Freezing Cheesecake

[Stone]

For a week.

O.k.?

[cakewalk]

For a week.

O.k.?

I did this once (only once.) It didn't defrost well, the consistency/texture was ruined. Maybe others have had better luck.

[MsMelkor]

No - overnight it to me instead!

[browniebaker]

My cheesecake lasts about a week in just the refrigerator, no freezing needed (or advised).

Edited August 12, 2004 by browniebaker (log)

[Stone]

No - Overnight it to me instead. 

I'll use the box from the pastrami.

Edited August 12, 2004 by Stone (log)

[nightscotsman]

My guess is that freezing would make the texture grainy. Most cheeses don't take very well to being frozen.

I think browniebaker is right - there's so much fat that it should be fine after a week in the coolah if well wrapped.

[SweetCaroline]

I always bake six at a time, they spend one night in the cooler then they're topped and stored in the freezer til needed. At that time, I cut them while they are still frozen for nice neat slices. Then they are kept in a refrigerator till served. They are a top seller.

[chefpeon]

SweetCaroline

Is your cheesecake a dense New York style? I do exactly what you do also, and freezing doesn't

hurt them at all....I love the "freezing=neat slices" feature too.

Maybe freezing other types of cheesecakes doesn't work as well, but I've certainly never had a problem either.

[SweetCaroline]

chefpeon, yes I would say New York style describes the texture.

[Cheffy]

I do major volume of cheesecakes and I wrap and re-wrap them for freezing and I have not ever had a problem with them and like was mentioned I cut while still partially frozen for plating and they rock...

Cheffy

[Wendy DeBord]

Put my name on the list of people that freeze and cut when semi-frozen.

[kthull]

Me too...I haven't had change of texture when freezing.

[skyflyer3]

Hm, I've tried freezing as well but it never lasts until thawing. I think the texture is divine when eating it frozen.

[kthull]

Skyflyer, I'm with you!! My wife thinks I'm nuts, but nothing beats a frozen solid slice of cheesecake. Even better if you bake it in a sheet pan and cut into bite-size squares.

[JFLinLA]

Skyflyer, I'm with you!! My wife thinks I'm nuts, but nothing beats a frozen solid slice of cheesecake. Even better if you bake it in a sheet pan and cut into bite-size squares.

Mmmmm! Bite-size squares. I always love to serve things this way.

Could you explain how to prepare such a cheesecake for a home baker?

[melmck]

I am going to test freezing the cheesecakes unbaked, and pulling the night B4 for next day baking, to keep fresh and yummy. I do this with all my other cake batters xcept sponge, and bake fresh each day, or every other day for certain things. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[kthull]

I am a home baker JFLinLA and it's nothing special really. I just bake the cheesecake in parchment lined square or rectangular pans so that my batter is about 1" deep. If you use pans with removable bottoms, it's easier and there's less waste. When I don't have removable bottoms, I make sure the parchment extends above the sides of the pan so I can (with help if needed) just lift the whole thing out (I've only gone as big as a 12x18 with this).

You'll have to watch the bake times a bit more closely, since it's not as tall as normal. Once it's cooked and cooled, I remove it and cut it into squares. I did a lot of these for a while so I bought a 14" granton knife pretty much just for cheesecake, but I've used plain old chefs knives too.

It's great to ganache or sauce the squares and arrange them on a platter. And it never ceases to amaze me that one cheesecake will yield 12-16 slices, but the same recipe will turn out 80 1" squares (with spoilage). It makes the cheesecake go a lot longer at parties.

[artisanbaker]

melmck,

i used to work in a bakery where we made a base very similar to a cheesecake every Monday. we would just pour it in tart shells and bake as such with fruit and what not.

seems to me that one could do the same with cheesecake batter.

i've frozen the final product with no apparant loss of texture/flavor. remember it's the fat that helps freezing usually, and there's no lack of fat in a cheesecake...

[JFLinLA]

Kevin:

Thanks.

