Calling Oreo Cheesecake fans, you need to try this delicious New York Style Oreo Cheesecake recipe! I have made this cake for a few years but not sure why I didn’t share the recipe on the blog sooner. Well, better late than never. This Oreo Cheesecake is what dreams are made of. It’s creamy, velvety, rich like how a proper cheesecake should be. And just a little different from the usual Oreo Cheesecake…
Firstly, digestive biscuit crust was used as the base instead of Oreo cookie crust. This biscuit crust is a special one. It’s a…
BROWN. BUTTER. BISCUIT. CRUST.
Typically biscuit crust for cheesecakes composed of melted butter and grahams or digestive biscuits. But I like to take it up a notch by browning the butter before adding to the crushed biscuits. This extra step adds a ton of flavour!
Secondly, for the Oreo pieces in the cake, only used the cookie part of Oreo without the center cream. Since the cheesecake is already quite heavy, omitting the cream can reduce the overall sweetness of the cake and is less cloying. For this reason, I like to use this Oreo Small Crust Cookie Pieces so I don’t have to waste the cream in the center. You can also get it from Sunlik if you are in Singapore.
This recipe is based on my trusted cheesecake recipe which I held dearly with me for years. If you omit the cookie pieces, this will be a solid classic New York Style Cheesecake.
Ingredients for the Oreo Cheesecake recipe
If you’ve never make a cheesecake before, I can assure you that this recipe is really easy to follow. You don’t need to be an experienced baker to be able to make the perfect cheesecake. What’s better, you only need 7 simple ingredients. Nothing too fancy.
Cream Cheese – As I’ve mentioned, I made this cheesecake many times and I’ve only tried 2 different types of cream cheese so far and both yield superb results. The most commonly available will be Philly Cream Cheese which is tangy, firm and stable. Works really well for New York Style Cheesecake. Another of my favourite brand is Elle & Vire French Cream Cheese. This one has a creamier texture and I love the fresh dairy taste of it. Whichever brand you use, the cheesecake will be delicious. Just in case you want to know, I used Elle & Vire French Cream Cheese for the one shown in these pictures.
Sour Cream – The role of sour cream here is to create a creamier cheesecake and also adds a nice sour tang to it. Use full fat sour cream and bring it to room temperature before using for easier blending.
Sugar – Both granulated or caster sugar works fine. Do note that sugar should only be added after creaming the cream cheese. Once sugar is added, you will notice that the cream cheese tends to liquify as you whisk so resist over whisking to prevent it from becoming watery.
Eggs – Make sure eggs are at room temperature for smooth incorporation into the cream cheese mixture.
Oreo pieces – I use this Oreo Small Crust Cookie Pieces so I don’t have to waste the cream in the center. If you can’t find it, just use regular Oreo and remove the center cream before crushing the cookie into small pieces for incorporating into the cheesecake batter.
Digestive Biscuits – True American cheesecake uses Graham crackers for the crust but sadly it’s not commonly available in Singapore. Digestive biscuits works perfectly. Any brand is fine. I use McVitie’s.
Butter – Brown butter really gave the crust an incredible toasty and nutty flavour. It takes a little more effort but nothing too difficult. You will be rewarded with an amazingly delicious biscuit crust that is paramount to a perfect cheesecake.
How to brown butter
Brown butter aka Buerre Noisette in French, literally means hazelnut butter. Although no hazelnuts are used in the process, it is more to represent the hazelnut colour and the nutty fragrance.
Simply cut the butter into chunks and place them in a light colour saucepan. Melt over medium low heat. Stir occasionally to encourage even browning. Once the butter melts, it will start to foam eventually.
Keep a close eye to prevent burning. Once you see light brown specks that comes with a nutty aroma, remove from heat and immediately transfer the brown butter to a heat safe bowl. Cool before using.
Tips for making smooth and creamy cheesecake without cracks
Cheesecakes can be simple to make but there are a few key things to note for achieving the perfect texture without cracks on top.
- It is important to ensure your ingredients are at room temperature. Bring out the cream cheese at least 1 hour before using. You want the cream cheese to be soft so that it takes a shorter time to cream. This way will prevent too much air in your batter, which will result in a creamier cheesecake.
