This mouth-watering Manhattan cheesecake recipe is absolutely delicious and creamy. Take this out for dessert at the dinner party and it will definitely please everybody!
This American-style cheesecake is a classic, adding an extra kick of flavor with the popular fruity blueberry topping. I wish I knew the words to describe how good this cheesecake is. It is just that good, okay.
A single piece or two of this dense and heavy cake will generally be enough to solve your sweet tooth. So, a whole cheesecake is a fantastic cake to make for a party where there are a lot of guests to share with.
Making a cheesecake can be a little intimidating at first, but once you taste it, you will want to make another one again! Trust me on this. With the right recipe, a creamy, crack-free Manhattan-style cheesecake is totally doable, even if you have never done it before.
The Manhattan cheesecake recipe will need an 8-inch or 22cm springform pan. This is because the sides of the springform pan can be removed easily without having to flip the whole pan over. This will prevent disaster on the delicate cheesecake!
However, springform pans will sometimes leak. You can wrap foil from the base to the sides to prevent leaking when you bake the cheesecake.
With that said, let’s dive into how to make a Manhattan Cheesecake!
How to make (step-by-step)
Step 1: Preparing the Base
Turn on the oven and preheat to 375°F or 190°C. Grease an 8-inch or 20cm springform tin.
To prepare the base, melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Put in the crushed biscuits and stir well, then spread in the base of the tin.
Step 2: Making the First Layer
Place the cream cheese, eggs, 100g/ 3 ½ oz of the sugar and ½ tsp of the vanilla essence in a large bowl and mix until smooth with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Pour over the biscuit base and smooth the top.
Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until set. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 20 minutes. Leave the oven switched on.
Step 3: Making the Second Layer
Mix the cream with the remaining sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl. Spoon over the cheesecake.
Return it to the oven for 10 minutes, leave to cool, then chill in the refrigerator overnight.
Step 4: Finish with a Topping
With the topping, it just completes the cheesecake!
Place the sugar in a saucepan with half of the water over low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Increase the heat, add the blueberries, cover and cook for a few minutes, or until they begin to soften. Remove from the heat.
Mix the arrowroot and remaining water in a bowl, add to the fruit and stir until smooth. Return to low heat. Cook until the juice thickens and turns translucent. Leave to cool.
Remove the cheesecake from the tin 1 hour before serving. Spoon the fruit on top and chill until ready to serve.
Recipes Questions & Quick Tips
Why is my cheesecake runny?
This is most likely caused by overmixing. While cheesecake has to be mixed thoroughly with a hand mixer, overmixing it will make a super soft cheesecake.
To prevent that from happening, avoid mixing too long. Once the ingredients are well combined, then you should move on. Never use tools like a food processor or blender, which can easily overmix the ingredients.
Use a springform pan
Cheesecakes are very delicate so it will be extremely hard to lift a cheesecake out of a cake pan without causing a disaster. The best way to deal with this is to invest in a springform pan.
With one of these, you can easily remove the outer ring of the pan while keeping the cheesecake in a good shape.
How to serve cheesecake?
To make things easy, remove the sides of the springform pan and serve the cheesecake right from the base of the pan. Cut the cheesecake with a sharp knife. Wipe the knife clean between slices. Lastly, pour the blueberry sauce over the cheesecake and serve.
Can I freeze the cheesecake?
Yes, you can. You can freeze the cheesecake for up to 3 months.
Before wrapping the cheesecake, place the cake in the freezer briefly to firm it up. After that, you can then wrap it with a plastic freezer wrap or aluminium foil.
Remember to thaw in the fridge overnight before serving.
Why do I need to store the cheesecake in the fridge overnight before serving?
It can be hard to wait for your cheesecake to be chilled before digging into it. For the best results, store your freshly baked cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight for it to set properly and allow the flavors to marry.
Do not skip this step.
However if you can’t wait, you will still have to place it in the fridge for at least 8 hours.
How to prevent my cheesecake from cracking?
After baking, simply turn off the oven and leave the oven door open. Let the cheesecake rest in there for an hour. This will stop it from cooling too fast which causes the cracking. Slow and steady cool down is what you need.
If it does crack, you can still save it by covering it up with toppings. For example, you can use the blueberry topping from this recipe to cover the crack, and at the same time, making it look absolutely mouth-watering!
More Baking Recipes
- Moist Christmas Cake Recipe
- Banana Hazelnut Pie Recipe
- Chocolate Fudge Brownies Recipe (with Cream Cheese)
Manhattan Cheesecake Recipe
This delicious Manhattan cheesecake recipe is absolutely creamy and mouth-watering. Your dinner guests will be asking for another slice after having one!
Ingredients
For the bottom layer
- 1/3 cup / 85g butter, extra for greasing
- 2 cups / 200g biscuits, crushed
For the middle layer
- 3⅓ cup / 400g cream cheese
- ½ cup / 100g caster sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- 2 large eggs
For the top layer
- 450ml / 16 fl oz sour cream
- ¼ cup / 40g caster sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
For blueberry topping
- ¼ cup / 55g caster sugar
- 2½ cup / 250g fresh blueberries
- 4 tbsp water
- 1 tsp arrowroot
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Grease an 8-inch/20cm springform tin.
- Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Stir in the biscuits and mix well, then spread in the base of the springform tin.
- Place the cream cheese, eggs, 100g/ 3 ½ oz of the sugar and ½ tsp of the vanilla essence in a large bowl and mix until smooth with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Pour over the biscuit base and smooth the top. Place on a baking tray and bake for 20 minutes, or until set. Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 20 minutes. Leave the oven switched on.
- To make the top layer, mix the cream with the remaining sugar and vanilla essence in a bowl. Spoon over the cheesecake. Return it to the oven for 10 minutes, leave to cool, then chill in the refrigerator overnight.
- To make the topping, place the sugar in a saucepan with half of the water over low heat and stir until the sugar has dissolved. Increase the heat, add the blueberries, cover and cook for a few minutes, or until they begin to soften. Remove from the heat.
- Mix the arrowroot and remaining water in a bowl, add to the fruit and stir until smooth. Return to low heat. Cook until the juice thickens and turns translucent. Leave to cool.
- Remove the cheesecake from the tin 1 hour before serving. Spoon the fruit on top and chill until ready to serve.
Notes
- You must keep the cheesecake in the refrigerator to chill overnight or if possible, at least 8 hours.
- As an alternative to blueberries, you can try raspberries, blackcurrants or cranberries for the topping.
- For the best results, I always recommend using the gram measurements with a digital scale. Cup measurements are just not accurate enough and usually cannot guarantee the best results.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 284Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 74mgSodium: 202mgCarbohydrates: 23gFiber: 1gSugar: 16gProtein: 4g
For the best results, I always recommend using the gram measurements with a digital scale. Cup measurements are just not accurate enough and usually cannot guarantee the best results.
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