THE RELUCTANT GOURMET COOKING COMMUNITY

mastercooker · Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 6

Hello everyone does anyone here knows how to bake cheese cake? :?:

jfield · Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 553 Location: Cary, NC

If it has starch in it, bake in a graham cracker (or other crust) at 325-350F until just slightly jiggly in the center.

If it doesn't contain starch, bake at about 275F in a water bath until just barely jiggly in the center.

Apparently, today is National Cherry Cheesecake Day, and I just wrote about this very subject in my blog. :)

mastercooker · Joined: 20 Apr 2009 Posts: 6

Thanks for sharing this info :D

NatalieAE · Joined: 12 Feb 2009 Posts: 51

I read somewhere that if you put a pan of water on the rack below the rack containing your cheesecake, that the cheesecake will not crack as much. Anyone know if this is true? I'm not really concerned with it cracking so much myself... it's normally got fruit on top to cover cracks anyway. Just curious!

jfield · Joined: 18 Nov 2007 Posts: 553 Location: Cary, NC

In my experience, the main issue with cracking is having whipped some air into the batter. If you do that, it rises and then falls and cracks. Mixing the cheesecake batter on low, making sure to get the cream cheese completely smooth before adding any liquid ingredients, and baking in a larger pan of water can a)keep the thing from rising and b) regulate the temperature so the mixture doesn't boil and curdle. (Since the water will never get over 212F (or thereabouts) you don't need to worry about the filling overheating. Lots of folks advocate cooling the cake in the oven with the door open so the temp doesn't fall too quickly. This also helps to keep it from cracking.