Looking for the perfect dessert for summer? This Fresh Peach Cheesecake is a New York Style Cheesecake with a hidden layer of sweet peach compote that puts this cheesecake over the top. Way over the top!
One of the things I love about summer is that it’s peach season. Juicy ripe peaches are so plentiful at the market this time of the year. There’s nothing like peaches in season, and this fresh peach cheesecake recipe showcases the sweet succulent fruit.
It’s been a while since I made a cheesecake and while rummaging through a box of old recipes last week, I a Fresh Peach Cheesecake Recipe from the July 2002 issue of Bon Appetit. I modified the recipe slightly and am thrilled with the results.
This is by far the best homemade cheesecake I have ever made, and my favorite peach dessert recipe. Homemade Peach Ice Cream is another favorite peach dessert of mine. Did you know you can grill peaches too? Grilled peaches are amazing with this grilled pork recipe with cucumber mint sauce. YUM.
I decided on a classic graham cracker crust for this cheesecake, since that’s what I had on hand, and am very pleased with the choice. Gingersnaps would make a nice crust too. I think I’ll try that next time.
This is a make-ahead dessert. You’ll need to begin preparing this dessert at least one day in advance, but trust me when I say that this cheesecake is worth every bit of love and effort you put into it, and it is worthy of a special occasion.
Why You’ll Love Fresh Peach Cheesecake
- Rich and creamy
- The perfect balance of flavors
- Your friends and family will know this dessert was made with love
For your convenience, a printable version of the recipe with exact measurements is at the bottom of the page.
Crust Ingredients:
graham crackers crumbs
butter
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling:
peaches
sugar
lemon juice
cream cheese
eggs
sour cream
vanilla extract
Peach Topping:
peach preserves
lemon juice
peach
How to Make Peach Cheesecake
For Crust:
- Step One: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Step Two: Add melted butter to graham cracker crumbs and stir until evenly moistened. Press crust mixture over the bottom and 1 inch up sides of the springform pan. You want a nice thick crust. Bake crust until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Cool on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
For Filling:
- Step One: Combine peaches, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon juice in heavy large saucepan. Cover and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and peaches are juicy, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Step Two: Uncover and cook until peaches are tender and juices thicken, about 5 minutes. Cool compote.
- Step Three: Using electric mixer, on low speed or in the bowl of a stand mixer beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream and vanilla.
- Step Four: Spoon half of cheesecake batter (about 3 cups) into crust. Spoon peach compote over by tablespoonfuls, spacing apart. Top with remaining cheesecake mixture.
- Step Five: Place large piece of foil on oven rack. Place pan with cheesecake on foil. Bake until puffed, set in center, and beginning to brown, 60 to 75 minutes, until brown on top and center is set. Low and slow is what you want.
- Step Six: Place hot cheesecake on cooling rack; cool 5 minutes. Run small sharp knife around edge of cheesecake to loosen from pan. Place cheesecake, uncovered, on rack in refrigerator and chill overnight. (Can make up to 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)
Glaze Topping:
- Step One: Combine preserves and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until glaze comes to simmer. Strain into small bowl. Release pan sides; place cheesecake on platter.
- Step Two: Spread glaze over top of cheesecake to within 1/4 inch of edge. Chill cheesecake until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours. Arrange peach slices in center of cake and serve.
- Note: This baked peach cheesecake recipe has been updated since original posting to add an optional 15 minutes of baking time. I realized my oven temp was off at the time of original posting. Please bake until beginning to brown on top and center is set.
- If you don’t see peaches in your local market, you can order peaches online.
This post contains affiliate links.
Equipment Needed
- 9 inch diameter springform pan
- heavy duty foil
- stand mixer
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Use room temperature ingredients for cheesecake.
- To prevent cheesecake from splitting on top, use the water bath method. Place a shallow pan of hot water into the oven while cheesecake is baking.
- Use full fat cream cheese for the best texture.
Variations and Substitutions
- Instead of a graham cracker crust, use gingersnaps or shortbread cookies.
