Eli's Cheesecake
Photo: ZhengZhou · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Eli Schulman ran Eli's Ogden Huddle (1940), Eli's Stage Delicatessen, and Eli's The Place for Steak (1966) in Chicago, where Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. were regulars. In the late 1970s he developed his cheesecake recipe over a year of after-lunch testing, finalising four versions: original plain, chocolate chip, cinnamon raisin, and Hawaiian. The cake debuted at the inaugural Taste of Chicago in 1980 and sold so well that Eli's Cheesecake Company spun off as a standalone business. Eli's Original Plain has sold more than 2 million slices at Taste of Chicago and is consistently called Chicago's most famous dessert.

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Common allergens: Dairy, Gluten, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 23Hands-on 35 minTotal 24 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • For the all-butter shortbread crust: 250g plain flour
  • 80g caster sugar
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 200g unsalted butter softened
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • For the cheesecake filling: 900g full-fat cream cheese (Philadelphia, room temperature)
  • 200g caster sugar
  • 100ml sour cream
  • 3 large eggs plus 1 yolk, room temperature
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • finely grated zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 tbsp plain flour

Method

  1. Make the crust: rub butter into flour, sugar and salt to fine crumbs. Add yolk; bring together by hand into a smooth dough. Press across the bottom and 2cm up the sides of a 23cm springform tin lined with parchment.
  2. Refrigerate the crust 30 minutes. Bake at 170C (150C fan) for 18 minutes until pale gold. Cool fully.
  3. Reduce oven to 150C (130C fan).
  4. Beat the cream cheese in a stand mixer on low for 3 minutes until very smooth (do NOT beat fast; high speed introduces air and cracks the top).
  5. Add sugar; beat 2 more minutes. Scrape down.
  6. Beat in sour cream, vanilla and lemon zest.
  7. Add eggs and the extra yolk one at a time on low speed, beating just until combined after each. Sprinkle in the flour with the last egg; beat just until smooth.
  8. Pour the filling over the cooled crust. Bang the tin twice on the counter to release air bubbles.
  9. Bake 65 to 75 minutes. The edges should be set and pale gold; the centre 5cm should still wobble like jelly when tapped.
  10. Turn off the oven. Open the door 5cm; leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour as it cools slowly. This prevents cracking.
  11. Cool to room temperature on a rack, then refrigerate overnight (at least 8 hours).
  12. Run a hot knife around the edge of the tin before releasing; slice with a hot dry knife wiping between cuts.

Tip from the editors. Bring ingredients to room temperature; cold cream cheese lumps the batter, cold eggs shock the filling. Counter for 4 hours before mixing.

Where to eat eli's cheesecake

Eli's Cheesecake in Chicago

Featured by TableJourney as a signature dish of Chicago. See where to eat Eli's Cheesecake in Chicago or the Chicago signature dishes guide.

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