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Creating a Perfect Cheesecake


M3brewboy

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Baking supply stores carry cardboard cake rounds (cardboard discs) in a variety of sizes, as well as cake boxes. Be sure the box and the round match in size, and the round should be slightly larger than the cake (a 10-inch round for a 9" cake).

Once the cheesecake is chilled, it's pretty dense. I invert the cake (covered in plastic wrap) onto a plate (or cake round), take off the pan bottom (and sometimes parchment), and re-invert the cake back onto the round it will stay on. Any garnish or decoration should be made after the cake is on the final round.

i agree 100% and if you had not mentioned bakery supply stores and cake rounds i would have....cake supply stores (bakery supply stores) also carry the kind of boxes you are looking for..they are flat and you have to fit them together..but then again the tabs are there for you to put it together..its all one piece..easy to put together..not rocket science...have fun

a recipe is merely a suggestion

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I line the bottoms of my springform pans with aluminium foil. I almost always use a press in- graham or cookie crumb base. When fully chilled, they lift right off the foil. You can also freeze them and then lift them off.

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Baking supply stores carry cardboard cake rounds (cardboard discs) in a variety of sizes, as well as cake boxes. Be sure the box and the round match in size, and the round should be slightly larger than the cake (a 10-inch round for a 9" cake).

Once the cheesecake is chilled, it's pretty dense. I invert the cake (covered in plastic wrap) onto a plate (or cake round), take off the pan bottom (and sometimes parchment), and re-invert the cake back onto the round it will stay on. Any garnish or decoration should be made after the cake is on the final round.

That's how I sold my cheesecakes. You can get pretty (gold, lace, plain, etc...) cake boards, boxes, labels, and bows from Sugarcraft.

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I thought i had a good knowledge of cheesecakes. Well my thought were wrong when i started using recipes with water bath technique. Although i have lined the spingform pan with foil, i still get a wet a wet texture. :sad:

1- I need an advice or a nother options

2- Is the water bath technique very important to cheesecakes?

Thanks

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I don't use springform pans any longer because I had the same problem. I just use 3" deep regular cake pans I usually put a circle of parchment in the bottom then add the crust ( crumb, pate sucree or other) fill and bake. After baking chill for several hours or freeze, then cover the top of the pan with plastic wrap and flip the pan over, warm the bottom of the pan with a torch or warm wet towels, the cheesecake should drop out easily, place a cardboard round or plate on top (which is actually the bottom) and flip the whole thing over.

check out my baking and pastry books at the Pastrymama1 shop on www.Half.ebay.com

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My recipe doesn't use a bain-marie, doesn't crack, and can come out of the springform tin in 8 hours--about 4 in the oven and another 4 in the fridge is the shortest time I've left it.

Would you like a link?

Though, when I used to use a bain-marie, I didn't have this problem with my cheesecakes.

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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No, I don't do that. I should have been clearer.

I meant 4 hours cooling in the oven after switching it off, then 4 hours in the fridge. Some people prop the oven open, but I never have and it seems to be okay.

It does collapse inward slightly. I baked one on Wednesday, and when I took it out of the oven after it cooled, it had come away cleanly from the sides of the springform tin. But it did not have the concentric cracks that sometimes happens when cheesecakes collapse inwards.

So now I need a new project next year. This year was cheesecake.

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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For a 9" size, I use 3" high cake pans as well (ditched the springforms years ago) and I always use a bain marie. I pull them out of the oven and let them cool at room temperature for an hour, then chill in the fridge for 6 hours.

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This is what I do--I don't know if it's "correct" or not. I kind of use a bain marie, but it's a pan of water that I put next to my springform in the oven (instead of putting the springform directly into the pan of water). I figure there's still steam, but the water never gets a chance to seep into the cheesecake.

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I don't use springform pans any longer because I had the same problem.  I just use 3" deep regular cake pans I usually put a circle of parchment in the bottom then add the crust ( crumb, pate sucree or other)  fill and bake.  After baking chill for several hours or freeze, then cover the top of the pan with plastic wrap and flip the pan over, warm the bottom of the pan with a torch or warm wet towels, the cheesecake should drop out easily, place a cardboard round or plate on top (which is actually the bottom) and flip the whole thing over.

I would love your recipe please.

