Smooth and creamy baked matcha cheesecake with a buttery base. This two-toned green tea cheesecake is rich and delicious.
If you are looking for the perfect matcha cheesecake this is the one. I've spent years perfecting my base cheesecake recipe and I can assure you that this will be one of the creamiest cheesecakes you have ever eaten!
Cheesecakes are one of the loves of my life, but when I started out baking they gave me so much strife. Getting a smooth, crack free baked cheesecake can be extremely finicky and I've had my fair share of troubles. Follow these tips for the perfect cheesecake!
How to create a smooth cheesecake
Work with room temperature ingredients
Working with cold cream cheese can be a nightmare. Unless it has come to room temperature cream cheese tends to gets lumpy when mixed with other ingredients. This causes your batter to have large chunks throughout.
Mixing other cold ingredients into the batter can also cause room temperature cream cheese to clump up again.
If you find the batter has gotten clumpy you can press it through a fine meshed sieve. This will get rid of any large chunks.
Alternatively you can create the cheesecake batter in a food processor, and lumps won't be a problem at all!
Baking temperature and time
The best way to create a smooth cheesecake is baking it on a low heat for a longer period of time.
How to make a cheesecake with no cracks
Mix as little as possible
When making the batter for the cheesecake do not overmix. Only mix until the ingredients have been incorporated. Over mixing the batter can cause the formation of air bubbles. Air bubbles will rise to the surface of the cake in the oven, and when they reach the top they can cause cracks.
If you think you have mixed the batter a lot there is a few tips!
- Pour the batter into the pan in a slow steady stream, from a slightly higher height. This will pop some air bubbles that have formed.
- Give the tin a few firm taps on the counter before baking. Then pop any visible bubbles on the surface of the cake.
Water Bath aka Bain-Marie
A water bath is essential when baking a cheesecake. It increases the moisture in the oven and evens out the baking temperature. This is the perfect environment for a cheesecake to bake crack free!
Most recipes will tell you to cover the bottom of your springform pan with aluminium foil before placing it in a water bath. I found that this isn't leak proof and can cause soggy crusts. The best way to double pan your cake. Simply place the cake tin in a slightly larger pan before placing that in a water bath!
Baking temperature and time
Baking the cheesecake at a slightly lower temperature will prevent a rapid rise. The rapid rise is often the reason a cheesecake cracks. To counterbalance the lower temperature a longer bake time is needed.
Let's Get Cooking
If you liked this recipe make sure to leave me a comment and rating down below, I would love to know how you went. Also don't forget to tag me on Instagram @catherine.desserts so I can see and share your desserts.
Follow me on facebook, pinterest, youtube and tiktok for more of my baking creations and updates! Until next time... happy caking!
Print📖 Recipe
Baked Matcha Cheesecake
A two-toned smooth, creamy and rich matcha cheesecake with a buttery base. This is the ultimate matcha baked cheesecake.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 60 minutes
- Total Time: 90 minutes
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Intermediate
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
Base
- 140 g Digestive/shortbread biscuits (5oz)
- 70 g Unsalted butter (⅓ cup)
Cheesecake
- 500 g Cream cheese (17.6oz)
- 130 g Sugar (⅔ cup)
- 150 g Plain greek yogurt or sour cream (½ cup 1 tsp)
- 150 g Thickened/Heavy cream (⅔ cup)
- 2 Eggs
- 1 tbsp Cornstarch
- Juice of ¼ a lemon
- 1 tbsp Matcha powder (I)
- 1 tsp Matcha powder (II)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170C/340F
- Place the cookies in the bowl of a food processor, blitz until a fine crumb
- Add melted butter and process until combined
- Transfer to a 8-inch springform tin and press the crumbs into the base with a smooth bottomed object (I use my measuring cups)
- In a bowl beat the cream cheese and sugar together until smooth
- Add the greek yogurt, thickened cream and cornstarch, beat until smooth
- Add the eggs and lemon juice and beat until no lumps remain
- Transfer half of the batter into a medium sized bowl and sift matcha powder (I) in, mix until completely combined
- Pour the batter over the base and smooth the top out
- Add matcha powder (II) to the remaining cheesecake batter, mix until smooth and pour into the cake tin
- Smoothen out the top and place the springform tin inside a larger tin
- Place the double tinned cake in a baking tray filled with 2cm of boiling water
- Place it all in the oven and bake for 60 minutes, then turn the heat off and leave in the oven for 30 minutes
- Cool and refrigerate overnight, or minimum 4 hours
- Serve with whipped cream!
