Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

First, let me start by saying I make cheesecakes, a lot of them. Right now this is the reigning favorite. I follow the recipe other than: adding 4 vanilla beans, and I cook it a little differently. I cook all my cheesecakes the same, 325 degrees, in a water bath. To do this, wrap the bottom of your pan with a double layer of aluminum foil, place the springform pan in a roasting pan, then fill the pan with boiling water until it is half way up the side of your springform pan. Most importantly, your cheesecake is done when it jiggles slightly in the middle, don't wait until a knife comes out clean, it will be overdone. Then, place it on your counter after baking for about 30 minutes, then put into the refrigerator, uncovered for a few hours. Then wrap with plastic and let it set overnight, yes, you need to wait. This produces a perfectly baked, creamy, crack free cheesecake every time, regardless of the type of cheesecake. This one is super good, try it.

I'm giving this 4 stars only because I changed so many things about it. The main part is that I used 1/2 mascarpone and 1/2 cream cheese. Also, if you're going to bother using real vanilla beans, don't throw vanilla extract in there (which is likely not that high quality anyway), just use about 5 vanilla beans, and you're fine. And if you actually want to TASTE the cheesiness, then use 1/2 the sugar recommended. Using 1/2 & 1/2 instead of heavy cream also doesn't take a way from the flavor, and keeps the flavor lighter.

I am not a big fan of Cheesecakes but was asked to make one. I choose this recipe and it turned out great. The only thing I would change the next time is to add more vanilla bean or extract.

I'm rating the actual cheesecake part because I went with a traditional graham cracker crust instead of the vanilla sandwich cookie crust. I had just found a super good buy on fresh vanilla beans and was searching for the perfect recipe to showcase them. This is the recipe I chose and it is delicious! It's a somewhat dense cheesecake - not light or fluffy in any way. Even though I put the seeds of 3 whole vanilla beans into my cheesecake batter, the telltale black specks were not evident. But even so, the flavor was out of this world. I must comment on the baking time though. My cheesecake ended up being in the oven for close to 2 hours even though the recipe states 1 hour 20 minutes. I was so worried it would be dry but I shouldn't have worried. I turned off the oven when the very middle of the cheesecake was only slightly still jiggly and then left it in the turned off oven, with the oven door ajar, for another hour. Then I wrapped it well (still in the unmolded springform pan) in plastic wrap and placed it in the fridge overnight. Let me add that after it had cooled all night the middle was slightly lower than the sides so it wasn't the prettiest cheesecake and I'm not sure what caused that sinking but it didn't effect the texture or flavor. In fact, the texture of the cheesecake was very even throughout - whether next to the crust or in the middle of the cake. I topped mine with a lovely seedless raspberry sauce. Delicious!

My husband hates cheesecake and always begs me to make this one. I did omit the vanilla bean from the crust and just added it to the batter. I usually make mini cheesecakes (2in), and it is the perfect amount of batter and crust to make 48. It took me a while to figure out the temp and time I needed to cook the minis for, but I finally got it. I put a metal bowl of water on the bottom rack and cook on 300 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. I only have one pan, so it takes a while, but it is worth it. I've started to make these for every party we have or go to. Everyone loves it!

amazing!!!!!!!!! my springform pan broke, so i used a 9X13 and it worked just as well...i improvised and placed another 9X13 pan of just water on the other rack in my oven and it worked perfectly.....even had enough batter to make little individual cheesecakes

I find the Madigascar beans impart the vanilla flavor most are familiar with, so I used those. I figured that since I'm using the real thing with the beans, I couldn't just use artificially flavored vanilla cookies for the crust -so I used homemade vanilla bean sugar in a graham cracker crust! Was really good! Thank you for sharing!

I followed this recipe exactly, and it was delicious. I would add a little more vanilla, as others have said, but that is just a minor change. The crust is perfect - much better than a vanilla wafer crust or graham cracker. It tasted better the longer it sits in the fridge, so I'd suggest making a few days in advance.

Made exactly as directed, great recipe. Just makes too much, enough for a full 10" cheesecake plus a pan of mini's and still had a lot left over. Maybe scale back the amounts so there is less waste.

