Why isn't my American-style baked cheesecake very sweet or rising significantly?

Question

I am trying to make a good American-style baked cheesecake.

I tried one recipe and it did not rise as much as I would have expected and it was not as sweet as I would have hoped.

Hope that someone can solve this problem for me!

thanks :)

Asked by Princess Fi

Answer

New-York style cheesecake shouldn't have much rise to it. The mixture is basically a custard and the only rise would come from steam created in bubbles that are incorporated during the beating process.

While a REALLY smooth texture is the goal, you don't want to aerate the batter as in other cakes or you'll end up with cracking on the surface from the expansion of the air bubbles. Pull the cream cheese out a couple hours in advance to ensure that it is at room temperature throughout. Eggs must also be at room temperature and can easily be warmed by putting the whole egg in a bowl of hot water from the tap for 5-10 minutes. Having these ingredients at room temperature will create a really smooth texture without beating in too much air.

In regard to sweetness, you might be able to increase the sugar slightly (compare the ratio of sugar to cream cheese in your recipe vs. others), but be careful not to add too much. Excessive sugar will make the custard too watery from the formation of sugar syrup and will make it difficult for it to set up.

Answered by Darin Sehnert

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Can cheesecake be cooked without a spring-form pan?

Question

I don't have a spring form pan but I watched a show where they seemed to cook their cheesecakes in regular pans. Is this possible or did I just not notice that they were in fact spring form pans?

I like cheesecake but don't really have the space to add another specialty pan to the kitchen, so any alternatives would be worth considering.

This is referring to a traditional baked cheesecake.

Asked by Ryan Elkins

Answer

Alton Brown says never to cook a cheesecake in a springform pan. He uses a regular pan and lines it with parchment paper so that the cheesecake won't stick to the bottom.

Answered by Elizabeth Schechter

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Cheesecake Cooking Time Change with Pan Change?

Question

I've made many cheesecakes before using a 9" spring-form in a water bath, and have always loved the result. For a party coming up, I'd like to make individual-sized cheesecakes using a muffin/cupcake pan (Including liners). So the question I have is what do I do to the cooking time?

All the recipes I've found for muffin-pan cheesecake say about 30 minutes (for example: Cupid's Cherry Cheesecakes). But the recipe I plan on making (a modification of White-Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake) has a cook time of 55 minutes (in a normal spring-form).

So, what I was thinking is to only bake for 30 minutes. I don't want to open the oven too often to check (and risk cold-shocking the cakes), so I'd prefer to get some insight. I'm also planning on doing a water-bath below the muffin pan.

What do you think?

Answer

The 30 minute cooking time is somewhat similar to my experience with mini-cheesecakes in a muffin tin, although I would recommend checking between 20 and 25 minutes with a toothpick. In my experience mini-cheesecakes were cooked until set entirely in the middle, but if your recipe is for an NY-style cheesecake that seems to wobble a bit, things might be different.

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What type of cheesecake is the most common in southern US SuperMarkets?

Question

I know there are dozens of types of cheesecake. But I have noticed supermarkets seem to all be making the same type of cake. It has a firm white creamcheese texture that is never tart.

What type of cheesecake is normally found in supermarkets? The ingredients include (heavy) cream

Answer

Google search for various grocery store cheesecakes reveals:

• http://www.gianteagle.com/entertain/entertaining-guide/dazzling-desserts (Scroll down a little)
• http://www.grocerycouponnetwork.com/images/food-products/Safeway_Select_New_York_Cheesecake.jpg
• http://s3-media2.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/wN7AQw4j1DrckCZWxyMgYw/l.jpg
• http://images.mysupermarket.co.uk/ProductsDetailed/77/177077.jpg
• http://newyork.seriouseats.com/images/20091016cheesecake-sleebox.jpg

Is that what is meant? If so, it appears to be a fairly generic baked New York style cheesecake. Wiki says frozen ones often include sour cream instead of heavy cream, so they'll freeze better.

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How long can I leave a freshly baked cheesecake out before it goes in the refrigerator?

Question

We just baked a cheesecake and are heading over to family's house for the rest of the evening. Is it ok to leave the cheesecake out for 6 hours or so before being refrigerated?

Answer

Referring to the quotes from the below links;

• “Baked cheesecake should be refrigerated as soon as it is cool or it may develop harmful bacteria from heat resistant spores.” http://www.canfightbac.org/cpcfse/en/cookwell/ask/dairy/#2085

• “Foods made with eggs and milk such as pumpkin pie, custard pie and cheesecake, must first be safely baked to a safe minimum internal temperature of 160 °F. Then, they must be refrigerated after baking. Eggs and milk have high protein and moisture content and when these baked products are left at room temperature, conditions are ripe for bacteria to multiply. It's not necessary to refrigerate most other cakes, cookies or breads unless they have a perishable filling or frosting.” http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Hotline_Answers_Panic_Button_Questions/index.asp

When to throw it out; a quote from the link below;

“Refrigerator Foods When to Save and When to Throw It Out
FOOD..................... Held above 40 °F for over 2 hours
Cheesecake............ Discard http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/keeping_food_safe_during_an_emergency/index.asp

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How to store cheesecake for long-term?