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Strojenie Pianin
I definitely knew about most of this, but having said that, I still found it helpful. Nice work!
Ben Grounds
Great article
Catherine
Thank you!
anna sunright
Such an easy recipe! Easy to follow and easy to eat! Thanks a lot! I messed up the 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon measurements so I didn't get two different greens. The cake was still delicious nevertheless! Shared it with my friends and they all ate it deliciously. It's not as dense as it looks, and I used a 9" springform pan so it wasn't as tall as the recipe. However I was able to make 20 pieces out of the cake and they were perfect size for a snack! I also tried it with some red bean paste, it was a great combo! Instead of the strawberries I just dusted matcha powder on the top, I had too many bubbles come up. The tapping helped but I needed to tap for 5 minutes probably to get them all out.
Catherine Zhang
Hi Anna, Thanks for your comment! So glad you liked the cheesecake, and the combination of red bean paste and matcha sounds delicious!
Jodie
I would like to make this in a 9" spring form pan. Would you suggest adding another 1/2 of all ingredients?
Catherine Zhang
Yes! ❤️
Denise
How long can I keep it for in the fridge?
Also can I freeze it?
Thanks in advance.
Catherine Zhang
Hi Denise, It keeps for about 4 days in the fridge. You can definitely freeze it, just take it out of the freezer an let it thaw in the fridge before eating!
Naomi
Lovely recipe, Cat! Unfortunately I still ended up with a soggy bottom because I didn't have a slightly larger pan, but you did warn about it..
Catherine Zhang
Hi Naomi! So glad you liked the recipe. Yes soggy bottoms are always annoying...Even if it's an oven safe dish, anything that is slightly larger than your cake tin will help prevent soggy bottoms!
Lou
This matcha cheesecake was perfect and tasty. I searched far and wide and at the last minute found this one.
I made a raspberry coulis for it and drizzled it on when cut.
Thank you so much, the birthday boy - 18 year old - said it was just like the one at our favourite sushi train restaurant.
I will tag you on Insta, with a photo!
Catherine Zhang
Hi Lou, So glad you loved the cake. It sounds like it would be delicious with some raspberry coulis!
Louise Cain
Hi Naomi, I frequently make Cheesecakes, and my son requested one made with Matcha-- so I just went online & discovered your recipe. [Thanks! I'll be trying it, tomorrow.] FYI... you can ALSO get around the Water-bath dilemma by simply placing a small (separate) metal bowl of hot water in the back corner of your oven, prior to pre-heating it... The water will evaporate (during baking), providing the necessary moisture for the cheesecake-- without ever coming into direct contact with the cake pan. I've done this for years, it works great, & is MUCH easier to set/ clean up! I actually use this technique when baking ALL my desserts (not just cheesecakes)-- to enhance the overall moisture. Hope this is helpful! 😉
Catherine Zhang
Hi Louise! Thank you for that tip, I have heard of it but always opted for the waterbath underneath the cake I'll have to give it a go next time 🙂
Christian
Just made this cheesecake, made a few mistakes along the way as I'm new to baking. Thank you for the recipe!
Catherine Zhang
Hi Christian, all good, hope it turned out well regardless 🥳
David
Really nice and easy to follow recipe. I managed to get it non-cracked surface, but as it was cooling down outside after 90 minutes in the oven it started to crack on the edges. Also after the first hour of it being in the oven, I turned off the oven and let it sit for 30 minutes, the edges started browning. The temperature was correct, the ingredients was correct. I wasn't sure what I did wrong. I'm also wondering how long does it take for the cheesecake to reach room temperature? I've left it out for 2 hours and it's still slight warm. Thanks again for the recipe!
Catherine Zhang
Hi David, some ovens run higher than others, and some have areas that are hotter too! You can try turning your oven down by 10-20C next time, or cover it with a sheet of foil after an hour to prevent further color. As for the cracking it sounds like it rose slightly while baking. Try mixing your batter a little less, this will prevent it from rising too much and cracking as it cools. I usually leave my cheesecake out for an hour or so before putting it straight into the fridge, no need for it to be cooled completely. Hope this helps!
Joanna
This recipe was PERFECT!!!