The perfect 2 ingredients cheesecake crust

Today I am sharing with you my perfect 2 ingredients cheesecake crust tutorial that will take your cheesecakes to the next level. In this tutorial you will learn how to make cheesecake crust that is stable, neat, crunchy, sweet but not overly sweet. Have you ever experienced cheesecake crust that is crumbly and not able to hold its shape properly? Never again! Let´s get started!

1. What is cheesecake crust made of?

Cheesecake crust is a few ingredients base to hold any sort of cheesecake whether it is baked or no-bake. It is normally made of biscuit crumb and melted butter, although I like to add a pinch of salt too in order to bring the flavours out.

Regarding butter, use always unsalted as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. While in most of the recipes butter needs to be on room temperature and I always recommend to avoid last minute microwaving this is an exception. The butter needs to be melted.

Many recipes state to add sugar too, personally I think biscuits are normally sweet enough and I never add sugar to my crust. Yet, my cheesecake crust is crunchy and sweet enough, I do not really see the need adding sugar.

Can I use oil instead of butter? No, because butter will harden in the fridge making your cheesecake crust stable that can hold its shape while oil is liquid both on room temp and also in the fridge

What else can I add to the cheesecake crust? On top of biscuit crumb and butter you can add all sort of things to your cheesecake crust for example spices like cinnamon, cardamon, vanilla bean or nuts like chopped hazelnut or even sesame seeds. Try to experiment next time you make cheesecake crust!

2. What biscuit to use to make cheesecake crust?

Very often Graham cracker is used to make cheesecake crust.

What can I use instead of Graham cracker crust? My preference is Digestive but it really depends on which country you live in and what you can access from your supermarket. You can also make cheesecake crust using Oreo, ice cream cones, pretzel (for salty kick!) or any homebaked hard biscuit. One thing worth to bear in mind is the fat content of the biscuit, if it is too fatty, it is worth to think about reducing the butter content in the recipe.

3. How to make biscuit crumb?

There are generally two ways of making biscuit crumb, either the old fashion way in zip bag using a rolling pin – that is perfect if you are stress baking! Or, you can use a food processor and pulse blend biscuits for a few seconds. Either way, make sure biscuit crumbs are even, no visible huge pieces are left.

4. How do you get cheesecake crust to stick together?

Apart from having a good cheesecake crust recipe that has the correct biscuit crumb vs. butter ratio, it is all about the technique! You have to make sure to press the crumb into the tin firmly and neatly on the side and bottom as well. This requires some patience and might take 10 minutes but really worth the effort! Other important point is to let the crust cool (meaning the butter to harden) before filling, never fill the crust without appropriate chilling time!

5. How to prepare the perfect cheesecake crust?

Making cheesecake crust is literally mixing butter and biscuit crumb however based on your questions from earlier there are a couple of important tips and recommendations I would like to share with you:

• Mix butter and biscuit crumb while butter is runny (melted). Butter will act like a binding agent in the recipe. Once it is cooled down in the fridge, it will set creating crunchy, but firm crust to hold the filling. You might have bad experience from the past with cheesecake crust being too crumby and not holding its shape, it’s probably due to not enough butter in the recipe
• When butter is melted the mixture might be runny depending on the temperature of the butter but do not add more biscuit crumb. If you feel that mixture is too runny, pop it into the fridge for 5 minutes, it will set very quickly into a consistency you can use making the crust with
• The one and only secret of making firm, neat crust is to press crumbs firmly and evenly into side and the bottom of your cake ring. Start with the side and work your way up then when it looks neat and even, continue with the bottom. Find some equipment in your kitchen like bend a spoon and use it to really press the crust. I spent probably a good 10-15 minutes just focusing on the crust making sure that it is even on the side and really neat. Place your crust into the freezer and let it set while you are preparing the filling

6. Do I need to bake cheesecake crust?

Since the recipe only using biscuit crumb and butter, no need to bake it , in fact this is particularly a no bake crust. The structure is supported by butter acting like a glue that will set in the fridge holding the biscuit crumbs together.

7. What equipment is needed to make cheesecake crust?

You will be pleased to hear that making this cheesecake crust does not require too much equipment!

For assembling the cheesecake I am using a Mousse cake ring (adjustable in size) set to 16cm / 6 inches. I really like the neat tall design of it however it does not have bottom so I make one using kitchen foil. Alternatively use a spring form however that does not have such a neat side.

For pressing the crumb together I suggest a simple spoon that you can bend, it´s that simple!

8. How to avoid cheesecake crust sticking to the tin?

My cheesecake crust recipe won´t stick to the tin, I have made loads of cheesecakes and never had problem with that. Since the recipe contains just enough butter (fat) there is no need to grease the tin before applying and pressing the crust.

9. How long does it take for the cheesecake crust to set?

If you chilled your crust well enough for example in the freezer, you can remove the tin as early as after one hour however safer option is to leave the tin on while the cheesecake filling anyway seting in the crust that is usually around 4-6 hours in the fridge depending on the particular recipe. Make sure you do not remove the tin too early and that when you remove it you do it carefully. As mentioned it should not stick but better to be safe than sorry!

10. Cheesecake ideas to use this crust

• Strawberry cheesecake recipe: Strawberry cheesecake is one of the most popular desserts all around the world and no wonder why! It is phenomenal as the silky ultra cream cheese filling meets the fruity strawberry compote in crunchy, sweet crust. This is an absolutely no fuss recipe, no baking involved, no issue around the water bath, you do not even have to turn the oven on
• Pistachio cheesecake recipe: I´ve made many cheesecakes in my life but this Pistachio cheesecake is special! If you are a cheesecake and pistachio lover and like to make delicious desserts without a lot of fuss, this will be a recipe you will love! A No-bake, no problem recipe!
• Oreo cheesecake recipe: Crunchy, decorative Oreo crust filled with extra smooth vanilla cream cheese mousse with hidden Oreo pieces! This No-bake Oreo cheesecake is super light and taste amazing with just the right amount of sweetness! A dream come true!

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