Cheesecake Recipes

Our answer

There are two types of cheesecake - baked and unbaked. The unbaked type is usually a base of cream cheese and may be mixed with some whipped cream. These cheesecakes tend to have a fairly soft, pudding-like texture. Sometimes they are set with gelatine, which makes them firmer, but they still lack the denseness of a baked cheesecake.

We suspect that you are looking for a New York style baked cheesecake. These cheeseckaes are made with cream cheese, sour cream and eggs and are baked very gently in a water bath in the oven. The texture is usually dense but very smooth and velvety. Nigella has a New York Cheesecake recipe in Domestic Goddess or you may like to try Nigella's London Cheesecake, from the same book (and on the Nigella Website). The London Cheesecake is similar to a New York style cheesecake but has an extra topping of sweetened sour cream to add some contrast to the rich cheesecake filling.