Easy Cheesecake

By Addie

Never mind the sour cream, farmer's cheese, cream cheese, water bath, and worrying about a sunken center. The filling for this delicious cheesecake has just four simple ingredients, and the cake bakes for a mere 30 minutes. Now THAT'S easy! (King Arthur Flour)

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs OR zwieback crumbs
• 1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1/3 cup (5 2/3 tablespoons) melted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• ..........................
• Filling:
• 2 cups (2 large packages) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ............................
• Topping:
• 12 ounce bag frozen raspberries, a scant 3 cups
• 1 to 3 tablespoons sugar, to taste
• 1 to 2 tablespoons Pie Filling Enhancer; use 1 tablespoon for a looser sauce, 2 tablespoons for thicker
• Pinch of ground cinnamon, optional

Preparation

Step 1

1) Select a pie pan whose inside top dimension is at least 9", and whose height is at least 1 1/4". Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2) Make the crust by stirring together all of the crust ingredients, mixing till thoroughly combined.

3) Press the crumbs into the bottom and up the sides of the pie pan.

4) Make the filling by mixing together all of the filling ingredients till smooth. Use a mixer set at low-medium speed. If your cream cheese is at room temperature, this will go fairly smoothly (pun intended). If the cream cheese is cold, it'll take much more mixing to create a smooth filling.

5) Set the pie pan onto a baking sheet, if desired; this makes it easier to transport in and out of the oven, and also protects the bottom of the crust from any potential scorching. Pour the filling into the crust.

6) Place the cheesecake in the oven. Bake it for 20 minutes, then add a crust shield; or shield the crust with strips of aluminum foil. Bake for an additional 10 minutes (for a total of about 30 minutes). An instant-read thermometer inserted into the crust 1" from the edge should read between 165°F and 170°F; the filling won't look entirely set in the center.

7) Remove the cheesecake from the oven, and set it on a rack to cool while you make the topping. Once the cake is cool, refrigerate it, covered, till you're ready to serve it.

8) To make the topping, place the frozen raspberries in a bowl to thaw. You can hasten the process with a quick trip through the microwave, but don't let the berries cook.

9) Add 1 tablespoon Pie Filling Enhancer, and stir till well combined. Is the topping as thick as you like? If not, stir in another tablespoon Pie Filling Enhancer.

10) Add 1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, to taste.

11) Stir in a pinch of ground cinnamon, if desired.

12) Spoon the topping over the cheesecake, and cut slices to serve. Alternatively, cut slices, and top each with a dollop of topping.

Yield: one 9" cheesecake, 8 to 10 servings.
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Tips from our bakers:

You'll need 9 to 10 whole graham crackers to make 1 1/2 cups of crumbs; there are 11 crackers in one paper sleeve.

Don't have Pie Filling Enhancer? Stir raspberries with 2 to 3 tablespoons sugar, to taste. Alternatively, top the cheesecake with fresh raspberries and a shower of confectioners' sugar.

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REVIEWS:

One of the best cheese cake recipe that I have ever tried, it's easy and the taste is wonderful. The cake itself doesn't sag unlike the other cakes that I have tried.

This cheesecake turns out perfectly every time--no cracks, it's creamy, and it slices well. Not to mention, it tastes delicious! I haven't made the raspberry topping, so I can't rate that. But this cheesecake recipe is excellent, in my opinion.

This was my first time making cheesecake and it was easy and delicious. I used the 1/3 less fat cream cheese and skipped the topping (served with whipped cream). I will definitely make this again.

LOVE IT! I had never made a cheesecake in my life and this has become our favorite. I live in Brooklyn and there is a very famous cheesecake place in here, I don't have to go there again. I used a reduced fat pre-made crust, splenda, and reduced fat cream cheese. It had great taste.

This cheese- cake was easy to prepare and Super-Delicious. THANK YOU for this awesome cheesecake recipe. I've been searching for the perfect cheesecake recipe for years and I just found it. I tasted in and literally broke into tap-dance seriously! Definitely a winner in my home. I will be making it again for a Xmas party. However, next time I will reduce the amount of sugar a bit as it was a bit too sweet, something I've come to notice with a lot of the recipes I've tried from this website. But then again, the amount of sugar you can tolerate is a personal choice. All in all this is a fantastic cheesecake!

I just made this for my Easter diner and it was perfect! Super easy and yummy. I just thawed the raspberries and mixed with a few tbsps of powdered sugar like the blog post suggests. It made a lovely presentation and tasted great. I'd call it a 'rustic' cheesecake. Not fancy, but delicious!

This Cheesecake was fantastic! It was simple to make and my family loved it. The cheesecake had no cracks and was nice and fluffy. I didn't change anything in the receipe. If anyone wants a awesome cheesecake this is it!

Not only is this recipe super easy, it's also delicious. I added a cup of semi sweet chocolate morsels and topped it with cherries. It was a hit at Thanksgiving this year.

This is beyond easy! It goes together quickly with no fuss and it's a fabulous dessert. Try it!

Very quick and easy and relatively inexpensive. I was concerned that it would be a bit dense for a light summer dessert but that was not the case. I made a blueberry topping using fresh berries and served to my family. My Father, who isn't a cheesecake fan offered "This is really good." Holy cow! This one is definitly a keeper.

I made this recipe for Father's Day and it was fantastic! Super easy and delicious. I added some lemon zest to the filling and used slice strawberries for the topping with a touch of whipped cream. This will definitely be a "go to" recipe for me!

SOOO delicious and creamy! I used a stoneware pie plate, so it took about 6-8 minutes more to cook, but there was nothing left but a few stray crumbs. The Vanilla Crush really shines in this recipe. Making my own graham crackers for the crust also added a buttery depth of flavor.