- Use almond extract in place of vanilla.
- Use apricots in place of peaches.
Storage Instructions
Store any leftover peach cheesecake in the refrigerator in an airtight container or on the serving plate covered in plastic wrap for up to 5 days.
Can I freeze Peach Cheesecake?
Yes, you can freeze this cheesecake. Once completely cooled, wrap well in plastic wrap and then foil. Freeze for up to one month. Thaw in refrigerator overnight, before serving.
Can I use canned or frozen peaches?
Absolutely. If using canned peaches, just be sure to strain off any excess juice or syrup.
More Summer Dessert Recipes You’ll Love
Fresh Peach Cheesecake
Equipment
- springform pan
- heavy duty foil
- stand mixer
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1/2 cup 1 stick butter, melted
Filling:
- 4 small peaches about 1 1/4 pounds, peeled, pitted, sliced 1/4 inch thick
- 2 tablespoons plus 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 4 8- ounce packages cream cheese room temperature
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Glaze:
- 3/4 cup peach preserves
- 2 1/4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 large peach peeled, pitted, very thinly sliced
Instructions
- For Crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Add butter to graham cracker crumbs and stir until evenly moistened.
- Press crumbs over bottom and 1 inch up sides of a 9-inch-diameter springform pan with 2 3/4-inch-high sides.
- Bake crust until beginning to brown, about 8 minutes. Cool on rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees F.
- For Filling: Combine peaches, 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon juice in heavy large saucepan.
- Cover and cook over medium-high heat until sugar dissolves and peaches are juicy, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
- Uncover and cook until peaches are tender and juices thicken, about 5 minutes. Cool compote.
- Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese in large bowl until fluffy. Gradually add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Mix in sour cream and vanilla.
- Spoon half of cheese mixture (about 3 cups) into crust.
- Spoon peach compote over by tablespoonfuls, spacing apart.
- Top with remaining cheese mixture.
- Place large piece of foil on oven rack. Place pan with cheesecake on foil. Bake until puffed, set in center, and beginning to brown, 60 to 75 minutes, until brown on top and center is set.
- Place hot cheesecake on rack; cool 5 minutes.
- Run small sharp knife around pan sides to loosen. Place cheesecake, uncovered, on rack in refrigerator and chill overnight. (Can make up to 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.)
- For Glaze: combine preserves and lemon juice in heavy small saucepan. Stir over medium heat until glaze comes to simmer. Strain into small bowl.
- Release pan sides; place cheesecake on platter. Spread glaze over top of cheesecake to within 1/4 inch of edge.
- Chill cheesecake until glaze sets, at least 30 minutes and up to 8 hours. Arrange peach slices in center of cake and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
First published on August 13, 2013, this recipe has since been updated for images and content. The scrumptious peach cheesecake recipe remains the same.
I love peaches AND I love cheesecake 🙂
That looks amazing!! I have never had peaches on cheescake!
Oh my pregnant tummy finds this so delicious. If I eat the whole cake it counts as getting all my fruit servings for the day right? Great recipe.
My thoughts exactly 😉
Oh my goodness, that looks delicious! Save me a piece – I’m on my way 😉
Yummy – dessert. Peaches are such a great flavor for the summer.
This looks amazing! I could go for a huge slice right now.
I’m so jealous that this cheesecake is sitting at your house right now and I can’t have a piece. That looks sooooo good!
LOOKS AMAZING!!!! I’d love to give it a try
Wow, that looks sooooooo good! I’m trying to watch it right now, so you’re killing me. *drooling*
This looks so good! I have peaches too! : )
I’m not much of a peach eater, but that looks good. I wonder if strawberries would work well.
I love peaches too and usually treat myself to a cobbler or two for the summer.
Since my husband and son don’t like “cooked” fruit I even figured out a way to make a mini cobbler using one peach and bisquick!
Oooh – peach cheesecake sounds divine. I too love this time of year and all of the yummy fresh fruits that are available.
I have never tried a peach cheesecake. Sounds YUM!
