What is Red Velvet Cheesecake?
You’re probably familiar with the classic red velvet cake, which has cream cheese frosting. Or maybe you’ve tried my recipe for my very popular Red Velvet Cheesecake Cake! Well, this red velvet cheesecake is frosted with a good, thick layer of cream cheese frosting too. Does that make it rich and decadent? Yes, it does! Cheesecake is always a mega sweet-treat, and this one is over the top. I’ve made it a few times, and it’s always a big hit with cheesecake (and red velvet) lovers! The Oreo crust is a nice pairing. Use the whole Oreo for the crust (cream and all). You can choose to make a classic graham cracker crust, if you’d like. Or you can use chocolate graham crackers for the crust instead.
What’s the best occasion for serving a Red Velvet Cheesecake?
This Red Velvet Cheesecake is such a pretty cheesecake to make for the holidays. It’s nice for Christmas because I love that it has all of the “Santa” colors. It’s a festive one for New Year’s Eve. And it’s always a hit for Valentine’s Day too.
How do you make Red Velvet Cheesecake?
First you’ll make the Oreo crust. It’s a simple trio of Oreos that have been crushed into crumbs combined with melted butter and sugar. A classic 9-inch springform pan is used for this recipe, so the Oreo crust is just pressed into the bottom of the pan. The crust does NOT need to be baked. The filling is next. It’s a classic cheesecake made with cream cheese, sugar, eggs, sour cream and vanilla. But to turn it into a red velvet cheesecake, you’ll add unsweetened cocoa, buttermilk, white vinegar and red food coloring. If you prefer to use gel paste instead of red food coloring, just add in the red gel paste until you get a nice, deep red hue to the cheesecake batter. The batter is then scraped into the pan on top of the Oreo crust. Then it’s ready for the oven!
Do you have to bake this cheesecake in a water bath?
If you just bake your Red Velvet Cheesecake in the oven like you’d bake a regular cake, you run the risk of some major cracking. Lucky for you, there are two options for baking this cheesecake. You can choose to bake it in a water bath. This method just means you wrap foil around the cheesecake pan and set it into a larger pan that has a little bit of water in it. This ensures your cheesecake will stay moist during the long baking process. Some people are wary of using this method because of the possibility of water leakage through tears in the foil. If you don’t like to use a water bath, then you can choose this alternate method. Simply place a pan of water on a lower rack, and bake the cheesecake on a rack above the pan. Having the water in the oven will still create enough moisture to help keep the cheesecake moist. I actually prefer to use this method most of the time when I’m baking cheesecakes. Take a look at the photo above. This cheesecake turns out very moist! FOLLOW-UP NOTE: There are a few people who have shared that the water bath method (or pan underneath) didn’t work well for them– that it made the crust too soggy. You are welcome to bake this without any kind of water bath. If it cracks on top, it’s okay since you will be covering it with icing.
What do you do if the top of your Red Velvet Cheesecake cracks?
It’s okay! Once the cheesecake has been chilled in the refrigerator for a good number of hours, you’ll be covering the top of it with a thick layer of cream cheese frosting. So if there are any cracks there, they’ll be buried by the frosting!
Are there make-ahead instructions for Red Velvet Cheesecake?
It’s probably a good idea to make this recipe one day ahead of serving. Go ahead and frost it too. It will be easiest to cut neat slices if it has been well-chilled.
Here are a few more great cheesecake recipes to try:
No Bake Cheesecake Pumpkin Cheesecake Instant Pot Cheesecake Caramel Apple Cheesecake No Bake Baileys Chocolate Cheesecake Snickerdoodle Cheesecake Chocolate Chip Cheesecake Sugar Cookie Cheesecake No Bake Banana Rum Cheesecake Strawberry- Coconut Cheesecake
