How to make 5 types of cheesecake, from burnt Basque to fluffy Japanese

Of all the recipes delicious. produce, there are some that are guaranteed to go down an absolute storm. Category-wise, it’s the four ‘CHs’ – chicken, cheese, chocolate, cheesecake – that tend to reign supreme. Cheesecake is probably the most crowd-pleasing of all the crowdpleasers: it’s easy to put together, a great medium for flavouring any which way you fancy, ticks both boxes of sweet and rich, and it’s entirely make-ahead.

But not all cheesecakes are the same. Depending on your ratios of cheese to cream, the setting agent and cooking method, you can end up with wildly different textures and finishes. Here’s our lowdown of five of the most popular styles out there.

The no-bake

Cheese + cream + sugar
The large amount of cream cheese in this cake means it’s thick enough to set without needing any cooking – resulting in something with a rich mousse-like texture that’s incredibly easy to make. It has a creamy, fresh flavour, which is often left plain; other flavourings are added as toppings or within the biscuit base. Because they require no cooking, no-bake cheesecakes are also easily made into smaller individual cakes or adapted for different tins and moulds.

The burnt Basque

Cheese + cream + sugar + eggs + cornflour + heat
A rich and creamy alternative to the more ubiquitous New York-style, this is the cheesecake everyone raves about in 2025. Created in the 1980s by a restaurant in San Sebastián (Spain’s Basque region), this crustless cheesecake is wrapped in baking paper and cooked at a high heat. It develops a crackled ‘burnt’ exterior that offers a contrasting bitterness to the soft, creamy centre. Perfect for those who find other styles too sweet, this has complexity, depth and an indulgent texture.

The Japanese

Cheese + milk + butter + sugar + eggs + flour + heat
Also known as a ‘soufflé’ or ‘cotton’ cheesecake, this style, which was invented in Japan in the late-1960s, shows how something as simple as incorporating lots of air into your mixture can produce something incredibly light and fluffy. The cream cheese is diluted with milk and melted butter before being enriched with egg yolks, then folded into whipped egg whites to keep everything pillowy and cloud-like. It has a pleasing wobble and looks seriously impressive.

The set

Cheese + cream + sugar + gelatine
This style of cheesecake doesn’t go anywhere near an oven, instead relying on the setting qualities of gelatine to give a firmer texture to the filling. This means you can enrich it with more double cream without it becoming too soft; create vibrant contrasting layers; and flavour your mix with anything you like without having to worry about it affecting the texture. It’s by far the most robust of all the cheesecakes, so it’s the one best-suited to taking round to friends or family if you’re doing dessert.

The New Yorker

Cheese + soured cream + sugar + eggs + flour + heat
Dense, rich, smooth and with a little extra tang thanks to the soured cream, New York-style cheesecakes are often seen as the gold standard of baked cheesecakes. It’s said they were created by restaurateur Arnold Reuben in the 1930s. The eggs in the mixture set the filling into something thick and indulgent, while the cooking process amplifies the flavour of the cream cheese. It’s arguably the most popular style of cheesecake in the UK these days.

5 cheesecakes to try

Basque forest cheesecake
Channelling Black Forest energy in a northern Spanish setting, this is a showstopper that has universal appeal. Deeply decadent, beautiful to look at and perfectly balanced in flavour and richness, it’s a cheesecake you’ll keep coming back to.

Passion fruit tart no-bake cheesecake
The tangy zing of the golden passion fruit jelly topping offers just the right amount of contrast to the rich creaminess below. Super-simple to make, the hardest bit is waiting for it all to set before diving in.

Set blueberry latte cheesecake
A masterclass in cheesecake architecture, this layered pastel-hued beauty balances the flavours of sweet blueberries and earthy coffee with a firm yet creamy set cheesecake on a chocolate crumb base.

Japanese soufflé cheesecake with yuzu-caramel sauce
All about the light, airy texture, this cheesecake is left unflavoured to allow the fluffiness to take centre stage. The yuzu-caramel sauce adds a pop of zesty sweetness.

Mint ‘Viennetta’ New York cheesecake
Packed with nostalgic retro flavours, this mint chocolate cheesecake is baked in a loaf tin to give it that classic ‘Viennetta’ look and feel. If you’re a fan of mint chocolate in any shape or form, this is the dessert for you!

Read more

• Baked cheesecakes (try a blueberry twist on Basque or chocolate New Yorker)
• Fruity cheesecakes (take your pick from rhubarb, lemon, banana and more)
• No-bake cheesecakes (with mango, margarita and marmalade flavours)
• 16 of the best cheesecakes of all time

Browse more of our favourite make-ahead dessert recipes, including salted maple pretzel pie and strawberry and clotted cream tart.