The directions said bake for an hour twenty minutes. I kept it in the oven for an hour twenty five. .... At this point the center didnt seem jiggly so I figured it was done. Well it wasn't done enough to tast like cheesecake. It was kind of cottage cheesy and puddingy.....also I should have listened to others and added more vanilla bean. Would not make again.

Absolutely delicious! I used 1 additional vanilla bean for the filling (I had several I wanted to use up) and Graham Cracker Crust I from this site. I did have additional filling and made individual cupcakes using Nilla wafers for the crust. Everyone loved them. I will make this again in the near future!

I made this for someone else so I didn't get to try it, but she said it was the best cheesecake she's ever tasted, period. The vanilla beans here are $10 each so I only used the two for the cake and didn't put any in the crust. I baked this in a water bath after encasing the pan in foil and it took 5 minutes longer than stated, probably just my oven. It turned out beautifully. The next day after chilling, I glazed it with chocolate ganache and splattered white and semisweet chocolate all over it, then masked it with a border of chocolate sprinkles. Very awesome looking in person! My cheesecake weighed in at 6 pounds!

The flavor of this cheesecake is AMAZING!!! I over cooked it a little because I forgot to reduce the heat after I baked my crust (from another recipe) and it was still amazing!!!! I made it the night before eating it, and it was the perfect balance of vanilla and cream cheese, and didn't taste eggy at all. This is definitely my new go-to cheesecake! The vanilla beans are SO worth it! Thanks for the awesome recipe!!!!

This was a creamy excellent cheesecake! I served it at an early Christmas gathering with friends. Everyone said that it was the best cheesecake they ever had and far surpassed those offered at restaurants. Really liked the cookie crust. I baked it an extra 20 minutes and the knife would never come out clean. The crust was a little over baked but not by much. I won't add the extra baking time again. This recipe is a keeper!!

One word: WOW!! This was excellent. Next time, however, I would not put the vanilla bean in the crust, I would just throw it into the batter with the other beans. This was my first time working with vanilla beans, and I will definitely be making this again. It did make a lot more batter than necessary, so I have a bowl of frozen, unbaked batter that I'm hoping I can use soon!

This rating is for the crust only. Using Vanilla Oreos is a fabulous idea. I used it with my old standby cheesecake recipe and it made it even better. I would reccomend using a food processor to finely grind the cookies though. Makes the whole process a lot easier. Thanks for the recipe.

DELISH!!! I made this for Thanksgiving and everyone loved it. A few changes I made... I used all three vanilla beans in the filling because it didn't mix well in the crust. Second, I greased the spring form pan very well which made the cheesecake come out easily. Then I mixed the melted butter with the ground up vanilla wafers to make the crust. To ground up the vanilla wafers, I used a blender. Only do a handful at a time because otherwise they will jam up. Great recipe loved by all!!!

AMAZING! This has become a thanksgiving tradition. My family asks me to make it every year. Some people who have tried it says its the best cheesecake they have ever had. The only difference I made was I added one more vanilla bean. Amazing. Thank you for sharing!!!!!!

I appreciate the recipe, but the artifical cookies and the real vanilla were off to me. I think it would be better with graham cracker crust. I put three vanilla beans in the cake and left it out of the crust like many suggested. I will keep looking but thanks for the recipe.

I was not thrilled by this recipe in any sort of way. I wish I hadn't wasted really expensive vanilla beans on it. It was ok cheesecake but not anything spectacular and didn't really showcase the vanilla bean very well (which is what I was hoping for). Adding the vanilla bean to the crust didn't add to it at all so I definitely wouldn't do that if you are going to make this recipe.

My husband loved this cheesecake! He is a bit of a cheesecale oficiando (sp), and he approved :-) His reposnse was that it was "cheesecake like a professional". I didn't use the crushed cookies. I used a premade graham craker crust and a poured melted butter on it and allowed that to sit while I prepared the filling. Following the recipe for the filling exactly made a lot of filling for the premade crust so next time I will cut the recipe in half or buy 2 pie crusts (one to give away...definitely too rich to keep in the house). Overall a great recipe!

I used a graham cracker crust & added 2 extra vanilla beans into the batter. It still didn't have a strong vanilla flavor but it was very good cheesecake! Thank you!!

