo. Remember that topping I
was telling you about? That's right, homemade cherry sauce. And this is great year round, because you can use frozen cherries, which is what I did, 'cause
cherries are not in season yet. But it's okay. It doesn't even matter. Look at how saucy this is. Yum. It just tastes like the best
homemade cherry pie filling. It is fantastic. Super easy to make. I'll link to the recipe in the notes because you have to
get your hands on this. It's also really good
over pancakes, on waffles, and cheesecake, of course. Okay, lots of cherry sauce. Okay. Yum. I love when there's a little
bit of cherry juice drip. Look at that, look at that. That's what I'm talking about. (laughs) Okay, okay. I'm so excited. Here we go. Diving in. Gonna get my little bit of
everything, especially a cherry. Mm. Mm. Yeah. That is definitely a New
York-style cheesecake. The texture is phenomenal. It literally just melts in your mouth. Oh, and I love the crust too. It's so simple. This is gonna become a
new favorite for you. And can you even believe how easy it is to make a cheesecake? It's just a little bit of waiting, okay, a lot a bit of
waiting, while it cools, but it really is so easy
to bake a cheesecake. It's a keeper of a recipe. And make sure, make sure,
you try that cherry sauce. It'll make your day. All right, now I'm gonna get
my kids in on this taste test, because they have been
waiting very impatiently. Oh, kids! (laughs) Okay, all right. Someone's hungry for cheesecake. Okay, I'll give you a big bite. Haumph. Oh, it's a big bite. Was it too big? Is it awesome? - Mm-hmm.
- I'll have cherry sauce. - Oh yeah. Look at those two cherries on here. Whoa. Here, I'm gonna let you
handle that business yourself. (laughs) - I want this. - You want more? Okay. What do you think? Do I get the thumbs up? (laughs) Yes. Okay, guys, let's have some cake. I hope you guys enjoyed this video, and we'll see you in our next one. (girl vocalizing)
