My Favorite Cheesecake Recipe

SomethingSwanky is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you.

My favorite Cheesecake recipe. I'll never make another cheesecake recipe ever again!! #recipe at somethingswanky.com

Food bloggers as a group tend to throw out lots of  “Bests” and “VERY Bests” and “Ultimates” and “Favorites” when titling our recipes. It can be confusing. Even to us.

For example… This is my favorite go-to Brownies recipe. I borrowed it from Hershey’s years ago, and I LOVE it.

But not too long ago, I made these Browned Butter Brownies and claimed that they were my new favorite! And I meant it, cross my heart. Even so, I still find myself creeping back to my Hershey’s stand-by whenever I need a good brownie. It’s habit, and comfortable, and I love those doggone brownies!

Not too long after the Browned Butter Brownies came the Better Than Anything Caramel Stuffed Brownies, which (clearly) claimed their position in the Brownies food chain as being the very best!

And I may as well admit that I have another ADDITIONAL favorite brownies recipe… I tried these Perfect Dark Chocolate Brownies, and they’ve completely captured my heart.

But, at the same time, I know I’ll never abandon my good ol’ Hershey’s recipe.

So,  I get it! I really do. We’re a super confused group of people who can’t seem to settle on a favorite recipe for anything. It’s a problem, really. But we can’t seem to stop.

Very classic, very simple, the VERY BEST Cheesecake | somethingswanky.com

However, the point of all this rambling is: I have a definite, for sure, never changing favorite recipe to share today.

This cheesecake.

This cheesecake is the ultimate. Seriously, it is the absolute best. It’s the cheesecake  I made for myself for mother’s day (voluntarily, I might add), and I cannot get it out of my mind!

Like all of the best recipes always are, this one is super basic. It’s the Philadelphia Cream Cheese cheesecake recipe, except I substitute ricotta cheese for the sour cream. Ricotta really creates the best texture in cheesecake, so divine.

Just be sure to use part-skim ricotta. Otherwise, the regular stuff will yield a too thick and almost curdled like texture. But as long as you use part-skim, it will be light and fluffy and completely decadent. Ready to eat plain or filled with chocolate chips or topped with pie filling. It’s up to you!

Dsc 0120 Edited

My Favorite Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 1-3/4 cups Graham Cracker Crumbs
  • 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 3 - 8 oz.packages Cream Cheese, softened
  • 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
  • 2 tsp. vanilla
  • 3 eggs

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Mix graham cracker crumbs, butter and 1/4 cup of the sugar (I pulse these ingredients all together in the food processor right after I make the graham crumbs). Press firmly onto bottom and 2-1/2 inches up side of a spring form pan; set aside.
  3. Beat cream cheese and the remaining 1 cup sugar in large bowl with electric hand mixer on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add ricotta cheese and vanilla; mix well.
  4. Add eggs, one at a time, beating on low speed after each addition just until blended.
  5. Pour into crust.
  6. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until center is almost set. Turn oven off. Open oven door slightly. Let cheesecake set in oven 1 hour.
  7. Remove cheesecake from oven; cool completely.
  8. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
  9. Loosen cheesecake from rim of pan; remove rim.
  10. Store leftover cheesecake in refrigerator. Serves 16.

Cheesecake from Friends:

Don’t miss a bite! Connect with Something Swanky:

Image Map

 

80 Cheesecake Recipes

80 Cheesecake Recipes compiled at somethingswanky.com

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Cookies | somethingswanky.com

« Previous Post

Easy Reese’s Popcorn Munch & Perfect Pop App Recipe

Next Post »

Chocolate PB Protein Smoothie with Slim Fast Recipe

47 thoughts on “My Favorite Cheesecake Recipe”

    • You’re too sweet! I thought it was super genius at first. And then I pulled it up on the computer and it’s overexposed!! ARG! But I wanted to use it anyway 🙂

      Reply
  1. I’m so guilty of using “favorite”, “ultimate”, and all of those words about every other post. It’s so hard not too when recipes turn out so well! But I believe you that this is the best cheesecake. I’ve never tried adding ricotta cheese, but I adore ricotta. Pinning to make this hands-down ULTIMATE, soon to be new favorite cheesecake. 🙂

    Reply
    • lol, I’m with ya 🙂 And I’m super dramatic, so literally every new recipe ends up being the “best.” But then I’m like the blogger who cried wolf and no one believes me when something really is the best!! lol

      Reply
  2. I’ve never baked a cheesecake that turned out as good as those i have when I eat out and have dessert. There are so many different methods.
    I’ll have to give this one a try. I continue to try to improve.
    Thanks.

    Wishes for tasty dishes,
    Linda
    Tumbleweed Contessa

    Reply
      • While I’ve never tried substituting ricotta before (will def give it a shot tho.. or 1/2 & 1/2, at least) this is pretty darn close to my go-to cheesecake recipe too. One thing I’ll sometimes do (& all just depends on my mood.. lol) when using sour creme.. I always use full fat (shocked at the difference THAT made.. Bleh, fat-free TOTALLY changes the texture!) & also, evvvery once in a while (discovered I when a tad shy on the amount of sour creme needed) I’ll lessen the amount of s/c… adding just a heaping TBSP or two of mayo (yep, mayo) in it’s place. IDK, but it did something to give this touch of added “tang”, keeping it creamy w/out ever drying out (if that makes sense) I usually use the “H” one, but have used MW too… Whatever your fav brand is, it should work fine. Esp. being such a small amount. =) Yum yum.. gotta go make me some!! THANKS for sharing!

