A crust for any dessert can have many qualities, but being both pleasant and crunchy while being easy to make and compliments the cheesecake filling is a must, especially if you or your guests are picky about how the crust feels and tastes.
We can assure you that, however you make your cheesecake crust, as long as you follow the many recipes out there, you’re bound to have a great crust and easy cooking process every time.
But what if you want a simplified recipe that is easy to make and uses as few ingredients as possible, where you could be in a situation where time isn’t on your side?
In this article, we’ll show you how easy it is to make a cheesecake crust and perhaps give you some tips on how you can make it even better once you’ve moved on to the cheesecake part of the recipe.
If you want to boost your crusts’ impact, read on to find out more.
A Simple Cheesecake Crust You Can Make Right Now
What You’ll Need
1 ⅓ cups of Graham cracker crumbs, or a cookie or gingersnap alternative
A pinch of salt, but you can adjust according to taste
⅓ cups of unsalted butter
Instructions
Step 1
Take your butter and melt it in the microwave, and this shouldn’t take more than 30 seconds, then let it cool down while you start to make your cracker or cookie crumbs.
You can make these using a blender, food processor, or the old-fashioned way of putting them in a bag and crushing it with a rolling pin.
Mix in your crumbs with the warmed butter and add some salt until you are happy with the result.
Step 2
You can use a cake mold or ring and adjust it to about 16 inches, as you want it to be of a decent size, which you can line in your mixture and press the mixture flat evenly and tightly, starting with the side and then working onto the bottom.
If you think the mixture is too runny or liquidy, leave it in the fridge until you’re happy with the consistency. Once the mixture is evenly placed, you can put this into the freezer while preparing the filling.
Step 3
If you’re following your cheesecake recipe, it will usually instruct you on how to use the filling with your crust, you need to pour the cheesecake batter onto or inside the crust you make, depending on whether you have a layered cake or more of a pie type base.
Once you’ve done this, you can either bake the cake for around an hour and a half, or you could place it straight into the freezer.
If you don’t bake your cheesecake, you might want to get a balance of freezing and cooling, and this may depend on how quickly you need to make the cheesecake.
Not A Fan Of This Recipe?
Your crust is an essential part of your cheesecake, so getting it right should be your top priority, if you think this recipe is a bit too simple or uses ingredients that you don’t like, there are ways you could change the recipe around slightly to get the result you want.
Below are some changes you could make and how these can help your cheesecake taste better.
Use Different Crust Bases
We’ve used Graham crackers as an example, but you can use chocolate wafers, Oreo cookies, or even nut-flavored cookies such as Italian amaretti, and there is always the option of digestive biscuits, which, if you can find, can crumble easier.
Whichever you use, it makes sense that you are happy to bake with the base ingredient if you are baking it and that you’re happy about changes in flavor if you use ginger or cinnamon-tasting crackers.
We find that if you make the crust by scratch, you can have a cheesecake that tastes more homemade than anything else you can make in your kitchen, as you tend to get aromas and tastes that can be quite unique.
If You Want To Alter Your Crust Recipe
The recipe above doesn’t use flour, but you might find others that do, and this is used if your using ingredients that need binding, such as eggs or any liquids you use in the recipe, and this can be the same for both the crust and cheesecake.
If you want a change, you could use cornstarch instead, which can make your dessert more solid, but if you use the above recipe, you won’t have to use this as the set cracker crust will be strong enough on its own.
If you use sugar, you can replace it with brown, cane, or even maple syrup, and this can add some consistency and variety, especially if you’re adding raspberry to your cheesecake.
However you make your crust, you want to ensure that the base is nice and crumbly but is also solid so it doesn’t fall apart as you cut your cheesecake slices, so if you bake it or not and are unsure about this, there’s nothing wrong with cooling or freezing it, so your base is just right.
You could even bake your crust, then leave it to cool on a rack, then add your cheesecake batter inside, which can help it set better and avoid the cheesecake portion of the recipe feeling rubbery or too soft.
The Bottom Line
However you make your crust, you have the option to make it to your liking, and there are substitutions you can make to ensure that your cheesecake is gluten and vegan friendly, which might take a bit more effort, but it will all be worth it once you take a bite of your delicious cheesecake.
Have you ever made something so delicious that you wished you could savor it forever?
Only to find that the recipe has now mysteriously vanished from your phone and the entirety of the internet. Yep, there’s not much more painful than that.
Hi, my name is Mark Williams and I have been infatuated with cooking since I was young. I would beg my mother to pull a chair up to the counter so I could watch what she was doing.
