We’ve been blogging for over 3 years now and we don’t have one recipe on the blog for cheesecake. Danya and I have planned to do one for a while now, but while neither of us is really into baking, we hadn’t found the perfect recipe to share with our readers.

Change of topic. About a year ago, a girl named Talia, who was born in New Orleans and moved to Israel at the age of 8, opened up the first of its kind American café/bakery in the heart of Tel Aviv. The first time I visited Nola American Bakery place was on my birthday last October, and to my luck, they were just testing recipes for different versions of pumpkin pie, and Harriet, their amazing baker, brought me a plate of all the versions to taste. From that day on I’ve been seriously hooked to the place as it’s the only place in entire country where I can get a taste of home (and they do it so damn well).

When it came time for Danya and I to think of a recipe to share for the upcoming Jewish holiday, Shavout (where tradition calls for the serving of dairy products-otherwise known as the holidays of cheeses, quiches, and cheesecakes), we knew that it was our time to post a cheesecake recipe.

I love classic recipes and therefore wanted to do a recipe for a New York Cheesecake (you can take the girl out of America…). This time I know I had to look no further than to Talia and Hat (Harriet) from Nola to provide the most perfect recipe. And they did. And it’s just the kind of recipe that Danya and I love to share with our readers-no frills, readily available ingredients and really easy to make.

Don’t forget to check out our other delicious recipes for Shavuot- here, here and here.

New York Cheesecake

We flavored ours with a bit of lemon juice and lemon zest, but you can easily flavor this according to your taste- try smashing up two snickers bars or Reeses peanut butter cups and adding it to the filling,.

Ingredients for about six 4 inch/10 cm. round individual pans, or one 9-inch/23 cm. round springform pan:

For the crust:

200 grams/7 oz. crushed speculous cookies or graham crackers

200 grams/7 oz. crushed petit buerre or graham crackers

4 oz./115 grams unsalted butter, melted

A pinch of kosher salt

For the filling:

12 oz./340 grams cream cheese

3.5 oz./100 grams sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

3.5 oz./100 grams sour cream

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

For the frosting:

9 oz./250 grams sour cream

3 teaspoons sugar

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoon lemon zest

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 340ºF/170ºC.
2. Place all of the ingredients for the crust in a large bowl and use your fingers to mix together the ingredients. If using the individual pans, line the bottom and sides of each pan with the crust. If using one large cake pan then line only the bottom with crust.
3. Prepare the filling: Using a hand-held or stand mixer, mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl until smooth and well combined.
4. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake for 18-20 minutes for the individual pans for 30 minutes for the large pan, until the filling has set but is still a little giggly, and when you touch with your finger there is no fingerprint visible.
5. Meanwhile, prepare the frosting: in a large bowl mix together all the frosting ingredients until smooth.
6. Remove cheesecake from oven and allow to cool for about 10 minutes at room temperature. Top cheesecake with frosting and bake for an additional 5-7 minutes.
7. Allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate overnight before serving.

No-Bake Cheesecake in a Jar

You can use any soft seasonal fruit for the compote- we used blueberries but feel free to try strawberries, raspberries, plums, etc.

Ingredients for 6 small (250 ml.) jars:

For the berry compote:

2 cups (400 grams/14 oz.) blueberries (fresh or frozen)

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon zest

For the crust:

200 grams/7 oz. crushed speculous cookies or graham crackers

200 grams/7 oz. crushed petit buerre  or graham crackers

4 oz./115 grams unsalted butter, melted

A pinch of kosher salt

For the cheesecake filling:

12 oz./340 grams cream cheese

1 can condensed milk

3 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons lemon zest

1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Place all the ingredients for the berry compote in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally but being careful not to mash the berries. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature and then refrigerate at least 2 hours before using.
2. Prepare the crust: Place all of the ingredients for the crust in a large bowl and use your fingers to mix together the ingredients.
3. Prepare the cheesecake filling: Using a hand-held or stand mixer, mix all the filling ingredients in a large bowl until smooth and well combined.
4. Assemble the jars: Place a layer of crust into the jar, top with the cheesecake filling and then with the berry compote. Repeat until jar is filled. Repeat with remaining jars and refrigerate for one hour before serving.