  3. My cheesecake calls for sour cream also. I think I will try and use the ricotta next time. I have never bought ricotta cheese. I don’t eat cheese cake but my family sure likes it.

    Reply
  4. I’ve tried so many different cheesecake recipes, but I’ve never made that one and using ricotta-Genius!!!! Gonna have to give it a whirl the next time my hubs requests cheesecake.

    Reply
  5. This post made me laugh. It’s true! There are so many best, favorite, recipes that we try it’s hard to really say which is the best of the best! I was also reading your short bio as the featured chef on My Recipe Magic, & I had to laugh at the part where it says you live in fear of your inbox, b/c I just started my blog email a few months ago & am starting to feel that way. So many companies trying to bug you, but it’s good too, I guess. Haha. I can only imagine how full yours gets! 🙂

    Reply
  6. I think the problem is that we can’t be satisfied with one awesome recipe for something. We have to try them all. And there might be a lot of recipes that are really great. But I’m excited to try this one. Cheesecake is my husband’s favorite.

    Reply
  7. pleaaaaase how much 3-8 oz in grams? does it mean 3 packages of 8 oz or 3,8 oz? thanx very much, can’t wait to try it 🙂

    Reply
  8. When my mother was still alive, she always made Red Velvet cake from scratch for my birthday, and I felt sooo special! I am going to try and make this in a red and green combination for Christmas next year. Since I have a long time to practice, I just might get it the way I want it to look by then, and even if I don’t, I’ll still have great cake and cheesecake all year long! Maybe I’ll try white chips in place of choc so I can swirl color into them as well. Thank you for a wonderful recipe, a great inspiration, and a beloved memory.

    Reply
  9. Hi, I was just curious in the sugar amount. On your recipes you call for 1/4 cup and on the recipe it was adapted from it says 1 1/4 cups of sugar. Which is correct? A 1/4 cup seems like to little to me. TY

    Reply
  10. I make food for folks I love family, friends, complete strangers who turn into friends…lol I love to cook! So even though I have a New York style cheesecake that’s my go to recipe for over 20 years, I had to try this. I just put it in the oven, the spoon was delish and I did not share… I wish I would be able to tell you how this tasted but I made it for a friend and her family for a Mother’s Day Cheesecake bar. Lots of toppings for everyone to make their own,. I am sure it will be a hit,

    Reply
  11. Hi Ashton, thank you so much for this recipe. I’m going to try to bake it for my mom’s upcoming birthday.
    Just a quick question though; if I cannot find part-skimmed ricotta cheese, is there any way I can still use ricotta cheese but in a smaller proportion? Does it work that way?
    Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sadly, no, I don’t think that would work. Most grocery stores I’ve visited carry part-skim ricotta cheese, so hopefully it won’t be a problem to find!

      Reply
      • Argh. I think I might have to go back to sour cream then. I can’t seem to find it in the grocery stores around my area. Probably not as widely available in my country.
        Thanks anyway! =)

  12. I commented when you featured this cheesecake before. Just this week I mad my cheesecake again that called for sour cream. I didn’t have any when I started to make it so I used plain Greek yogurt. Mine is also 4 packs of  cream cheese plus 2 T corn starch.  Also my eggs seemed smaller so I used 5 instead of the 4.The rest is the same as yours. I used a 10 inch pan too. It was above the top of the pan when I turned my oven off. The prettiest one I have ever made. I will have it tonight for one of the desserts. Hope it is still everyones favorite since I have been making it a few years. If so, I will use the yogurt from now on.

    Reply
  13. Just wanted to report back that everyone that ate the cheesecake raved about it. A couple said it seemed softer and not as firm. It turned out wonderful. I will now start using Greek plain yogurt instead of sour cream. I forgot to mention I do not use a crust so it will be GF. A couple people said I didn’t even notice it was crustless. I am so happy with the results.

    Reply
  14. Hi, i would like to make this cheesecake soon. I have some problem with 3-8 oz cream cheese. If i try to translate it into grams, it is only 10,63 grams. It seems not enough. Can u tell me how many is that is grams, please!
    Thanks before.
    greets, anna

    Reply
  15. I am going to make this tonight for a dinner I’m going to. I bought a cheesecake pan, but it’s not a spring pan. I hope that works okay! Thank you for this recipe. 🙂

    Reply
  16. With Valentines’s Day coming up, I asked my husband to choose a dinner and dessert that he wanted me to make without any objections from me. He chose wisely…classic Italian lasagna and cheesecake.

    We don’t have lasagna often because of the length of time the entire process takes. And I’ve never been real big on cheesecake so it became a dessert that I would only make out of love, not out of the desire to have a slice myself.  

    With a huge container of ricotta already purchased for the lasagna, I thought about making a ricotta cheesecake like I used to enjoy living near an Itlalian bakery in Brooklyn, but I knew that wasn’t what my husband had in mind. That’s where your recipe came in. No ricotta was wasted in the making of our meal!

    My husband has not stopped ranting about the cheesecake to his co-workers, friends and family. I fear that I will soon get orders to make it for birthdays, baby showers and bridal parties. Thank you for sharing your favorite cheesecake recipe. It is now also my favorite. 

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Skip to Recipe