Recipe too large for my food processor

[Shel_B]

There's a cheesecake recipe that I'm hot to try, and it can be made using the food processor for mixing.  However, my processor is too small to contain the full amount of ingredients. Can I mix up about half the recipe amount, empty the processor, add and mix the balance, and then combine both batches and mix them together well by hand? I don't see a problem with this, but I'm not much of a baker and have only made a cheesecake once, so I'm not much of a cheesecake maven either.

 

Ingredients

7 eggs

14 oz sugar

1 cup cream

¼ cup flour

2¼ lbs cream cheese

 

FWIW, it's a Basque cheesecake recipe.

Edited June 8 by Shel_B (log)

[Smithy]

One problem I see with your idea is that cheesecakes tend to become more dense the more you handle them. Mixing the two batches together by hand may hurt the texture. I'd be inclined to try a half-batch and cook it that way, and use a smaller pan if necesary. 

[AAQuesada]

Do you have a stand mixer? We can probably talk you through it that way

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, AAQuesada said:

Do you have a stand mixer? We can probably talk you through it that way

No, I don't have a stand mixer. I appreciate the thought, though.

[Duvel]

2 hours ago, Smithy said:

One problem I see with your idea is that cheesecakes tend to become more dense the more you handle them. Mixing the two batches together by hand may hurt the texture. I'd be inclined to try a half-batch and cook it that way, and use a smaller pan if necesary. 

That would be my thoughts as well. Just scale the recipe down (thrifty me usually goes along the “whole eggs”) to the size you manage to handle, and bake in the appropriate form …

[Tropicalsenior]

Or you could make the cheesecake that was posted by our own @shain.

I have made it and it is excellent. I just mixed it up by hand. I like the texture of Cheesecake better if it is mixed by hand because using a food processor or a mixer incorporates too much air and ruins the texture.

Edited June 8 by Tropicalsenior (log)

[blue_dolphin]

That's a REALLY big cheesecake!  Do you need that size to feed a crowd? If so, then as long as you heed @Smithy's caution on overmixing, you could certainly give your plan it a try. 

Me?  I'd always prefer making 2 smaller ones over a really big one. 

[TdeV]

I just made @Tropicalsenior's New York style cheesecake in the Instant Pot. I did a million things incorrectly and, still, it was delicious!

 

[pastrygirl]

yes

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, blue_dolphin said:

That's a REALLY big cheesecake!  Do you need that size to feed a crowd? If so, then as long as you heed @Smithy's caution on overmixing, you could certainly give your plan it a try. 

Me?  I'd always prefer making 2 smaller ones over a really big one. 

I wouldn't mind making a smaller cheesecake but I haven't a clue on how to properly reduce the recipe. How much of each ingredient would have to be reduced to give what size result?  What size pan would be needed?  How do I adjust the baking time?  I am out of my comfort and experience zone when it comes to baking.

[TdeV]

I think @Duvel was suggesting that you reduce the recipe by the number of whole eggs (i.e. divide everything by 7, then multiply by 3 (or 4) to get a half-size cheesecake.

[Shel_B]

2 hours ago, Tropicalsenior said:

Or you could make the cheesecake that was posted by our own @shain.

I have made it and it is excellent. I just mixed it up by hand. I like the texture of Cheesecake better if it is mixed by hand because using a food processor or a mixer incorporates too much air and ruins the texture.

Ahh! That looks like what I want, and the size and technique fit well into my comfort zone.  I'll have to look at the recipe more closely, but from what I can see with a first look, there's something here that I can work with. Thank you for the link.

[Shel_B]

4 minutes ago, TdeV said:

I think @Duvel was suggesting that you reduce the recipe by the number of whole eggs (i.e. divide everything by 7, then multiply by 3 (or 4) to get a half-size cheesecake.

Is that the generally accepted way to reduce such a recipe? It makes sense to me, and seems like a good place to start.  Thank you²

[TdeV]

That's what I think @Duvel said, but maybe we should wait until he confirms it.

[Shel_B]

4 minutes ago, TdeV said:

That's what I think @Duvel said, but maybe we should wait until he confirms it.