Shalisha

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I usually sit my springform on a double layer of foil and pull it up around the pan, rather than lining it. Something I learned from...nightscotsman, I think, was that you don't need to have water coming half way up the sides of your pan. You can just put a 1/2" or so of water in a sheet pan then set your foil wrapped springform on that. It's still enough water that it doesn't all evaporate and adds enough moisture that it doesn't crack.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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I use the cake pans as well. I put them in a hotel pan or a bigger cake pan & use that as a water bath. Let them cool to room temp & chill for a few hours. Run a hot knife around the edges,invert onto a plastic encased cake board, torch the bootom & side woth my propane torch & let it slide out. Remove parchment & invert back onto a clean board.

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Thank you all for your helpful suggestions! I am going to go to the restaurant supply tomorrow and scout out the goods, and do a practice cheesecake to send with the SO to work. I'll get him to advertise!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I am making a Chocolate Pumpkin Cheesecake from a Marcel Desaulniers recipe. I have done it before and although quite decadent, it is a crowd pleaser.

A copy of the recipe (without his "chef touch notes") can be found here, unfortunately it is quite difficult to read:

Recipe

Anyway, the cheesecake will be served on Saturday and here is my plan to prepare it:

Tuesday: baked both cheesecakes (pumpkin and chocolate)

Wednesday: make ganache and assemble pumpkin cheesecake above chocolate.

Thursday: add sour cream mixture to the top of the cake

Would this be a correct timetable? I want to make it far in advance but I am afraid of any "sanitation" issues. Is it too early to put the sour cream on the cake 48 ours prior to eating?

Thanks for any comments.

Alex

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Perhaps I missed it, but the recipe you posted doesn't appear to have a sour cream topping--it calls for a ganache topping. Do you plan to add a sour cream topping also, or instsead of the ganache? Usually, sour cream toppings are added to the cheesecake and baked for 5-10 minutes to set before final chilling.

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise. --- Henry David Thoreau
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JayBassin,

Thanks for asking that question. Sorry, the intructions for the sour cream topping was added by the author in his "chef touch notes" and not included in the link.

It basically states to apply a 3/4 cup of sour cream and 1 Tbsps of light brown sugar mixture to the top of the cake. This is an option given. I did it the first time around and I think it is a nice addition. He does not call for an additional baking time after applying the layer of sour cream.

Alex

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I use the recipe it Bo Friberg's book, and he has a sour cream topping in his recipe as well. The directions call for the topping to be added when the cheesecake is finished cooking, and then put back in the oven for 5 minutes to let the sour cream layer set. I don't see why there would be any sanitation issues, as long as you keep the cheesecake in the fridge. Hope this helps.

Don't waste your time or time will waste you - Muse

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JayBassin,

Thanks for asking that question. Sorry, the intructions for the sour cream topping was added by the author in his "chef touch notes" and not included in the link.

It basically states to apply a 3/4 cup of sour cream and 1 Tbsps of light brown sugar mixture to the top of the cake. This is an option given. I did it the first time around and I think it is a nice addition. He does not call for an additional baking time after applying the layer of sour cream.

Alex

3/4 C sour cream for a 9" cake would be like a glaze---probably why it's not cooked after. Typical cooked sour cream topping would be 2 cups or more, spread on, and baked for 5-10 minutes as Tweety69bird says. I agree that there won't be a health hazard. You ought to keep the cake chilled until about 1-2 hours before service, though.

I suggest adding 1 Tbs of bourbon to the sour cream and 2 Tbs bourbon to the pumpkin filling.

He who distinguishes the true savor of his food can never be a glutton; he who does not cannot be otherwise. --- Henry David Thoreau
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I suggest adding 1 Tbs of bourbon to the sour cream and 2 Tbs bourbon to the pumpkin filling.

Thanks both of you for your comments. The general opionion is that as long as the cake is refrigerated I should be fine. That is good news because I need to do this in advance.

Regarding the bourbon, I will keep it in mind and will do if I have some bourbon around, I think I do.

Alex

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Hi,

Iwant my cheesecake to lok taller. Once i changed the springform pan from 10" to 9" but it did not make a big diffrence. I also tried to make the crust thicker by doubling the ingredients and i got a bad result. (the crust had too much butter)

Got a slution?

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I found that the following things (probably among others) will make cheesecake taller. Increase the amount of batter. Add more eggs or even just whip the whites and fold in. Add cream. These latter two things will change the texture though and you will need to use a water bath. My preference is to double the batter and add a little cream. (I use 2 pounds cream cheese and 3/4 cup cream and bake in a 3" pan.)

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I like a hearty crust, but double the usual sounds a bit much, even for me.

More batter is the only one I can come up with, because cheesecakes aren't supposed to rise very much--if they do, that means you incorporated a lot of air in the mixing and the cheesecake will crack.

May

Totally More-ish: The New and Improved Foodblog

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