New York-style baked cheesecake with a toasted cookie crust and a dense, smooth filling of cream cheese and sour cream. A water bath and gradual cooling let it set without drying or cracking. Served thoroughly chilled, it needs no mandatory topping.
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Preheat the oven to 160°C. Line the base of a springform pan with parchment and tightly wrap the outside with two layers of aluminum foil, covering the bottom and lower sides. The wrapping should prevent water from entering during the water bath.
Process the vanilla cookies into fine crumbs and combine them with the melted unsalted butter. Press firmly into an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until lightly golden and fragrant. Remove and let cool slightly while preparing the filling.
With the cream cheese at room temperature, beat on low speed for 1 minute, just until completely smooth. Add the white sugar and salt and mix for 1 more minute, scraping the bottom and sides of the bowl. Do not aim for volume; a dense cheesecake needs very little incorporated air.
Add the sour cream, cornstarch, vanilla extract, and lemon juice. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, only until smooth and uniform, with no pockets of cornstarch or streaks of cream cheese.
Add the eggs gradually on the lowest mixer speed, waiting only until each addition disappears before continuing. Stop as soon as the batter is homogeneous. It should look silky and dense rather than foamy; overmixing incorporates air that can make the cheesecake rise and crack.
Pour the filling over the crust and place the pan inside a deep roasting tray. Add the hot water around it until it reaches roughly one third of the pan's height. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes. It is ready when the edges look set while a roughly 5 cm area in the center still jiggles gently without appearing liquid.
Turn off the oven, prop the door slightly open, and leave the cheesecake inside for 45 minutes. Remove it from the water bath, discard the foil, and cool on a rack for another 45 minutes, until close to room temperature. This gradual temperature drop helps the center finish setting without sudden contraction.
Refrigerate the cheesecake in its pan for at least 6 hours. Unmold only when completely chilled and slice with a clean, slightly warm knife, wiping it between portions. The interior should be firm enough to slice yet very creamy and uniform, never runny or dry. 🍰