- Do not over-mix the batter. Especially after the eggs are added. Over-mixing can cause too much air bubbles in the batter and your cheesecake may crack during the course of baking. What we want is a proper slow rise flat top cheesecake. Stop mixing once your batter is smooth and creamy.
- Strain your batter through a fine mesh strainer. This step will filter any lumps and ensure a very smooth textured cheesecake.
- Bake the cheesecake in a water bath at a low temperature and longer baking time. The water will create moisture in the oven, keeping the cheesecake moist and preventing cracks. Baking at a lower temperature can also prevent the cake from rising too high which may also cause cracks.
Some recipes recommend to cool the cheesecake in the oven for about an hour or so with the oven door ajar. This step is to prevent drastic temperature change that may cause your cheesecake to crack. However, I felt that this is unnecessary. If in unfortunate cases that the cheesecake cracks, this would already happen during baking. So if the crack is already there, the gentle cooling step can’t save it as well. But nonetheless, crack or not the cheesecake will still taste good. So try not to fuss too much about it and just enjoy the process.
Baking cheesecake is not complicated but the waiting time can be quite long. Well, good things must wait. So do have patience and allow your cheesecake to cool completely before chilling it in the refrigerator overnight. You can sit back and enjoy your cold creamy cheesecake the next day, with a cup of coffee.
This cheesecake freezes well. So if for some reason you can’t finish, keep them in airtight container and store in the freezer. Keeps well for a month or so. Just bring it out to thaw before eating.
New York Style Oreo Cheesecake
Equipment
- 20cm round cheesecake pan with removable base
- 25cm pan or 9x13" pan (for waterbath)
Ingredients
Digestive Biscuit Crust
- 100 g unsalted butter cut into cubes
- 200 g digestive biscuits or graham crackers
Oreo Cheesecake
- 500 g cream cheese
- 150 g white sugar
- 200 g full fat sour cream
- 2 eggs lightly beaten
- 80 g oreo small crust cookie pieces
Instructions
- Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 160C (no fan)
- Line the base of the cheesecake pan with baking paper. This is for easier removal of the cheesecake.
- Double wrap the cake pan with aluminium foil. This is to prevent water from seeping into the cake when baking in a waterbath.
Digestive Biscuit Crust
- Place cubed butter in a light colour pan. Melt over medium low heat. Stir occasionally to encourage even browning. Once the butter melts, it will start to foam eventually. Keep a close eye to prevent burning. Once you see light brown specks that comes with a nutty aroma, remove from heat and immediately transfer the brown butter to a heat safe bowl. Cool before using.
- Place digestive biscuits in a zipper bag. Crush the biscuits finely with a rolling pin or glass bottle. Add cooled browned butter into the finely crushed biscuits. Mix well and make sure all crust are coated with butter.
- Pour out the contents to the cake pan. Spread evenly and press firmly into the base of the pan. Cover and leave in the refrigerator to set.
Oreo Cheesecake
- Cream the soften cream cheese on medium low speed until smooth. About 2 minutes. Add sugar and cream for about 2 minutes until all the sugar blend well into the cream cheese. Add sour cream and mix until well incorporated.
- Add eggs in 3 parts, mixing well after each addition. Do not overmix. You don't want too much air in the batter.
- Strain the batter into another bowl through a fine mesh strainer. Add Oreo cookie pieces into the strained batter and fold evenly. Pour the mixture into the prepared cheesecake pan.
- Place the cheesecake pan into the bigger pan. Add hot water into the bigger pan, filling up to at least half the height of the cheesecake pan.
- Place in the center of the oven and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 mins. To check for doneness, shake the pan a little. It should wobble in the middle. Remove from oven and the waterbath. Cool at room temperature completely before refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight.
- Remove the cheesecake after chilling. If your cheesecake pan is not springform like mine, you can remove the cake by placing it on a glass bottle and push the pan down. Using a palette knife, go under the base of the crust and slide the cheesecake out to a cake board or plate.
- To cut clean slices, warm your knife with hot water before slicing. Clean the knife before cutting another slice.
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