This amazing... I love vanilla beans. I did use 3 vanilla beans (you can buy them on ebay for a really good deal). One thing I found out is that vanilla beans lose their flavor if cooked over 300 degrees so be careful when cooking.

Excellent!!!! Very impressive and very easy. Made one yesterday for a potluck....made another today just for my family..This is my receipe for now on.....

My family loves cheesecakes so when I found this recipe I had to try it. It was fabulous! My family now wants me to make two cheesecakes this one and my cappuccino cheesecake. When making my cappuccino cheesecake, I also use an Oreo cookie crust recipe and the water bath method and it comes out prefect every time. If you do not use the water bath method when using an Oreo cookie crust base, the crust will come out overcooked and have a burnt taste to it.

this was great, but did do some changes - used 4 vanilla beans in the cream cheese mixture and left out the extract. I also used a graham cracker crust from the site instead of the cookies, but added one bean to that also, for a total of 5 beans used in the recipe. This recipe makes a lot of filling, I made one cheesecake, 12 minis in a cupcake pan and still threw a little cream cheese mixture away. I had to make 1 2/3 recipes for the graham cracker crust so I had enough for the minis also. cheesecake is great!!

This cheesecake was amazing! My husband hates cheesecake and has asked that I make it again sometime. I made one with a store bought graham cracker crust and 1 with the Golden Oreo crust. The Golden Oreo crust is definitely worth the time and efort. Although I nixed the beans in the crust and added them to the cheesecake filling instead. Overall, I used 4 beans in the filling. and ditched the extract. I thought adding my cheap extract with my good beans seemed wrong. I would recommend this recipe to anyone. It was perfect.

This cheesecake was fabulous. I didn't put the vanilla bean in the crust, so that might have been even better if I had, but the cheese was a perfect texture. I like the specks of vanilla bean (I thought some people in the reviews were disappointed to not see those specks, but they were definitely in my cheesecake!). Thanks for a great recipe.

Yum! Best cheesecake I've ever had! I only did a few things differently, I used kirkland vanilla (winnie the pooh) crackers for the crust and I used 3 tbsp of Madagascar bourbon pure Vanilla bean paste, in the filling only, I also didn't have heavy cream, so I used the melted butter mixed with milk trick. I will be making this again!

Best cheesecake recipe EVER. Added an extra vanilla bean to the cheesecake, might take a smidge of sugar out next time, and doesn't need to sit in the oven for an hour and a half. I left mine in for an hour and then let it sit in the springform pan for another hour. Made some blueberry sauce to go along with -- superb!

ELECTRIC PRESSURE COOKER VERSION! I didn't see a review so here is what I did to adapt. I used a 7" springform pan in my 6 qt electric pressure cooker but it would have fit 8" easily. For this, I used about 7 oz of cookies for the crust Half of all other ingredients except 3 eggs (instead of the 5 first called for) I added 2 cups of water to the bottom of my PC, and a metal trivet. I put my PC on "warm" to preheat it while I prepped the ingredients. I poured the ingredients in all the way atop the crust-half of this recipe filled the 7" spring-form pan almost to the top. I took a long sheet of tin foil, folded triangles at the two ends, and placed the loaded spring-form pan on the foil, pinching the ends together as in a handle (like a triangle, cheesecake nestled on the bottom). Placed this in the PC, sealed it up, and placed it on high for 24 minutes. Allowed NATURAL RELEASE as it continues to cook during this time. It did not swell up noticeably, so don't worry about it overflowing into the pot. Took out using the handles, still in place in the pot, and removed cheesecake. If there is any condensation on the top of the cake, gently blot with a napkin/papertowel. I allowed to cool at room temp and then bring down to fridge temp. Sets up fully once it's cold. Note: also took the half recipe and made two 7" versions - but cooked for 20 min each with natural release. Worked great too!

I love this recipe, have made it several times, and it never disappoints. I haven't ever used the oreo cookies for the crust though, I am a die-hard graham cracker crust fan, however I have used I cup finely chopped pecans and 1 cup finely ground graham crackers for a different taste and crunchiness to the crust. The filling as per this recipe is divine

Couldn't find Vanilla bean, so I added extra vanilla. It came out great held together nicely with little or no cracks even without a water bath.

