NY Cheesecake with a chocolate ganache topping

My interest for American baking has been vivid ever since I spent year there in the 90’s.
One of my favorite dessert is the NY Cheesecake, differing from other cheesecakes by the cream-cheese based filling and the sour cream topping. I have been looking for a recipe for a while, and letting my mouth watering in front of numerous sites and cooking books, I finally did it. I combined 2 recipes – one from the BBC and from this blog. I will skip the sour cream topping and replace it with a chocolate ganache.

The crust:

184g butter cookies (30 Leibnitz or petit beurre)
100g butter
pinch of salt

The Filling:

450g cream cheese Philadelphia (1 ½ regular, 1 light)
85g sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs + 1 egg yolk
140g sour cream
1 ½ tbsp flour

Chocolate Ganache:

100g dark chocolate (here 70% Callebaut)
100g low fat single cream
10g butter

Make the cake

1. Position an oven shelf in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to fan 180C°. Line the base of a 20cm spring form cake tin with parchment paper.
For the crust, melt the butter in a medium pan. Stir in the biscuit crumbs so the mixture is evenly moistened. Press the mixture into the bottom of the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
2. For the filling, increase the oven temperature to fan 200C. Beat the soft cheese at medium-low speed until creamy, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the sugar, then the flour and a pinch of salt.
3. Continue by adding the vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and yolk, one at a time. Stir the 140ml sour cream until smooth. Continue on low speed as you add the soured cream. Whisk to blend, but don’t over-beat. The batter should be smooth, light and somewhat airy.
4. Brush the sides of the spring form tin with melted butter and put on a baking sheet. Pour in the filling – if there are any lumps, sink them using a knife – the top should be as smooth as possible. Bake for 10 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to fan 90C bake for 25 minutes more. If you gently shake the tin, the filling should have a slight wobble. Turn off the oven and open the oven door for a cheesecake that’s creamy in the centre, or leave it closed if you prefer a drier texture. Let cool in the oven for 2 hours. The cheesecake may get a slight crack on top as it cools.

Notes: As I wasn’t sure weather the cake was ready or not as the wobbling was more than slight, I left it in the oven with slightly opened door for around 15-20min. Slightly wobbly it is now.

Make the ganache

1. In a water-bath, melt the chocolate.
2. In a pan bring the cream to a boil.
3. Pour the cream on to the chocolate and mix well.
4. Add the butter cut in cubes and mix.
9. Let the ganache cool before spreading it on the cheesecake.

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3 Responses

  1. Hello, I was just looking up a chocolate ganache for a cheesecake and came across your recipe One thing I have to bring to your attention A ‘true” NY cheesecake is not made with VANILLA It’s with lemon zest and some lemon juice

  2. We really like vanilla so it’s not surprising that the entire family went ape over this recipe. Making it again this morning because we have family coming to stay and they want a repeat 🙂

    Printing it out because this one is definitely a keeper.

    • Thank you so much Christine. I’m happy to hear that. Sorry for the super late reply! Take care and stay safe

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