I’ve never had peaches on a cheesecake before. Looks amazing!
There are few things I love more than a good cheesecake! Pinning this for an upcoming cheat day dessert.
I love peaches so I am thinking I would love this!!
OMG!! This looks so awesome, and I’ve never had Peach cheesecake. I wish I could cook. Maybe I can get my mother to make this! LOL
Oh my wow! This looks so yummy. I will definitely be making this, pinning the recipe. Thanks so much for sharing.
Ohhh I can’t wait to try this. It sounds and looks YUMMY! I also have a problem with Peach Skin, and I can tell you that I have switched to Nectarines for this purpose. Thanks so much for the recipe!
This dessert looks decadent… exactly what I’m looking for. Wondering if I can substitute with other type of fruit as well.
Thanks! I imagine you could substitute just about any fruit for the compote.
Oh my! Nothing says South like yummy peaches. Stopping by from Anything Goes Tuesday party.
Thanks so much for linking this up with The Southern Special! I love peaches and can’t wait to try this! My mom would make a peach cheesecake every year for my birthday and that happens to be this month! So I may be making this later in the month! Have a great week!
This looks amazing! I found you on the Linky Party from A Pretty Life in the Suburbs.
Thanks for coming and linking up at #The Weekend Social. Please be sure to come back next week starting Thursdays at 9PM EST on Kitchen Dreaming.com ! I hope to see you there! pinned
Thanks so much for sharing at our Cook it! Craft it! Share it! Link Party. Hope you can join us this wednesday night at 8:30 PM EST -Doree
I love fresh peaches and I live in the peach state!That looks so delicious.Thank you for sharing ~I pinned it so I can try this at home 🙂
I saw this on your facebook page so I had to come by and get the recipe for this. I love peaches and I love cheesecake but never thought about the two combined.
making a homemade cheesecake can be intimidating…but followed recipe exactly and was quite easy!! cant wait for it to come out of the oven!!!
This looks like a great recipe, but I will substitute the graham cracker crust for the nilla wafer crust… yum!
I made this yesterday and finished up the glaze this morning. I decided not to strain the glaze and it was wonderful. I used a water bath and had no cracks. Also, I cooked it 1 hour and 20 minutes. One hour just didn’t seem long enough. Glad I added the extra time as it was very creamy. Rave reviews from the family!! Now, to try it with strawberries!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for your notes on the additional baking time. We realized a while back that our oven temp was running a little hot.
i made this today! I wish I had read all the way down to the last comments – one hour and I pulled it out. The center appeared set and the top was browning. Unfortunately, when it was all cooled and glazed, I cut into a gooey undone mess. An extra 20 to 25 minutes would have been perfect. Bravo on the recipe, though, it smelled fantastic!!! The ginger snap crust was awesome, and we picked away at that before the rest of it hit the garbage. I will give it another try next peach season!!!
Hi Natalie! Thanks so much for your note. I am sorry the cheesecake didn’t set for you in the time I recommended. I added some additional notes to the recipe to allow for some additional baking time if necessary. It’s such a delicious cheesecake. I hope you will try making it again.
DO NOT TAKE THE RING OFF AFTER ONLY FIVE MINUTES OF COOLING, FOUND OUT THE HARD WAY. YOU SHOULD CHANGE THOSE INSTRUCTIONS!!!!
Hi Juli, the recipe calls for running a knife around the cake to loosen it after 5 minutes of cooling. You don’t remove the ring until it has been in the refrigerator. Sorry if that wasn’t clear enough in the recipe.
I know, I saw that later…I resurrected it into ramekins and added the glaze and topped it with peach slices…it was delicious…and for five minutes the most glorious cheesecake I have ever seen!
Just made this cheesecake
Few questions
Do you have to refrigerate a full 8 hours ir can that time be cut in half
Also I used gingersnaps for the crust
Have not tasted yet hope it will be as yummy as it looks
I would recommend letting it set in the fridge for the full 8 hours. A gingersnap crust sounds wonderful. I hope you enjoyed.
Also I am using canned peach pie filling