Question

My wife and I decided to have cheesecakes for our wedding last weekend. We'd like to store some for at least our one-year anniversary. What is the proper way to store it, and how long can we expect it to last and still be worth eating? Once she gets completely moved in, we'll have a deep freeze, but we currently just have a couple of refrigerator freezers, though one is rarely opened.

Answer

Still tasty gives you 2-3 months on cheesecake in the freezer. It will be safe indefinitely at freezing temp, but the texture will change somewhat. As @ElendilTheTall says, foil and plastic wrap are your best bets. Additionally, I might try freezing it for a day to get solid, and then sticking it in a vacuum sealed bag. If your seals aren't airtight on something else, then cheesecake will pick up any funky odors in your freezers.

Congrats btw, and I'm gonna let you in on a secret about the eating the wedding cake at 1 year - it all tastes worse and some tastes really bad. Normal or cheesecake or whatever, the cake is pretty much always bad by then, but luckily it's not about the cake taste. It's about reliving the memories and laughing over bad cake. So don't worry too much about if the cake is not that tasty then - take a bite,remember the wedding, and have a good chuckle.

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How to Replace Icing Sugar in a No-Bake Cheesecake

Question

Are there any good substitutes for sugar in Cheesecakes? I am not interested in synthetic sugar like Aspartame. I want to use natural sugar substitute like honey. But if mix honey into the cheese (e.g: Philadelphia cheese), will it ruin the cheese cake. I don't mind getting the honey taste in the cake, but will I get the same consistency in the cheese compare to if I mix sugar into the cheese?

This is the recipe. I got it from www.recipify.com:

250 gr of digestive biscuit/biscotti

80 gr butter

80 gr Philadelphia cheese

5 table spoon of Nutella

4 tablespoon of icing sugar

400 gr of creme

1. Melt the butter in the sauce pan.

2. Crumble the biscuit, and pour the melted button onto it. Cool it in the fridge for half an hour.

3. Mix the Philadelphia cheese with the icing sugar. Once you have done that, mix the Nutella.

4. Whisk the creme. Combine it with Nutella and Philadelphia mixture.

5. Put everything onto the crumbed biscuit. Leave it in the fridge overnight.

Thanks

Answer

Can you make cheesecake with honey instead of sugar? Sure!

Is it as simple as just replacing it 1:1? Not quite, there's increased moisture, but check the top answer here.

You'll need to reduce any liquid you might be adding a bit. Without seeing your exact recipe, I can't give you an exact answer there.

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Whoa. Whoa. Whoa....thats not cheesecake, thats no-bake 'cheesecake'. And that's not normal sugar, that's icing sugar.

No bake 'cheesecake' is much more forgiving about the ingredients - you'd not trying to set a custard like, you just want a thick, flavored, semi-firm pie filling. Add the honey, but leave off a touch of the creme, maybe 20-30 g overall? Icing sugar will actually thicken it a bit as its not only not a liquid, but its also got cornstarch in it. There's about 1/4 tsp of cornstarch in that much icing sugar, so I'd add that. If you're against cornstarch, I don't think it'd be the end of the world to leave it off.

I'd add the honey and then add 350 g of creme and see how the consistency is. You'll probably end up adding another 20g or so, but I'd wait and see.

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How do I wrap a spring-form pan in foil so it doesn't leak when I bake in a water bath?

Question

I have never found a spring-form pan that does not leak.

I have never been able to wrap a spring-form pan so that some of the water doesn't get into the pan.

I can wrap it so that a lot of the water doesn't come into the pan.

But it seems to me that there must be a method that works to keep the water out entirely. I just haven't figured it out.

How can I wrap a spring-form pan in foil so that water from the bath doesn't leak into it?

Answer

If you have 18 inch wide heavy duty foil, pull a square that is 18X18, place your pan in the center of the foil and lift the edges of the foil up around the outside of the pan, effectively making a pan within a pan (spring form inside the aluminum foil pan.

If you only have 12 inch foil, pull two pieces of foil about 18 inches long and put them on top of each other. Along one if the long edges, fold both pieces over about 1/2 inch a few times, crimping each time. Open up the sheets which will create one large piece with a seam down the middle. Put the spring form pan in the middle like above. If your seam is tight it should work as well as the single piece of 18 inch foil.

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