19 Cheesecake Recipes From No-Bake to Burnt
There are cheesecake recipes for every season. Top your cheese in the warmer months with fresh (or flambéed!) summer fruit—blueberry cheesecake, anyone? Come fall, you could work some pumpkin purée into that cheesecake filling or top it with an apple filling, then make the most of winter citrus by serving lemon cheesecake bites at your holiday party. You could layer a cheesecake with chocolate ganache for a year-round showstopper or swap the grahams for sandwich cookies to make an Oreo cheesecake that outshines any store-bought version. No matter the time of year, when a simple chocolate chip cookie or brownie won’t cut it, and you’ve got a couple of hours to go step-by-step toward the creamy, decadent dessert of your dairy-loving dreams, come back to this place. Our best cheesecake recipes will be waiting for you.
Photograph by Emma Fishman, Prop styling by Emma Ringness, Food Styling by Mieko Takahashi1/19BA’s Best Cheesecake
This is the perfect cheesecake for many reasons, but one of them is this: It’s flexible. Classic cheesecake recipes often get a graham cracker crust, but you can choose vanilla or chocolate wafers, gingersnaps, shortbread, animal crackers, fortune cookies, or any cookie or cracker that looks good to you.
Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate Buckens3/19Basque Cheesecake
This is not a New York–style cheesecake. It’s a Basque version, and it wants to be more than just set. Its surface crackles and burns in the oven, transforming into a flavorful crust. So preheat the oven, grab a large bowl, and don’t worry so much, because this cheesecake recipe is also impossible to mess up.
Photograph by Scott Semler, Food Styling by Judy Kim, Prop Styling by Stephanie Yeh4/19Ginger-Lime No-Bake Cheesecake Bars
Bake time: zero. Total time: about four and a half hours, but the work (mostly) is done by your freezer. In this no-bake dessert, tart lime curd brightens every bite—and if you can get your hands on some Key limes, we bet those would be good too.
Photo by Laura Murray, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Nicole Louie6/19Cheesecake-Cake
While this cheesecake recipe combines a classic mixture of cream cheese and sour cream, the pound cake base takes its cue from Junior’s Original New York Cheesecake, which calls for sponge cake. It’s the ideal birthday cake for cheesecake lovers.
Chris Court7/19Greek Yogurt Cheesecake With Pomegranate Syrup
The goddess Persephone doomed herself to the underworld for pomegranate seeds. After a few bites of this no-bake cheesecake—sweet and unexpectedly tangy, thanks to Greek yogurt—you’ll understand why.
Photograph by Rana Düzyol, food styling by Pearl Jones, prop styling by Beth Pakradooni8/19Strawberry-Biscoff Cheesecake Tart
Sure, the title of this recipe reads “tart,” but really, it’s a strawberry cheesecake. The simple topping, a mixture of fresh strawberries, sugar, and lemon juice, requires no cooking.
Photo by Alex Lau, styling by Rick Martinez9/19Pumpkin Cheesecake
You expect pecans on a pumpkin cheesecake, but toasted pumpkin seeds are much more interesting. Otherwise, the rules are the same: As with all cheesecake recipes, your cheese—here that means both cream cheese and mascarpone (a.k.a. Italian cream cheese)—eggs, and any other refrigerated ingredients must be room temperature, or you risk a lumpy batter.
Photograph by Alex Lau, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie Strangio10/19Sour Cherry Cheesecake
11/19S'mores Cheesecake With Summer Berries
Honestly, all we need to do to advertise this cheesecake recipe is list its components: graham cracker crust, milk chocolate and cream cheese filling, marshmallowy topping with fresh raspberries and blueberries. You’re sold, right?
13/19Cheesecake With Ginger-Lime Candied Raspberries
This one’s for raspberry cheesecake devotees. It’s got a shortbread crust, a triple-cream cheesecake filling (cream cheese, crème fraîche, and heavy cream), gingery candied fruit, and extra raspberry sauce for drizzling. (It’s also for easy cheesecake devotees because there’s no water bath or springform pan involved, just plastic wrap and a steady hand.)
14/19Pumpkin Cheesecake
We’re not gonna lie: This cheesecake is labor-intensive. The prep time and cook time? They’re significant. The extra steps, like wrapping the cake pan in heavy-duty aluminum foil in order to keep the crust crisp? They’re required. But get through it all, and you will have learned something from one of the best pastry chefs in the game—oh, and you’ll have a delicious dessert.
15/19Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars
A classic graham cracker crust. Creamy cheesecake flavored with dulce de leche and vanilla extract. More dulce de leche glazing the surface…do you really need to hear more?
16/19Deep Dark Chocolate Cheesecake
Most recipes for cheesecake include Philadelphia cream cheese, granulated sugar, eggs, and some sort of cookie or graham cracker crumbs held together by melted butter for the base. What makes this one stand out? Bittersweet chocolate, baby.
17/19Ricotta Cheesecake
Lest you assume this is a dessert for Passover (the cheesecake batter uses matzo meal, which gives it body without flouriness), be warned: This recipe calls for lining the pan with breadcrumbs. If baking for the holiday, line your pan with more matzo meal instead.
19/19Strawberry and White Chocolate Mini Cheesecakes
Cupcakes are to cake recipes as mini cheesecakes—we think these ones are perfect for your Easter desserts table—are to most “regular” cheesecake recipes. Here’s another idea when you just want a little cheesecake: Use a loaf pan.