One of the best cheesecakes I have had. My father in law requests it every year for his birhday. I do not add the vanilla bean to the cookie crust as I feel it does not do that much as far as taste goes. I have made this several times and it comes out perfectly every time. Amazing! Thank you so much for this recipe!

This was an excellent recipe! I did not put vanilla beans in the crust and I used 4 vanilla beans in the cheesecake portion of the cake. I baked the cake, let it sit in the oven and then I had to leave so I wrapped it and put it in the refrigerator. When I looked at it the next day, it had a big crack down the middle, which didn't look very nice!!! I topped it with homemade whipped cream and homegrown strawberries and this was a huge hit in my house!!! I have made many excellent cheesecake recipes in my day but this one was one of the best that I have ever made!!!

Delicious cheesecake! I followed the ingredients with the exception of the vanilla and vanilla beans. I added the beans from 4 pods and then added an extra tablespoon of vanilla extract. I also baked mine in a water bath just as a previous poster had mentioned! Turned out perfect with no cracks! Yay! My house smelled amazing! My daughter was delighted with her birthday cake! Thank you for a great recipe!

Ooo so fattening, but oh so good! Tina your advice for baking is great! Thank you. If you really want to make it special, get Rain's Choice vanilla beans and extract from http://vanilla.com. You won't have to add more vanilla as others suggested with that brand because the extracts and beans there are unbelievably rich and flavorful. I also substituted the sugar in this recipe with Rain's Choice vanilla sugar and it was amazing!

I made this and it was a hit. I did make some minimal changes. Instead of using regular cream cheese, I used Cinnamon Swirl Cream Cheese because I love Cinnamon as a spice. I just made a graham cracker crust, but other than those changes I stuck to the recipe and it came out great. There was ample enough filling left for me to make 8 mini pies. This was a great recipe!

Not the best I've ever had, but very tasty! I used Nilla Wafers for the crust and no vanilla pod in the crust itself. I did low fat cream cheese, 4 vanilla pods (perfect amount of black specks) and whipping cream in the batter. Mine cracked in the oven but still tasted very good. Served with fresh strawberries, it was *very* yummy. A little tweaking and it could easily be a 5 star for me!

I have made alot of cheesecake's, this one takes the prize. Very creamy lots of taste !!!! My family loved it !!!

Super easy & delicious! This makes enough batter to also make some mini cheesecakes.

Overall this cheesecake was delicious. Hubby said best cheesecake I have made yet. I would agree with others that this would have been better with graham cracker crust.

Awesome recipe! I doubled the recipe because I was cooking for alot of family and it was gone. Thanks!

A good basic cheesecake recipe though remember to always check the tips and tricks other commenters write like when to take it out for a beautiful appearance and never be afraid to substitute anything--though be careful when substituting fundamental ingredients like the eggs and cream cheese--and always add what you like to suit your taste! For instance, I I have no heavy cream at home but I looked up recipes to make it and so they called for Dairy Milk & butter or margarine, I went with almond milk and it turned out fine. It didn't affect the flavor or texture of the cake at all. I also used almond cookies as my cookie base for the crust instead of vanilla wafers and it tasted just fine, although next time I will go with my gut and bake the crust before adding the feeling so that it doesn't crumble as much. Finally, just because I had them on hand and I was really feeling it, I took some strawberries and blended it and swirled them on top of my cake both for the pretty design and the extra flavor.

very good!

This cheese cake is always a hit with friends and family, pretty straightforward and tastes absolutely divine!

I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out amazing! I've made this 3 times now since I found the recipe 2 months ago. My 2 teenage boys loved it so much begged for this every month!

I will definitely make this again. I did make a couple changes. I used a qraham cracker crust instead of the cookie crust and I used a water bath when baking. My oven is small and the racks sit close to the heating element, the water bath kept the bottom from overheating. The flavor is very good, and the vanilla is very prevalent. It set up very nicely with no cracks. Next time I think I will reduce the sugar a little. This paired nicely with a blueberry lemon topping.

So tasty! Everybody ADORED the crust and the filling was to die for!

