This 9×13 cheesecake is perfect for breakfast and kosher for Pesach! Prep it in a bowl with just a whisk.
Last Pesach, I had an epiphany. I would kasher my milchig oven and bake cheesecake. Why hadn’t I thought about it before? Cheesecake tastes the same year round. The ingredients are the same. Right?
Well, that is, until we get to the crust.
Esti Waldman’s sister-in-law had told us that she used the Pesach Chocolate Chip Squares as a base for her cheesecake. All I had to do now was figure out which one of our family’s favorite cheesecakes I would use. Once I started thinking about that, I realized that I wanted this to be truly a 9×13 recipe and no electric beaters would need to be involved. Just a whisk. And a bowl.
That narrowed down the choices of cheesecake filling since I knew that we had to use whipped cream cheese (the tubs, NOT the bricks) so that it would be easy to mix.
The first time I prepared this cake, last year Pesach, I admit that I used a round springform pan and made it super fancy. It was a huge hit. The results were a tall, New York-style cheesecake and everyone wanted a piece the morning after the seder with their coffee.
When I shared my idea with the team, this year, they all immediately discarded the springform pan. “It needs to be a BCP-easy type of recipe” and “I’m not buying a pan just for this.”
And I admit that they were right. There is no reason to get all fancy, the cake is delicious in any shape. But, if you want, just know that it would work in a springform pan too.
First, prepare the cookie dough for the Pesach Chocolate Chip Squares just like we did in this post. You’re making them anyway, may as well make another batch for your cheesecake.
Mix right in the pan.
While that’s baking, mix the three cheesecake ingredients. It’s important for them to be room temperature as it’s harder to mix hard, cold cream cheese with just a whisk.
You can do it, no mixer required.
Pour the cheesecake mixture over the cooled crust. Do you see how our crust looks more golden than usual?
I overbaked it on purpose, so that it doesn’t get soggy under the cheesecake filling. It’s good for it to be a little drier than usual.
Finally, I added a sour cream topping (my favorite part!) and it balances out the sweetness of the crust well.
Don’t worry about it being sour. In your mouth, it all makes sense.
At the photoshoot, we all had a taste of this cake, and decided that this will be the Pesach version of Chocolate Chips Cheesecake Squares. We think you will love this as much as you loved those.
This cake can be baked in a toaster oven too.
9×13 Pesach Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping
Ingredients
Crust: (This crust is one recipe of Pesach Chocolate Chip Squares)
- 1 cup sugar
- 2¼ cups almond flour
- 1 cup chocolate chips (or equivalent chopped chocolate)
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking powder (optional)
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup oil
Filling:
- 2 (8 oz) containers whipped cream cheese, at room temperature
- ¾ cup sugar
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
Topping:
- 1 (16 oz) container sour cream
- 1 tbsp sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Prepare the Pesach Chocolate Chip Squares cookie dough, mixing together dry ingredients, then adding wet ingredients. Bake for 35-40 minutes. You want to over bake it a bit (the original recipe bakes for 25-35 minutes), as the drier it is the less soggy it will become once the cheesecake is on top of it. Let cool.
- Prepare the cheesecake mixture: in a bowl, combine room temperature cream cheese, sugar, and eggs. Use a whisk and mix until combined and not lumpy anymore. A few lumps are ok though.
- Pour over the cooled cake and return to the oven for 45-50 minutes, until it seems set.
- Let cool for a bit, and while it cools, prepare the topping: In a small bowl, mix together the sour cream with 1 tablespoon sugar. Pour over the cheesecake. Smooth by using an offset spatula or spoon. Cheesecake does not need to be completely cooled, 10-15 minutes is enough. Return to oven and bake an additional 15-18 minutes.
- Let cool and refrigerate. Cut into the cake only when chilled. Keep cake refrigerated.
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