Worth Eating Off the Floor: How to Make the Legendary ‘Friends’ Cheesecake from Mama's Little Bakery

Even though the iconic TV show Friends is, well, about friends trying to make it in a big city, sometimes it’s the food that would come between them. Even those not considering themselves Friends’ diehard fans will remember the Season 7 episode “The One with All the Cheesecakes” that had Rachel and Chandler obsessing over a local bakery’s cheesecake and even fighting for one on the building’s floor.

You might not want to taste it like this, but the recipe for the identical cheesecake guarantees you’ll never try anything better than this.

Ingredients: 310 g of cookies , 150 g of butter, 600 g of cream cheese, 150 g of sugar, 3 eggs, 200 g of 33% heavy cream, 1 tsp of lemon juice, zest from one lemon.

Crush the cookies into fine crumbs using a blender, then pour in the melted butter. Press the mixture into a baking pan using a glass. Bake the crust in an oven preheated to 200°C for 10 minutes, then let it cool (still in the pan).

In a bowl, mix the cream cheese, lemon juice, and sugar. Add the eggs one at a time, then add the heavy cream and lemon zest, and mix with a whisk. (If you are using a mixer, beat on the lowest speed — you just need to mix it).

Pour the cheese mixture into the cooled crust, smooth the top, and bake at 160°C for 40–50 minutes. Afterward, turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake inside for 2 hours, then place it in the fridge for a couple of hours (preferably overnight).