10 Types of Cheesecake: 5 Tips for Making Cheesecake

Cheesecake is a dense, smooth cake made with eggs, sugar, and fresh cheese such as ricotta, cream cheese, mascarpone, or cottage cheese. Cheesecakes often consist of a single flat layer of crust made of crumbled graham crackers, cookies, or pastry; a layer of creamy sweetened cheese; and a topping of fresh fruit or syrups. While some cheesecakes require baking, no-bake cheesecakes set in the refrigerator.

The oldest form of cheesecake combined fresh cheese, flour, wheat, and honey to create a simple cake; however, European chefs began using beaten eggs instead of yeast during the eighteenth century, creating the modern dessert popular today.

These simple tips will help you bake a smooth, delicious cheesecake that looks pristine:

1. 1. Use room-temperature ingredients. The key to a creamy cheesecake is well-blended ingredients. When all your ingredients are at the same temperature, it’s easier to mix them together, resulting in a smooth cheesecake batter. On the other hand, cold ingredients can make your cheesecake come out lumpy.
2. 2. Mix low and slow. Cheesecake filling is dense, not light and fluffy like a sponge cake. While some cake recipes benefit from the aeration of high-speed mixing, cheesecake requires low, slow mixing to prevent air bubbles. Overbeating your cheesecake batter can cause cracks to develop as your cake bakes. Use the paddle attachment instead of the whisk attachment to mix your batter gently at medium speed to ensure your cheesecake comes out of the oven smooth and crack-free.
3. 3. Use parchment paper or a springform pan. To easily remove your cheesecake from its pan after baking or chilling, use a springform pan, which has a removable bottom. If you don’t have a springform pan, line a regular baking pan with parchment paper to prevent the cheesecake from sticking.
4. 4. Make a water bath. A water bath can help cheesecakes bake evenly and smoothly, as the steam from the hot water makes the oven humid, preventing the cheesecake from cracking. To make a water bath, or bain-marie, start by wrapping the bottom of your cheesecake pan in aluminum foil, then set it inside a larger baking pan or roasting pan. Set the pan on the oven rack, then carefully pour hot water into the larger pan, coming about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan.
5. 5. Keep your oven door closed. As your cheesecake bakes in the oven, the air pressure builds, maintaining the shape of the dessert. Opening the oven to check on your cake causes the internal temperature to drop, making it crack and sink. Keeping your oven door closed throughout the entire bake time will ensure your cheesecake bakes properly.

There are many ways to dress up a cheesecake. Here is a list of popular cheesecake flavors you can find in restaurants or make at home:

1. 1. Caramel cheesecake: This cheesecake features caramel sauce folded into the cheesecake filling and drizzled on the dessert. To make the homemade caramel sauce, caramelize sugar using the wet or dry method, then whisk heavy cream into the hot caramel.
2. 2. Classic cheesecake: Classic cheesecake, also known as New York–style cheesecake, is a baked dessert featuring a cream cheese filling on top of a graham cracker crust. To make individual cheesecake bars, bake this usually round dessert in a rectangular baking pan and cut it into small squares. To freeze your cheesecake, add a little sour cream to the filling mixture. Learn how to make a classic cheesecake at home.
3. 3. Chocolate cheesecake: Chocolate cheesecake recipes often feature a chocolate wafer cookie crust and cocoa powder or melted chocolate folded into the cheesecake filling. Try crumbled brownies, chocolate chips, or a drizzle of chocolate ganache for a decadent chocolate topping.
4. 4. Japanese cheesecake: Also known as cotton cheesecake, Japanese cheesecake gets its soufflé-like texture from meringue (whisked egg whites). Although the batter contains cream cheese, Japanese cheesecake has a much lighter texture than its dense American counterpart, and no crust. Learn how to make cotton cheesecake at home.
5. 5. No-bake cheesecake: As the name implies, no-bake cheesecake requires no baking, making it an easy cheesecake recipe for bakers of all levels. Simply combine the filling ingredients (cream cheese and gelatin instead of eggs) and refrigerate your cheesecake to allow the batter to set. Learn how to make no-bake cheesecake at home.
6. 6. Peanut butter cheesecake: For a sweet and salty cheesecake, add creamy peanut butter to the cheesecake filling and make a press-in crust of crumbled graham crackers mixed with crushed peanuts. Decorate with peanut butter chips or a layer of peanut butter icing.
7. 7. Pumpkin cheesecake: To make this fall favorite, add pumpkin purée to the cheesecake filling and enhance the flavor with classic pumpkin pie spices like cinnamon. Decorate with whipped cream and chopped pecans.
8. 8. Strawberry cheesecake: Strawberry is one of the most popular fruit cheesecake flavors (cherry cheesecake, blueberry cheesecake, key lime cheesecake, and lemon cheesecake are other fruit-forward options). To make strawberry cheesecake at home, flavor your filling with vanilla extract and drizzle chunky strawberry sauce over the top of the cake when it comes out of the oven.
9. 9. Vegan cheesecake: Vegan cheesecake recipes use non-dairy replacements for animal products, such as hydrated flaxseed meal, cashew cream, and vegan butter, which mimic the flavor and texture of traditional cheesecake. Learn how to make vegan cheesecake at home.
10. 10. White chocolate raspberry cheesecake: White chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake is an eye-catching dessert featuring a marbled pink swirl. To create the marbled design, drizzle the raspberry sauce on the cheesecake before baking. Using the tip of a knife, pull sauce from inside the swirl to the outer edges of the cheesecake.

Become a better baker with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Joanne Chang, Dominique Ansel, Gordon Ramsay, Chef Thomas Keller, Mashama Bailey, and more.