Cheesecake help

[tiggerrrt]

Hello!

I made my very first cheesecake on Wed. I used a water bath, double wrapped the pan, followed instructions on cooking time, didn't open oven for 5 hours like directions said, chilled for at least 1 hour like directions stated to do....the cake LOOKED great...however the very middle of the cake about 1/2 down was not firm, more like a thick pudding texture. It got slightly better after it had been refridgerated for a day but WHAT did I do wrong??

I am really hoping to get this cheesecake thing down as it is my family's favorite dessert but I am at a loss for where it went wrong. Anyone with any suggestions PLEASE help me so my next one turns out better.

Thanks
Lisa

 

[Andy M.]

Hi, Lisa. Welcome to DC.

You should have cooked it a little longer.

 

[mozart]

Hello!

I made my very first cheesecake on Wed. I used a water bath, double wrapped the pan, followed instructions on cooking time, didn't open oven for 5 hours like directions said, chilled for at least 1 hour like directions stated to do....the cake LOOKED great...however the very middle of the cake about 1/2 down was not firm, more like a thick pudding texture. It got slightly better after it had been refridgerated for a day but WHAT did I do wrong??

I am really hoping to get this cheesecake thing down as it is my family's favorite dessert but I am at a loss for where it went wrong. Anyone with any suggestions PLEASE help me so my next one turns out better.

Thanks
Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Cheesecake is a "mystery food". There are so many ways to make it and some even require no baking at all.

The point of the water bath is to keep the heat even over the whole cheesecake and water does that better than dry heat. But adding a water bath adds more complexity to the operation and more chances to screw up Believe me, I've been there...recently

OK... assuming you followed the ingredient list and prep instructions properly, the only logical answer to your question is the center didn't reach a high enough temperature to "set" upon cooling.

Why? Stove may not be heating at 325 even though it says so. The water you put in the pan may not have been boiling when it was put in and thus delayed in reaching the proper temperature. You chose an 8" spring form pan instead of the 9" called for. Probably others I can't think of right now.

Most people freak out about cracks in their cheesecake which is usually the opposite problem from yours; over cooking.

My recipe call for checking the middle of the cake with an instant read thermometer and removing when it reaches 145 to 150 degrees with the time given in the recipe a rough guideline. Most "leave in the oven" style recipes suffer from overcooking and cracking if anything.

Something seems wrong with a recipe that calls for five hours in the oven after cooking and is still under-cooked.

 

[bandonjan]

Without knowing your ingredients and cooking time/temp it is hard
to know what happened. I've never cooked a cheesecake for 5 hours.
Usually around 1 hr to 1 hr and 15 mins. at 300 - 350 degrees depending
on the recipe.
Slightly jiggly (tech term ) in the middle is ok. It will firm when it cools.
I've never left a cheesecake in the oven to cool for more
than 1 hour (be sure and crack oven door).
There are many recipes for cheesecakes so it really depends on yours.
Jan

 

[mozart]

OPPs!

Andy and I were posting at the same time.

While his answer is the same as mine, mine will take you much longer to read

 

[Fiona]

Base:
75g melted butter
225g crushed digestive biscuits

Filling:
450g cream cheese
225ml creme fraiche
150g caster sugar
40g plain flour
1 lemon, juice and chopped zest
4 eggs, separated
75g sultanas, soaked for about 30 minutes in boiling water

Method


Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees C.
Grease and line the base of a 23 cm spring form tin.

1. Mix the crushed digestives and butter together. Spread, evenly, over the base of the tin & chill.
2. Mix all the filling ingredients together except the egg whites and sultanas.
3. Whisk the egg whites until stiff. Using a metal spoon, fold a couple of spoonfuls into the filling mixture. Add the remainer of the egg whites and fold in. Strain the sultanas and fold in.
4. Place the spring form tin on a baking sheet (sometimes some of the butter trickles out when it is baking). Pour in the filling mixture and bake for 1 hour. After the hour, turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven with it's door open until the cheesecake is cool.

Keep in a cool place and turn out of the tin just before serving.

This is for a 23cm spring-release tin & absolutly fail safe!

 

[Andy M.]

Fiona, the verdict is still the same. The cheesecake was not cooked long enough.

Did you use cold or hot water for the bath? You should boil water in a kettle and add it to the water bath in the oven so you don't have to heat the water in the oven before it can start cooking the cheesecake.