I  can wait. Not planning to make a cheesecake today. Again, thanks.

[Shel_B]

1 hour ago, TdeV said:

I just made @Tropicalsenior's New York style cheesecake in the Instant Pot. I did a million things incorrectly and, still, it was delicious!

 

I don't want a NY-style cake, and I'm ignorant about using the Instant Pot for such an undertaking. However, reading Tropicalsenior's post has increased my understanding of cheesecake-making technique in general and I'll keep the info in my back pocket until some future date.  I'd like to get more use from my Instant Pot and the recipe does look interesting.

[TdeV]

@Shel_B, when you get interested in the Instant Pot say so on the forum somewhere and I, and others, can point you to some really helpful accessories for the IP. I.e. that could make cheesecake easy in the IP.

 

 

Edited June 8 by TdeV
More to say. Always! (log)

[Tropicalsenior]

3 minutes ago, TdeV said:

really helpful accessories for the IP. I.e. that could make cheesecake easy in the IP.

Warning, warning, warning! Your fellow EG'ers are really helpful enablers. Since I live in Costa Rica, I couldn't Buy all the expensive stuff from Amazon that was recommended so I went to a Chinese store and found trivets and steamers and everything recommended for about a third of the price. About all you need to make the cheesecake is a six to seven inch springform pan and a trivet about 2 in high. It helps to have some kind of lid that will fit the cheesecake pan but really, all you need is a plate with a paper towel underneath. I've made that cheesecake dozens of times without a failure. It couldn't be easier and it is just the right size for 2 to 4 people without a lot of leftovers. However, if there are leftovers they don't last long.

[TdeV]

2 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

However, if there are leftovers they don't last long.

 

I'm eating it for lunch as we speak! 🤣

[Tropicalsenior]

49 minutes ago, Shel_B said:

However, reading Tropicalsenior's post has increased my understanding of cheesecake-making technique in general

I've never been much of a cheesecake Baker. They've always turned out hit or miss and usually miss until I develop this cheesecake recipe. You say that you aren't really interested in New York style cheesecake and that is the great thing about this recipe. You can adapt it to your own taste. You can add pumpkin for Thanksgiving, put in some chocolate, a little more lemon. It can be anything you want with just a little addition here and there. One of my favorite ways to serve it is with lemon curd.

[blue_dolphin]

@Shel_B, just for the sake of comparison, you might be interested in checking out the Basque Cheesecake recipe on this site.  She goes into quite a bit of detail on the ingredients and process and her recipes are generally very reliable and include measurements by weight and volume. She uses a hand mixer for this one. 

It's for an 8" pan, so in-between @shain's recipe (that 6" size is very appealing to me) and the one you have. 

[Shel_B]

9 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

@Shel_B, just for the sake of comparison, you might be interested in checking out the Basque Cheesecake recipe on this site.  She goes into quite a bit of detail on the ingredients and process and her recipes are generally very reliable and include measurements by weight and volume. She uses a hand mixer for this one. 

It's for an 8" pan, so in-between @shain's recipe (that 6" size is very appealing to me) and the one you have. 

Great! That site was on my list to check, so I'll move it to the top of the queue.  This young lady has done a good job. 👍👍

[Shel_B]

17 minutes ago, Tropicalsenior said:

I've never been much of a cheesecake Baker. They've always turned out hit or miss and usually miss until I develop this cheesecake recipe. You say that you aren't really interested in New York style cheesecake and that is the great thing about this recipe. You can adapt it to your own taste. You can add pumpkin for Thanksgiving, put in some chocolate, a little more lemon. It can be anything you want with just a little addition here and there. One of my favorite ways to serve it is with lemon curd.

Thanks for that. Generally, I don't care for additions to cheesecake preferring a simple, straight-ahead style.  That's what attracted me to the recipe I referenced, although having enjoyed that type of cake before certainly got me interested.

[Duvel]

2 hours ago, TdeV said:

That's what I think @Duvel said, but maybe we should wait until he confirms it.

Yeap, that’s what I’d do (and have done - successfully - in the past).