Creamy Baked Maple Cheesecake with Maple Graham Crust
This luxurious baked maple cheesecake recipe is creamy, soft, and sweetened with pure maple syrup. The velvety smooth maple cream cheese filling is baked in a tender maple graham cracker crust that's buttery, crumbly, and lightly sweet but incredibly easy to make.
Equipment
- 1 10" spring-form pan
- 1 roasting pan substitute any baking dish large enough to hold the spring-form pan & 1"-2" of hot water
- 1 stand or hand-held mixer (you can mix by hand but it's a lot of work!)
- 1 food processor (optional, for crust)
Ingredients
maple graham cracker crust:
- 3 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- ½ cup salted butter (for unsalted butter, add ½ tsp salt)
- ⅓ cup maple syrup (use up to ½ cup for sweeter, firmer crust)
maple cheesecake batter:
- 2 lbs cream cheese, softened (4) 8oz bricks
- 1 cup dark maple syrup
- 4 large eggs at room temperature
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract or bourbon
- 1 tsp maple extract (optional, for deeper maple flavoring)
- ½ tsp sea salt
garnish (optional)
- 2-4 tbsp maple syrup, salted caramel sauce, or chocolate syrup drizzle over slices before serving
Instructions
graham cracker crust:
- If your spring-form pan is not non-stick, spray it well with pan spray, or brush with cake goop or additional melted butter. You can also line the bottom of your pan with a parchment paper circle and cut a strip to make a collar around the sides if you want to make sure it doesn't stick and unmolds perfectly. . If you aren't sure that your springform pan is waterproof, wrap foil around the outside of the pan. You may also want to use either a silicone trivet or make some folded foil strips to use as a sling under your pan to lift the baked cheesecake from the water bath (see recipe post for tips).
- Melt butter and crush or measure out graham cracker crumbs.
- Combine melted butter (and salt if you're using unsalted butter), maple syrup, and graham cracker crumbs into a medium mixing bowl or food processor. Stir or pulse until well combined.
- Press the crumb mixture firmly into the bottom and sides of your spring-form pan, forming an even layer.
maple cheesecake batter:
- Preheat the oven to 350℉ (180℃ or gas mark 4). Bring a kettle or pot of hot water to a boil for the water-bath (bain marie).
- Whip softened cream cheese with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, a hand mixer, or cream it well by hand until there are no lumps.
- Incorporate the eggs into the whipped cream cheese, cracking them into a small bowl and adding them one at a time, mixing between additions and scraping down the bowl and beaters.
- Add the salt, vanilla extract, bourbon, and/or maple flavoring and the maple syrup. Mix again until well combined.
- Add the cold whipping cream and mix on low speed until the batter is completely smooth, or fold it in by hand.
bake maple cheesecake:
- Place the filled spring form pan into the roasting pan. If you are using a trivet or foil strips, put those down first and the cheesecake pan on top.
- Carefully pour the cheesecake batter into the prepared graham cracker crust. Tap the pan gently a few times on the counter to release large air bubbles. You can pop these with the tip of a knife or spatula.
- Place the roasting pan on the center rack of your preheated oven.
- Carefully pour the boiling water from the kettle into the roasting pan until the water is about halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan, or as far as you can safely fill your pan without overflowing. Take care not to splash water onto the cheesecake.
- Bake the cheesecake at 350℉ for one hour. The cheesecake will continue to set up as it cools, so don't worry that it will still have some jiggle in the center when you remove it from the oven. If you bake it until it is completely firm, it will crack and be over-baked.
chill and unmold:
- Carefully remove the cheesecake pan from the water bath using the foil sling or silicone mitts. You may want to let the water-bath cool for a few minutes in the open oven before removing it if you can, so that you don't spill boiling water while moving it.
- Let the cheesecake cool uncovered in the springform pan on a wire rack on the counter for at least 45 minutes to an hour. It will set up more and continue cooking in the middle as it begins to cool.
- Wrap or cover the pan, and chill the cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight or for at least 8 hours before slicing.
- Carefully remove the springform pan sides and slice the cheesecake before serving. Use a long, thin blade and run the knife under hot water between slices to make the cleanest cuts.
- You can serve this plain, or drizzle the cut slices with maple syrup, salted caramel, or chocolate syrup.
Notes
Notes on Nutritional Information:
Values shown are an estimate for informational purposes only, and calculated using salted butter, ⅓ maple syrup in the crust, and two tablespoons of maple syrup to garnish the top of the cheesecake. Changing or altering the recipe will change the estimated values provided.
Nutrition
Calories: 417kcalCarbohydrates: 51gProtein: 16gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 9gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 103mgSodium: 880mgPotassium: 378mgFiber: 1gSugar: 34gVitamin A: 512IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 346mgIron: 2mg
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