Nothing too fancy or complex — this classic cheesecake is simple, creamy and delicious. Serve plain or top with cherry pie filling or caramel for a little something extra.

When it comes to cheesecake, even on Shavuos, I like to keep things simple. I am not a huge cheesecake person, in any case. I love making cheese-filled sweet baked goods, like my raspberry cheesecake squares or cheese rugelach, but you won’t catch me making one of those super-fancy cheesecakes for Shavuos. If I’m going to make a cheesecake, I’m going to go for a good old-fashioned classic cheesecake, like this one.

I love this recipe since it doesn’t require an electric mixer; you can blend it all by hand with a whisk. If you know me, you know that I don’t love hauling out my mixer in general, but I don’t even have a dairy electric mixer, so for milchig recipes the no-mixer piece is even more important!

I love cheesecake topped with cherries, but there are so many other things you can do with this. You can swirl some caramel, Lotus, chocolate or Nutella cream into the batter before baking, and then top with more after it cools. You can also try a different flavor of pie filling, like blueberry. Or you can just serve it plain to get the full cheesecake experience!

As you’ll notice in the recipe, this makes two graham cracker crust cheesecakes. They’re not huge, so if you’re feeding a crowd, two might be the way to go. You can even put two separate toppings on them (like a fruit topping on one and a caramel or Lotus on the other), so you can offer a choice.

Classic Cheesecake in a Graham Cracker Crust

This classic cheesecake is simple, creamy and delicious. Serve plain or top with cherry pie filling or caramel for a little something extra.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
3 8-oz containers whipped cream cheese
4 eggs
2 graham cracker pie crusts
Cherry pie filling, for topping (optional)*

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Place sugar, vanilla, and eggs in a bowl and mix together with a whisk until combined. Add cream cheese and mix until smooth. It will start off lumpy, but if you keep mixing, the lumps will go away.
Pour into two graham cracker crusts.
Place on a baking sheet and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until the edges are lightly browned and set but the middle is slightly jiggly. (As it cools, it will set completely.)
Allow to cool and then spread cherry pie filling on top, if desired.* Place in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight before slicing.

Notes

*Variations: If you don’t like cherries, there are lots of other toppings you can try. You can drizzle the cheesecakes with Lotus spread or caramel, top with crumbled Oreos, blueberry pie filling, or chocolate sauce. If you are topping with a spread or sauce, you can also swirl some into the batter before baking.