So, if I take a regular cheesecake recipe for say an 8" or 9" round pan, it should convert to an 8 or 9 inch square? And then I can scale from there? Is that how it works? Maybe a double recipe for quarter sheet size?

I'm usually pretty fearless in the kitchen but, for all the baking I do, I just haven't done a lot of cheesecakes. Don't know why. I should just go for it.

I appreciate the help.

Jody

[kthull]

Jody, there are so many differences in cheesecake recipes that it's hard to make that call. Really the key is to get a final batter height of and inch or slightly more so you can cut into final cube-shaped bites. I've baked some recipes that don't get much higher than that to start with, but most are in the 2-3" range, so I have a variety of different pan sizes available to divide the batter into. Once you target a few favorites, it's easier to proceed from there.

[beans]

Yum. Add this to the succession of frozen and cutting semi-frozen is good. I really enjoy a frozen niblet of cheesecake and haven't had any problems with them before, during or after.

I remember arranging for a baby shower luncheon during those days I was a lawyer wannabe, wearing those conservative blue suits, and our most unpredictable Cleveland weather struck. Blizzard was predicted, and blizzard we did end up having. Instead, we cancelled our reservation (in a proper amount of time) and opted for a fantastic deli that has a wonderful reputation. They were able to pull off a tray and satisfied our need for some sort of cake by providing one of their frozen cheesecakes out of the freezer. All worked beautifully and the cheesecake was as expected.

Quite good.

[celenes]

Hi All,

I am not sure if anyone happened to see the segment that ran this weekend on the FoodNetwork on holiday gifts. Edible ones that is.

There is a company that was featured that offers frozen cheesecake bars of various flavors in addition to traditional cheesecake. I found if quite interesting. The company is called the Underground Cheesecake Company.

The customers were raving about the bar. I do recall in a previous thread on the forum some comments about freezing cheesecake and the consistency not being so nice. So I wonder how are they doing this and coming out with an acceptable product. Oh, I forgot to mention they are dipping the bars in chocolate, and it is I am assuming high quality chocolate.

Another company was Pete's Gourmet Confections and he is doing outstanding business with his gourmet mallows. I visited his website last night and there was already a message up stating that due to the feature on the show his production time was now longer than normal.

All these companies started out really small and have just exploded. I found it very amazing.

[Patrick S]

Hi All,

I am not sure if anyone happened to see the segment that ran this weekend on the FoodNetwork on holiday gifts.  Edible ones that is.

There is a company that was featured that offers frozen cheesecake bars of various flavors in addition to traditional cheesecake.  I found if quite interesting.  The company is called the Underground Cheesecake Company.

The customers were raving about the bar.  I do recall in a previous thread on the forum some comments about freezing cheesecake and the consistency not being so nice.  So I wonder how are they doing this and coming out with an acceptable product.  Oh, I forgot to mention they are dipping the bars in chocolate, and it is I am assuming high quality chocolate.

Another company was Pete's Gourmet Confections and he is doing outstanding business with his gourmet mallows.  I visited his website last night and there was already a message up stating that due to the feature on the show his production time was now longer than normal.

All these companies started out really small and have just exploded.  I found it very amazing.

←

I saw that program too. I'm really suprised how much people are paying for marshmallows! The Williams-Sonoma catalogue has vanilla marshamallows for $18.50 for 13ozs, and caramel-covered marshmallows for over $1 each.

[chefpeon]

The customers were raving about the bar. I do recall in a previous thread on the forum some comments about freezing cheesecake and the consistency not being so nice. So I wonder how are they doing this and coming out with an acceptable product.

On that same thread, a lot of us professed to have no problem freezing cheesecake. I was one of them. In my experience, being able to freeze cheesecakes is a lifesaver. You can make them in advance, freeze and pull out when needed. It's a great trick to have in your bag when someone needs a last minute dessert, and you don't have the time!

[Patrick S]

I've had thawed cheesecake in restaurants and from stores that, while not necessarily the best cheesecakes I ever had, were certainly 'acceptable' in terms of their texture.