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Cheesecake has always been one of my guilty pleasures. But I try to keep the guilty feelings to a minimum. After all, how could anyone find it possible to resist its smooth creamy melt in your mouth filling on a crunchy, cookie-sweet crust, not to mention all of the flavor options and toppings?! I’d been craving cheesecake for a while, and this past weekend I finally gave in. I tried to resist, but after coming across an unopened bottle of Baileys Irish Cream in the cupboard, I just couldn’t hold myself back any longer…and so this decadent beauty was born. Cheesecake has always been classified as one of the more elegant dessert options at restaurants and delis, yet it is surprisingly easy to make for yourself at home. Many bakers, including myself, have struggled with the challenge of getting it to just the right consistency and avoiding a huge nasty crack across the top. But with some research and practice, I finally discovered the secret! It’s a combination of patience, technique, and knowing what a cheesecake should actually look like when it’s done baking. Below is my recipe for a luscious twist on this old classic custard.
Crust
- 18 Oreo cookies
- 4 Tablespoons of butter (melted)
Filling
- 2 ¼ Pounds of cream cheese
- 1 2/3 Cups of sugar
- 1 Cup of Baileys Irish Cream
- 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
- 5 Eggs
- Garnish
Preparing the crust
Preheat your oven to 350⁰F. Place whole cookies in a large ziplock bag and crush them until you get tiny crumbs. (I like to hammer them to bits with my cast iron skillet but many people prefer a rolling pin.)
Mix together melted butter and crushed cookies then press the mixture along the bottom and sides of a greased 10-inch springfoam pan. Bake for 7 minutes.
Preparing the filling
***Make sure ALL ingredients are at room temperature before beginning (this helps to prevent lumps and cracks in your cheesecake).
In a large bowl beat cream cheese until smooth, then gradually beat in sugar. Next, gently mix in Baileys and vanilla while being careful not to incorporate too many air bubbles.
Finally, add eggs one at a time and mix just until blended. Pour over your prebaked crust.
Fill a medium sized pan with water and place it on the bottom rack of your oven and preheat your oven to 350⁰F. (The steam from the water will help prevent your cheesecake from cracking and keep it moist so that it’ll have a nice golden color and creamy texture.) Once your oven is preheated, put your cheesecake in there and bake it for 1 hour.
Turn the oven off and let your cheesecake rest inside. (It should be a very pale golden color and still be quite wobbly.)
After about an hour, remove your cheesecake from the oven, and run a sharp knife between the cheesecake and the wall of your pan. (As your cheesecake cools it’ll begin to shrink which will cause cracking…not being stuck to the side of the pan will prevent that).
Return your cheesecake to the oven to cool completely before transferring it to the fridge (cheesecakes don’t respond well to sudden temperature changes so letting it cool gradually is your best bet in preventing cracks). Let your cheesecake set in the fridge for at least 12 hours and garnish immediately before serving.
Omigosh, you made this?! It’s BEAUTIFUL!!
Cheesecake is definitely my weakness too!
I did! Thank you…this is definitely the prettiest one I’ve ever made!
And I was wondering from where that tasty perfume is coming!
Vraiment bravo
I hope that I will succeed preparing one with half of the quantities. I guess I’ll try 2 big eggs instead.
Thanks a lot for your efforts
Best wishes,
*ghasp!* you caught me! Haha yes this cheesecake is about 5lbs and probably not good for my figure so I gave most of it away to some very happy people. Half quantities should work well just don’t forget to adjust your bake time! Let me know how it comes out.
I will be making this.Cheesecake is my down fall and this is beautiful!
Yay! Thank you! Let me know how it goes!
I LOVE the decor of this cheesecake, it looks incredible
Cheers
CCU
Awww thank you! It was actually my first time working with chocolate. I got sucked into watching youtube videos on the subject and one thing lead to another. lol! Cheers!
I think this was the recipe Pavlov used to get his dogs to salivate. I can tell you it works for humans, too: it took me half an hour to clean my keyboard before I could type this… : P
A delicious and totally devastating post!! : )
Lol! Don’t forget the drool you left on the floor…that can lead to a scary slip and fall!
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Baileys and cheesecake?! Eeeeek!
super excited!!! And call me crazy but I always liked when they crack. Makes it took more homemade lol. I didn’t know it was preventable! Now I must try that as well! And the chocolate shavings just add such a gorgeous touch! Job well done! Beyond well done! 
Thank you so much for sharing! Super inspiring!
Ah thank YOU so much! I think the next time I make it I might try using one of the flavored Baileys and see if that makes it even more intoxicatingly delicious. The homemade look is cool and often times super yummy but I’m kind of twisted and like to make people think that my stuff come from a bakery….I even go as far as buying bakery boxes…”Where’d you get this from?!” is pretty much my favorite complement.
Hahahaha!!! That is a pretty funny idea. I have a lot of friends that have their own bakeries so I would feel like I was cheating if I tried to pass it off as bought lol. But at least if something doesn’t come out right you can “blaim it on the bakery!”
I have my ingredients out and warming to room temp 
definitely making half this amount though after I noticed it is very similar to my go-to recipe already but doubled! Carmel Bailey’s would be really good! Then drizzle caramel and add chocolate and walnuts for a sassy turtle cheesecake 
Godiva makes awesome liquors as well 
I used to bartend 
Mine still cracked… oh well. I might have let it cook on full temp too long also. Plus its a new apartment so still getting used to the stove. But this is the creamiest cheesecake I’ve ever made! I really think letting the ingredients and the eggs especially warm up first definitely helped and the water!!! It was way more moist and just smooth like pudding compared to the past fluffier cheesecakes my recipe has produced.. I used my recipe, added the Irish cream and used your advice for the most part and I think it made a huge difference! It is worth the extra effort!
thank you again! 
Wow you get to work fast! Boo on the cracking…I agree shorter time and no peeking as it bakes!
I’m super glad that the texture and and yummy factor were to your liking. And AWESOME idea with the Godiva liquor….I’m planning to bake another cheesecake this week and Godiva sounds like a delicious substitute for Baileys. Thank you so much for the recipe review…don’t forget to share your cheesecake this time! 
This is beautiful! I love Bailey’s but haven’t used it in cheesecake — yet. I use the Wilton Baking Strips to keep my cheesecakes from cracking. They work really well. I’m too lazy to use the water bath method, and on days I’m making 2 or more cheesecakes, the water bath isn’t practical.
Oooh I hear so many good things about those Wilton Baking Strips…I think I may just have to give in an try them out. Thanks!
This looks wonderful!
Thank you!
Beautiful cake! gorgeous presentation, too. thanks for following my blog!
Thank you! And how could I not follow your blog with so many yummy looking recipes and food pictures!