A few years ago I decided I was going to master the art of baking cheesecakes. I figured everyone should have an impressive dessert under their belt, the Big Kahuna they whip out for holidays and special birthdays, the sweet treat that is requested at work functions & neighborhood bashes. I decided cheesecake would be mine. I bought a springform pan, read some cheesecake cookbooks, scoured the internet, watched Food Network programs dedicated to it. While I’m still working on making the best cheesecake ever I’ve picked up some tips along the way that have helped immensely- so here they are for you to use in your holiday baking. At the end I’ll even share my favorite cheesecake recipe.
- Crust: Always double the crust portion of the recipe. Perhaps in commercial kitchens with professional bakers they can make that amount of crumbs cover the bottom and sides of the pan, but you can’t. Double it – you can toss the extra, but at least you won’t be skimping on the sides.
- Crust: Smush the crumbs into the pan with the bottom of a glass, a spatula, or your hand covered in plastic cling wrap- keep the butter in the crust where it belongs, not moisturizing your cuticles.
- Crust: Skip the cliched graham crackers – they can get really soggy. Instead crush up cookies – I’ve found that pecan sandies, wafer cookies, ladyfingers, Oreos & gingersnaps make excellent crusts.
- Springform Pan: I don’t care how nice of a springform pan you buy, cover the bottom in a few layers of foil wrapped up around the edges & put a cookie sheet in the bottom of your oven just in case. Most likely your pan is going to leak, and unless you want melted butter dripping & smoking in the bottom of your oven (no, I’ve never done that, why do you ask?) just trust me and wrap the pan in foil a few times and put the cookie sheet in there. You’ll thank me later.
- Springform Pan: If you are making a cheesecake to share with others, purchase a few bakery rounds (cardboard circles) at your bakery department at the grocery store & place one in the bottom of your pan. Then you can take your pan bottom off & transport the cake on a throw-away cardboard round and you won’t risk leaving your pan parts all over the county.
- Water Bath: Honestly I’ve tried a water bath once. In addition to burning myself and making a huge mess, I risked a leak of water back into the pan as well- what a pain. I’ve found that if you place your “raw” cheesecake on the top of the preheating oven for a few minutes, gently slide it into the oven, leave the oven completely closed during baking, and then simply turning the heat off & cracking the oven at the end and walking away for an hour or two will keep cheesecake cracks to a minimum. And if it does crack? That is what toppings and glazes are for.
- Crack Prevention: Once your batter is completely poured into the crust & ready to go, tamp the pan on the counter top a few times & let air bubbles rise to the surface. Gently shake the pan a little, tamp it again, and pop any bubbles that rise- this too will help with the cracking.
- Crack Prevention: Let all of your ingredients sit on the counter & come up to room temperature before making the batter – this typically takes about an hour. This prevents the cake from being shocked when it goes in the oven & allows for more even baking.
- When To Whip & When To Be Gentle: General rule of thumb- when you are whipping the cheese at the beginning you want to whip it for about 5 minutes before you add any ingredients to incorporate air into the cheese & allow for a nice, even, sweet consistency. As you add the ingredients you want to continue to whip vigorously – incorporating more air, and evenly mixing ingredients. Once you get to the eggs however – which, please please, add ONE AT A TIME- mix slowly, gently and only enough to incorporate the eggs. Don’t go messing with their protein structure- be gentle with them!! Luckily you typically add the eggs at the very end, so you shouldn’t have any problems.
- Time Sweet Time: Cheesecakes are not made in a hurry or on tight schedules. You need to make it at least a night in advance- they need to set overnight in the fridge- and frankly, they bake for awhile. You leave them to be in the oven for awhile after. You wrap them and put them in the fridge and let them set. Don’t rush this process- you’ll get aggravated. The nice things is they will store in a fridge for a week before serving and freeze well for 2-3 months, so you can make them at your leisure & pull them out to serve when needed.
- Serving: Let your cheesecake warm on the counter for an hour before serving and slice with a sharp knife- heating the blade with hot water between each slice. This will lead to even pieces.
Daisy’s Favorite Marble Swirl Cheesecake
Crust (I’ve doubled this for you)
- 2 sticks salted butter, melted
- 4 cups crushed chocolate cookies or pecan sandies
- 1/2 cup of sugar
Batter
- 2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
- 2 pounds (4 8 oz packages) of cream cheese
- 1.5 cups white sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons dark rum or Amaretto
- 1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract
- pinch of salt- about 1/4 tsp
- 4 large eggs
- 1/4 teaspoon instant espresso
Topping:
- 3 oz semi sweet chocolate, melted
Crust: combine crushed cookie crumbs (I like to crush them with a rolling pin after putting the cookies inside a large zip top bag), sugar and melted butter in a large bowl, and gently stir together with a large spoon. Then press the crumb mixture into the bottom & up the sides of your ungreased, foil-wrapped springform pan. Set aside to cool/set.
Batter: Melt chocolate in a double boiler or gently in the microwave. (Microwave tip: heat chocolate in 15 second intervals, remove & stir, repeating until melted.) In your mixer, whip your cream cheese on a high speed for 5 minutes then add sugar & whip for 2-3 more minutes. In a small, separate bowl mix rum/amaretto, vanilla & salt, swirling it around to let the salt start dissolving. Add to the batter and stir until evenly combined. Now turn the mixer onto the lowest speed & add eggs, one at a time, mixing until just combined.
Remove 1 cup of batter & pour into a small mixing bowl- add the melted chocolate & espresso powder to it, and stir thoroughly. Pour “vanilla” batter into the crust, then pour the chocolate batter into the center of the crust- then using a knife, gently swirl the two batters together. Bake in the oven for one hour, then turn the oven off, crack the oven door & let it sit for an hour or two. Remove, slide a knife around the crust, and take the springform pan side off. Wrap & place in the fridge overnight.
Before serving, allow the cake to rest at room temperature for an hour. Then gently melt the remaining chocolate and dribble over the top. Let sit for 10 minutes before slicing & serving.