Amazing!! I am not a fan of cheesecake but this was amazing. My husband loved it and he's a huge fan of cheesecake. I have tried other recipes before but nothing compares to this one. I used one vanilla bean in the crust and 3 in the batter. I also cooked the cake 15 minutes longer than directed because it was still pretty jiggly and it came out perfect

Best cheesecake ever!

Haven't tasted anything but the batter yet, I just took it out of the oven and it got cooked a little to long and the top is a dark brown, I'd recommend starting the timer for an hour rather than cooking for a full 1:20 right off of the bat, it's my fault for going straight to the maximum estimated time. Also the recipe was too big for my 9 1/2 inch by 2 inch springform pan, I ended up making two of them, one in each 9 1/2 inch round springform pan, this recipe worked out swell for making two cheesecakes.

This is the best cheesecake ever.....It has the the texture of a NewYork Style Cheesecake!!

Best cheesecake ever!

Wow - this was really good. A bit pricey (I couldn't believe how expensive the Vanilla Beans were), but a great Vanilla Bean Cheesecake!

A wonderfully delicious cheesecake!! I used tina2972's review as guidance. A very popular cheesecake for the family. The mother-in-law kept what was left and would not share!!!

Excellent Cheesecake. Could have used more vanilla beans, but it was quite good.

Delicious!!

I've made this a few times and it has turned out awesome every time. It always makes too much for my 9" springform so last time I made a cupcake tray of cheesecake bites. Changes: Use half sugar. I read the suggestion from a couple commenters and this is a good one. Used 5 vanilla beans(total) instead of extract. I've never used a traditional water bath but I place a dish filled with boiling water on the bottom rack. This has worked every time for THIS recipe. I always let the cheesecake cool off in the oven for an hourish, then pull it out and let it cool for another hour or so.

I was not impressed with the flavor, it was a little bland.

Everyone was raving about this cheesecake. I followed some other reviews and used four vanilla beans instead of just one in the cheesecake. So good!

My kids referred to this as the "ice cream" cheesecake since it was so creamy! I agreed with other bakers that using vanilla extract doesn't make sense so used 5 vanilla beans and omitted extract. Crust was very good but tended to crumble so may pre-bake next time. I baked as instructed and it came out crack-free! Would recommend ordering your vanilla beans online to avoid paying $$$ in stores. Definitely a keeper!

I made this for Christmas and it was a tremendous hit. It was really creamy and delicious. . It was my first time using vanilla beans.I put all 3 of them in the batter.I also think that the large pack of cookies was a little much for the crust . The next time I will use the slightly smaller package.Thanks so much for the recipe......nunnysue

Excellent recipe. I did make it with the traditional graham cracker crumb coating for the sides and bottom, but the cookie coating sounds really good. The only difference I did with the actual cheesecake was add two tbs of flour as I had seen that recommended on a couple of other sites (I don't know if this really made a difference in the end product). The Cheesecake was outstanding and it was the first time that I had worked with actual vanilla beans. Too much fun. Thanks for this definate keeper!!!!!!! Kass

Too many eggs, 3 would be plenty, can also reduce the cream cheese by 8 oz and cut back on the sugar by 1/2 cup. The amount of vanilla bean is subjective, but I really think the crust doesn't need the vanilla bean in it, just add that to the filling.

I’ve made this twice now, both times following the recipe almost exactly and it’s delicious! The only change I made was to use extract in the crust. Maybe I’m cheap, but to scrape a seed into a crust seemed a little much. It tasted fantastic even with this small change. The baking directions worked out fine, no cracks either time. It does seem to have better taste and texture a day or two out. I also found that this pairs perfectly with the salted caramel sauce, also on this site!

Absolutely without a doubt, the best cheesecake I have ever had! My family begs me to make it! It is rich so a small slice is all you will need. I leave out the vanilla bean in the the crust- it is not needed and the beans in the store come in jars of two anyway.

I absolutely loved this. I used 4 tsp of vanilla bean paste in the cake and opted for graham cracker crust the third time I made it. Cookies were a bit sweet for us. I did the water bath deal and it came out perfectly after about an hour at 325 (f). Thank you for this recipe, it’s a keeper!