Skip to Content

Aunt Judy’s Creamy Cheesecake

This Creamy Cheesecake is always a huge hit and is the perfect make-ahead dessert for your next holiday party. Baked Cheesecake is one of those desserts that seems difficult to make, but it’s really not. I’ll share all the tips to make this recipe a breeze.

Cheesecake with Toppings

Disclosure – I may get a small commission for purchases made through affiliate links in this post.

Cheesecake with Chocolate Sauce

Key to Success #1 – Simple Ingredients Make a Great Cheesecake

This Creamy Cheesecake is made with simple ingredients – just cream cheese, sugar, eggs, and a little bit of flavoring.

Because you’re using so few ingredients, you’ll want to make sure your ingredients are high-quality.

Be sure to use full-fat cream cheese for the smoothest cheesecake and the best flavor.

Use high-quality vanilla extract, too.

And let’s talk about the crust.

The crust on this cheesecake is very light so that the Creamy Cheesecake can be the star of the show.

Cheesecake with Turtle Topping

Key to Success #2 – Cook this Creamy Cheesecake Low & Slow

Good things take time and you definitely want to take your time with this cheesecake recipe.

Don’t rush it. Just let it hang out and cook low and slow.

This low ‘n slow cook time makes it a great make-ahead dessert.

After it’s baked and properly cooled, it can hang out in the refrigerator for a day or two before it’s eaten.

Creamy Cheesecake


Key to Success #3 – Give It A Water Bath

The reason cheesecakes need a water bath is to help your cheesecake cook with gentle heat and also add moisture to the oven.

These two things will help your Creamy Cheesecake bake up perfectly with no cracks.

A water bath is a lot easier than you’d think though.

Just wrap the outside of your springform pan with foil and place it into a larger baking dish, such as a very large skillet or a roasting pan.

Then pour a 1/2 inch of water between the outer pan and your springform pan and slide the whole thing into the oven to bake.

Turtle Cheesecake Toppings

This Creamy Cheesecake is wonderful on its own.

It needs no embellishments.

But if you like to switch things up, it would be a lot of fun to have a Cheesecake Topping Bar for this cheesecake.

Cheesecake Topping Bar

Make a Cheesecake Topping Bar

We had cherry pie filling, chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, pecans, and whipped cream on our Cheesecake Topping Bar, but you’re only limited by your imagination.

You could do fresh strawberries, maraschino cherries, hot fudge, or chocolate chips. The sky is the limit.

I made myself a turtle cheesecake with chocolate sauce, caramel sauce, and pecans.

It was sooooooo delicious and lots of fun to put together.

Cheesecake with Chocolate and Caramel

The next time you need a delicious dessert for a holiday get-together, give this recipe a try! It’s sure to be a favorite!

Share this Creamy Cheesecake recipe to your Cheesecake Recipes board or your Favorite Desserts board.

This delicious cheesecake is my Aunt Judy’s recipe.

Whenever she brings it to dinner, it’s always a huge hit.

Cheesecake Topping Bar
Cheesecake

Creamy Cheesecake

Yield: 12 slices
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Resting Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes

This cheesecake is the best make-ahead dessert. It turns out perfectly every time. 

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
  • 2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 3/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • juice and grated rind of 1 lemon

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Butter the inside of cake pan 8 inches wide and 3 inches deep. Sprinkle with graham cracker crumbs, shaking until bottom and sides are coated. Shake out excess crumbs and set aside. 
  2. Place cream cheese, sugar, lemon rind, lemon juice and vanilla in bowl of electric mixer and beat at low speed, adding eggs gradually. 
  3. Blend on low then increase speed to high and continue beating until mixture is smooth. Pour and scrape batter into the prepared pan and shake gently to level the mixture. 
  4. Set the pan inside larger pan and pour 1/4 inch boiling water into the outer pan. 
  5. Bake for 90 minutes at 250 degrees F then increase to 275 degrees F for 30 minutes more. Turn off oven and let cake sit in oven 1 hour. Lift cake out of water bath and place on a rack. Let stand 2 hours then invert a plate over cake and carefully turn upside down so that cake comes out right side up. 

Notes

Recipe can be doubled and cooked in same oven.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 430Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 138mgSodium: 290mgCarbohydrates: 39gFiber: 0gSugar: 35gProtein: 7g

Nutrition Information Provided For Educational and Informational Purposes Only.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Have suggestions for improvement?

Your feedback helps us create better recipes for you. Leave a comment and let us know your thoughts!

Dark Chocolate Mousse

Butterscotch Hard Candy

Cream Cheese Fruit Dip

Creamy Banana Pudding

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Pie

Oreo Delight

Skip to Recipe