47 Cheesecake Recipes for the Ultimate Dessert Experience
There's no reason for cheesecake recipes to seem like a restaurant or bakery-only thing: You can absolutely make creamy, luscious cheesecake at home. With a few packages of cream cheese, some eggs, sugar, and sometimes a bit of sour cream—plus any special flavoring agents that make the dessert feel seasonally perfect—you're well on your way. Some of these dessert recipes don't even require a springform pan. Below, you'll find our favorite classic New York-style cheesecake, easy pumpkin cheesecake bars, and the best cheesecake recipe for banana pudding lovers, too. Preheat your oven and scroll down for our 47 favorite step-by-step recipes for the ultimate creamy dessert.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Susan Ottaviano and Stevie Stewart1/47Original New York Cheesecake
Photo by Caleb Adams, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell3/47Three Cities of Spain Cheesecake
This cheesecake recipe, a favorite of Epi's Anna Stockwell (and many, many others), was published in Gourmet in 1999. People have been losing their minds over it ever since.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Pearl Jones5/47Marbled Pumpkin-Maple Cheesecake Bars
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Lillian Chou6/47Banana Pudding Cheesecake Bars
If you love banana pudding and you adore cheesecake, too, you need to make these luxuriously tall and flavorful cheesecake bars from Epi contributor Tara O'Brady. The crust uses crushed Nilla wafers instead of graham cracker crumbs. Fresh banana cheesecake (made with cream cheese, ripe bananas, sweetened condensed milk, large eggs, and vanilla bean paste) crowned with tangy sour cream whip is the kind of dessert you won't forget quickly. This is one of the best cheesecakes—and the best desserts, period—that we've tried all year.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Astrid Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson7/47Goat Cheese, Honey, and Rye Crust Pie
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson8/47Pumpkin Cheesecake With Bourbon–Sour Cream Topping
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Bill Clark9/47Creole Cream Cheesecake With Caramel-Apple Topping
This cheesecake is silky, tangy, and mousselike, thanks to Creole cream cheese. (You can sub a mix of sour cream and buttermilk.) The crust combines melted butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. The tart-and-sweet apple topping makes it the perfect cheesecake for fall.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, food styling by Katherine Sacks10/473-Ingredient Japanese Cheesecake
This easy Japanese-inspired cheesecake is one part soufflé, one part custard, resulting in a lightly sweet and airy cake that is super simple to make. Once you get the batter in the pan, the cook time is 40–45 minutes, but you'll let the cheesecake cool in the turned-off oven for 15 minutes before transferring it to a wire rack.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Food Styling by Kendra Vaculin15/47Togarashi Cheesecake With Sorghum
Spicy togarashi wakes up this cheesecake from chef Edward Lee; this cake recipe is a great example of how savory spices can enhance desserts.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Ali Nardi17/47Coeur à la Crème With Roasted Strawberry Sauce
Photo by William Meppem20/47Lemon Cheesecake
The cheesecake has a little lemon in the filling, giving it a lovely hint of tartness. When topped with the velvety lemon curd, the flavors truly sing.
Photo by Chris Terry21/47Money Can’t Buy You Happiness Brownies
Can't decide between making brownies or making cheesecake? Here's a baking project that satisfies both desires.
Photo by HarperCollins Publishers (New Zealand) Limited25/47Green Tea Cheesecake
The earthy flavor of matcha cuts the sweetness of this cheesecake—and adds a lovely color.
28/47New York Cheesecake
Photo by Nato Welton30/47Raspberry, Whiskey & Oat Cheesecake
Here, the building blocks of Scottish cranachan are brought together in a different guise, layered into an alternately crisp, creamy, and fruity cheesecake.
