Cheesecake Recipe That’s Pretty Easy to Make

Making a cheesecake recipe might sound hard, but they’re actually pretty easy. The biggest thing is getting your hands on the right kind of springform pan.

For this one, I’ll be using a 6-inch pan, so it’ll be a taller cheesecake versus the thin type you’ve probably had before. There are a lot of varieties of these desserts that you can make, but I’m keeping it classic for this one.

Maybe I’ll do other ones like Oreo flavored in the future, but for now it’ll be a standard cheesecake recipe.

Click here to skip to the notecard version

Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

What it isNameWhere to Buy
Cookware6-inch Springform PanAmazon
CookwareRolling PinAmazon
CookwareMeasuring cups setAmazon
CookwareSpatulaAmazon
CookwareBig Mixing Bowl and medium mixing bowlAmazon
CookwareMeasuring spoon setAmazon
CookwareButter knifeAmazon
CookwareLittle bowlAmazon
CookwareForkAmazon
CookwareSmall-medium bowl (glass or ceramic is fine)Amazon
CookwareMixing spoonAmazon
CookwareWhiskAmazon
CookwareCutting boardAmazon
CookwareWax paperAmazon
Ingredient12 ounces cream cheeseStore
Ingredient2/3 cup graham cracker crumbsStore
Ingredient2 tablespoons sugarStore
Ingredient3 tablespoons softened butter (unsalted)Store
Ingredient1/4 cup sugarStore
Ingredient2 large eggs, beaten lightlyStore
Ingredient1/2 teaspoon vanilla extractStore
Ingredient1/3 cup heavy whipping creamStore

Step 1 of This Cheesecake Recipe

Get your 12 ounces of cream cheese. I bought some Essential Everyday brand from Cub for this. If you have 8-ounce containers, grab a second one and cut the block of cream cheese in half.

cheesecake recipe cream cheese

Let it sit and get to room temperature while you get the other stuff ready.

cream cheese

Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. You could wait a few minutes to do this, but the cheesecake recipe doesn’t take too long to throw together, so do it at some point soon.

preheating oven

Next, get your graham crackers. You’ll be smashing a few of these up.

graham crackers

After that, get your rolling pin. We’ll be smashing the graham crackers up into powder. In hindsight, I probably could have used more of them. Maybe 1.5 cups because the amount that I used was only enough for a bottom layer.

Most cheesecake recipes are like that but having graham cracker crust on the sides of it also tastes pretty good (and everybody said they wanted that while we were having it for dessert).

rolling pin

Next, get a cutting board and put a few graham crackers on it. I weighed 5.3 ounces out, which is about 2/3 of a cup.

cutting board with graham crackers

After that, get some wax paper for this cheesecake recipe and put it on top of the cutting board.

graham crackers for cheesecake recipe

Smash up the graham crackers on the cutting board. You might find (like I did) that is just makes more sense to put it on the counter to really get everything smoothly rolled out.

Keep rolling it until most of the graham cracker is dust. You can leave a little in small chunks if you want.

Next, your graham cracker crust dust might be stuck to the counter. If it is, grab a spatula to scrape it up and put it into the 2/3 measuring cup so it can go into the cheesecake recipe later.

spatula

Fill up the 2/3 cup all the way with graham cracker dust.

After that, get a big mixing bowl and dump the graham cracker into it.

bowl and graham cracker for cheesecake recipe

Next, grab your granulated sugar.

sugar and graham cracker for cheesecake recipe

Measure out two tablespoons of granulated sugar and dump them into the bowl with the graham cracker dust for this cheesecake recipe.

After that, get your butter and a butter knife out.

Find the measurement on the butter wrapper that says 3 tablespoons and cut there. Put the butter into a small bowl and microwave it for about 10 seconds, just enough for it to get soft so it’s easier to mix around.

butter in microwave for cheesecake recipe

I did 8 for this cheesecake recipe.

Once the butter’s softened for this cheesecake recipe, throw it in with other ingredients for the crust.

butter sugar and graham crackers for cheesecake recipe

Start mixing all that around with a fork. Seemed like the sensible thing for me to use since the butter wasn’t quite soft enough. Whatever you use, make sure to break up the butter as best as possible in there.

mixing with a fork

It might stay in chunks, just work it around as best you can until it spreads out for this cheesecake recipe.

mixing butter for cheesecake recipe

It’s okay to leave some chunks of butter in there. Once it’s been mixed around pretty well, pour that into the bottom of the 6-inch springform pan.

cheesecake recipe crust

Press it into the bottom of the pan and up on to the sides as best as possible. It should look something like the image below:

Once that’s all done, set the springform pan with the crust in the oven to bake it a little bit.

Bake that for about 6 minutes.

Once it’s done, take it out and set the springform pan on the stove. Next, grab that cream cheese that’s been getting to room temperature and put it in a bowl.

After that, put it in the microwave for around 30 seconds. You might need more or less time, just enough to get it soft for mixing around. You don’t want it to completely melt and be liquid or anything.

microwaving cream cheese for a cheesecake

Once that’s ready to mix around, dump it into the big mixing bowl that you used for the crust before. Then, throw 1/4 cup of sugar in with it.

cheesecake recipe cream cheese

Next, grab a wooden mixing spoon and start mixing the sugar and cream cheese around.

mixing cheesecake recipe around

Following that, get another bowl and your two large eggs.

Crack the eggs into the bowl and get a whisk. Beat them together, but not too hard.

mixing eggs

Pour the egg mixture in with the cream cheese and the sugar.

cheesecake recipe

Following that, grab your half teaspoon measuring spoon.

measuring spoon

Measure out 1/2 a teaspoon of vanilla extract and put that into the bowl with the other ingredients. Next, pour in 1/3 cup of the heavy whipping cream.

I can’t believe that I used a measuring cup for solids when I should’ve grabbed the Pyrex measuring cup, but we all make mistakes. The good news is that even if you did the same thing, it shouldn’t hurt the cheesecake recipe too much.

Mixing Time

mixing a cheesecake recipe

Mix all that around in the big bowl, but don’t overbeat it. It’s fine to leave a few little lumps of cream cheese in there or make sure it’s really smooth. Either way works. Once that’s done, grab the springform pan and pour it all in there.

cheesecake in springform pan

Bake the cheesecake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 35 minutes. Once the timer goes off, open the oven door and let it cool in the open oven for 3 hours.

After that, put it in the refrigerator until it’s ready to serve. Fresh fruit, like strawberries or blueberries are perfect to go on top.

finished cheesecake recipe

Notecard Version of Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Combine 2/3 graham cracker crumbs, 2 tbsp granulated sugar, and 3 tbsp unsalted, softened butter in a large mixing bowl.
3. Press mixture firmly into the bottom of the springform pan and bake that for 6 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Take it out and let it cool.
4. Beat the 12 ounces of softened cream cheese, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 large eggs (beaten separately), 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and 1/3 cup heavy cream together in a large bowl.
5. Pour mixture into the springform pan and bake for 35 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Once done, open the oven and let it cool for 3 hours in the oven with the door open. Refrigerate after that until you’re ready to eat it. Additions like strawberries or blueberries are great.

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