cakepusher

Tips for Baked Cheesecakes

Baked cheesecakes are prone to cracking on the surface, mostly caused by overbeating (especially at high speed) or overbaking (drying out).  Below is some advice for flop-free baking!

 Flop-free tips for perfect baked cheesecakes:

• Don't make any substitutions to the recipe
• Grease your cake pan carefully (cracking can occurr if the cake sticks to the tin during cooling).
• Preheat oven for 15 minutes beforehand, and place cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven.
• Correct baking temperature is important. Try using an oven thermometer.
• Add the cheesecake ingredients in the exact order given.
• Beat cream cheese or ricotta at low speed until smooth, to avoid air bubbles. This can cause puffing during baking that results in cracking.
• Add the other ingredients slowly, beating or stirring gently.
• After pouring the mixture into the pan, raise the pan about an inch off the bench and 'drop' it (not too hard, mind!) onto the bench to expell any air bubbles, or try running a knife through the mixture in 's' patterns. 
• Do not open the oven door during the first 30 minutes of baking.  Cheesecakes need even heat.
• When cooked, the cake should be firm but still wobble slightly when gently shaken.  The centre may look slightly uncooked, but this will firm up on cooling.
• Partially cool the cheesecake in the oven with the oven door ajar to help avoid cracking.
• Leave the cheesecake to finish cooling at room temperaure before refrigerating for several hours or overnight priorto serving (Patience is a virtue, remember!).
• Cheesecakes store well, and can be frozen for several months. To freeze, place cooled cheesecake on baking tray and chill uncovered in freezer until firm. Then wrap in foil, and seal inside a large freezer bag.
• Thaw cheesecakes on a plate in fridge, uncovered.
• If your carefully-prepared creation developed cracks, do not despair, cammouflage the crevaces with strategically-placed blueberries and cream, and know it happens to the best of them!

LOW FAT TIP!

                                                                            

Turn your naughty cake recipes into fat-free recipes!  In many cake and muffin recipes, you can replace  the butter with apple sauce (apple puree) or mashed banana without affecting the flavour or texture.

Keep the quantities equal -

             e.g: 1/2 cup butter = 1/2 cup apple sauce (or mashed banana)

          or 2 tablespoons of butter = 2 tablespoons apple sauce (or banana)

I've been doing this for years now, and my teenage son (who wouldn't otherwise touch a piece of fruit with a ten-foot-pole) has no idea his chocolate cake has been spiked with apple sauce.  I also replace the oil in my carrot cake with a half-half mix of apple sauce/banana mash.  It blends in perfectly to suit the cake, lowering the fat content and removing that all-important guilt factor!