New York Maple-Walnut Cheesecake Recipe (2024)

Trader Joe's carries some very tasty cookies called 'Toasted Coconut Cookie Thins,' 'Meyer Lemon Cookie Thins,' and 'Triple Ginger Cookie Thins' and they all make extremely good cheesecake crusts.

Many years ago I found an excellent recipe for New York cheesecake, it has never failed me; all refrigerated ingredients should be brought to room temperature prior to making the cake.

I've been making NY Cheesecake for many years, and graham crackers are the LAST things that should be used for the crust. The taste is much too strong for the delicate taste of cheesecake. I either make my own from flour, butter and sugar, or buy butter cookies, or Nilla vanilla wafers, or something that tastes more subtle. Never graham crackers. It ruins the whole taste of the thing.

I agree with the commenter who suggested 450 degrees instead of 500. I took her advice and it worked well. Also, give the cream cheese enough time to really soften before mixing, it'll make the process easier. I'd set it out a good 4-6 hours in advance.

Interesting that Maple Syrup is often included in Fall Recipe Collections because maple syrup is actually made in the spring when the sap is first rising in the sugar maple trees. But I get it, the leaves coloring and all that. Just sayin’

Ginger snap are great!

I would have to agree with others -- 500 is too hot and 200 is too low! I ended up getting a super undercooked cheesecake. I would recommend going for the standard 350 for an hour

I just don't agree, Rose. I like the Graham cracker crust for exactly the reason you don't: it provides a pleasant counter-point to the rich creaminess of the cheese custard. Indeed, we usually add an extra cash of cinnamon to our crumb and butter mixture. But that's my preference. If you want an ally in the fight against blueberry swirls and other such cheesecake abominations, however, I'm right there with you.

I always use Digestive (whole meal) Biscuits. Usually to found in the English or Irish section of the supermarket, or in the cracker section. Less sweet and the cheese stars.

Note to all who have cracked crusts: Cheesecakes turn out smoother and without cracks if you put the springform pan in aluminum foil, so that it wraps around the bottom and up the sides, then place it in a large flat pan of hot water just deep enough to go about 1/4 inch up from the bottom of the springform when baking. (I prefer the bottom part of my roasting pan because it's shaped nicely for this.) And don't open the oven door no matter how curious you become!

Care to elaborate on the recipe? Maybe a link? :)

If you do not like a graham cracker crust, try using plain animal crackers instead, a tip I found in Cook’s Illustrated magazine. They work very well.

In the UK use digestive biscuits for the base and omit the sugar.
350 F is 180 C and I would use 200 for the remainder. Checking it for "wobble" after its set time .

The cake baking instructions seemed really odd, so I did my usual method. Bake at 325F in a water bath (roasting pan with silicone cake pan outer rather than foil) then check at 60 min. Actual time in my oven before it was set properly was 80-90 min. Remember *gradual* transition to room temp on a wire rack before refrigerating overnight. Baked perfectly, zero cracks.Doubling the crust was also a great call. Press up the side of the pan to adjust thickness as desired and bake as written.

I made the mistake of attempting to cook this in an 8 inch pan. I had a lot of filled leftover and made some individual cakes which was great but I overcooked them. Like others I didn't read right and doubled the maple in the filling but would do it again. Mine didn't crack at all, got a bit brown but not burnt but was overcooked so I'd cut down the time. Topping never got hard but still good as a nutty goo. Overall a winner!

I was a little concerned about this recipe because of the reviews (so many people adjusted the cooking temp) but ultimately I decided to make it and didn’t make any changes because it looked tasty and had five stars. It did crack quite a bit, but that didn’t matter too much since the praline covered the top. Other than that there were no issues and everyone loved it. If I make it again I’ll use a hand mixer, not a stand mixer, and pull the cream cheese out of the fridge a few hours in advance.

Well, at 500 degrees for 15 minutes the top of my cheesecake is almost totally burned. I should have made my usual cheesecake…what a fail. Also is what world does all that fit in a nine inch pan?!?!? Thank god I knew enough to put a pan below otherwise I’d have a burnt cheesecake and an oven fire.

This was my first cheesecake and it turned out great! It was lighter than expected, which was a nice surprise. I baked mine in a water bath and didn’t get any cracks. I thought I had walnuts, but I didn’t so I used pecans and it was still great.

What the heck!! 500 degrees left this cheesecake burned!! Black around the edges. Waste of a lot of product and a lot of time. Never again.

At temperature of 500, the crust burnt and about the top 1/2 inch or so of the cheesecake was significantly over cooked. On the whole, the cheesecake was over done. Do think a lower initial temp and some element of water bath is necessary to achieve a creamy and consistent texture.

Excellent! Doubled the crumbs and used ginger snaps instead, with no added sugar. See notes on paper version of recipe

Metric conversionsCrust: Digestive biscuits 75gButter 45gFilling:Sugar 250gCream cheese 1132g (yes 1132g)Flour: 25gEggs: 4 2 yolksDouble cream: 60gStarch: 2.6gMaple syrup: 120gI have cooked it at 180C for 8 minutes then 100C for 1hr 15’ and let cool for 2hours. With a tray of water inside and and still cracked but was delicious.

Maple syrup can actually be made in the autumn, too!"Sugaring" season is generally longer in the spring, but sap runs in the spring, and fall d/t warmer days and fridge night's in both seasons.

This cheesecake was a real show stopper with the changes/additions I made:1. I made the crust from gingersnaps, ground walnuts and sugar. It's a modified version of a crust from the bourbon pumpkin cheesecake recipe on smitten kitten. 2. I added some pinches salt to the walnut praline while I was coating them in the syrup. 3. I topped it with tangy whipped cream (heavy cream and sour cream)Next time I would top the cake with the sour cream topping used on the pumpkin cheesecake!

Needs the hour at 350 with a water bath. I had it at 450 the first 15 and it still came out overcooked.

I also think that the 500/200 split is perplexing. I had to leave mine in at 200 for 30 mins longer and it still felt slightly underdone.More broadly—I’d love it if the NYT Cooking recipe authors would include brief explanatory notes when they recommend non-traditional complications like this! These seem to be a feature on here a lot, and in my experience they don’t always turn out great. Knowing the reason behind them might help people use (or not use) them better and increase success!

Made this exactly as written, and it turned out perfectly. Only a tiny crack in the top, and the praline topping covered it. The texture was just right, the crust was not burned. The filling is not overly sweet, and the maple candied walnuts on top were pretty and so good! I took this to a dinner party, and all of our friends raved about it. I'm sure this will be what they want me to bring every time!

500 was too high, my cheesecake came out burnt and completely imploded.