Chocolate Ruined My Cheesecake. Help Please.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
TATTRAT said:
I think jen might be onto something...
Do reinvent just yet, Go with TNT recipies, that will give you a basic understanding of the components and outcome, then double the recipie if you want the towering cake of goodness. Once you feel comfortable, then experiment.
There's wisdom in what you say. I believe that you must first master what your teacher brings to you, and only then go beyond it. I'm preparing to help in a fund-raiser with mah Drunken Cheesecakes. I need them to be better than they've ever known. Not just the usual but something they will point to and say, "this is the best cheesecake I've ever had". Is this too much to hope for ?
 
rdcast said:
I need them to be better than they've ever known. Not just the usual but something they will point to and say, "this is the best cheesecake I've ever had". Is this too much to hope for ?

I don't think it's too much to hope for, but I don't think a cheesecake gets better by increasing in height. It certainly is unique though! I would get the taste and texture down perfect first. Also I have found that it's a gradual progression to get a perfect cheesecake. For instance, four years ago I thought it was perfect, but my current cheesecake blows that one away.
 
Evolution is also a part of creation. There is nothing wrong with aspiring to have the best, I often say good enough is not good enough. Just start off 1 step at a time, Rome wasn't built in a day.
 
Eureka! I've got it! You need to make two cheesecakes and stack 'em. Let me explain. I tried and experiment last year that produced a wonderful cheesecake filling but was altogether a flop. I made my usual cheesecaked filling in my 10-inch sprinform pan. But it was crustless. I did it by lining the pan, both bottom and sides, with lightly greased parchment paper. As the custard cooked, do to the protiens in the batter, it shrunk inward just slightly. I had pre-baked a graham cracker crust in the same pan and gently removed it before hand. When I removed the custard, it fit perfectly into the pre-made crust. What ruined my recipe is that I half filled the crust with a ganache and chilled it. I then placed the custard on top. I expected it to be perfect. The problem was that when the cheesecake was cut into, the ganache was properly liquified and ran all over the place. But the technique is still sound. Build you crust first and pre-bake it. Then bake the two cheesecakes in your two different sized, parchment-paper-lined pans. Then, when the filling is cooked through and cooled completely, stack them into the crust. You will have your enormously tall cheesecake. It should be spectacular. But make sure the recipe you use provides sufficient body for you to handle the crustless filling. If you want, I can post my recipe.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North (And the Goodweed has nothing to do with illegal substances. I was the kid that never grew like a bad weed, hence my pseaudonym).
 
there's a weed in California that smells like sage and kerosene. Mom n Dad would take us to a beautiful river to salmon fish using salmon eggs which also smelled delicious. But that weed is truly the good weed.

The process you explained Goodweed is of itself something that should be patented. I'm afraid tho, it's commercial use would be hard to imagine due to the added number of steps. Beyond this, I would think the top of the bottom layer would have to be cut off to make a flat platform representing a sizable lose of product. I also like the continuum of texture from top to bottom. The actual purpose for tall cheesecakes is its superior presentation. Three inch tall cakes just doesn't cut it for me. The taller the cake the larger the eyes.
 
Last edited:
yet evolution should never replace creation. Some things can only be achieved by a leap of faith. I have tinkered with experimenting using small 6 inch pans and even cupcake pans. But I find that the the results that I wish to achieve are not scalable. For instance, mass is something that greatly influences crackage(call Webster, new word division). Also, the smaller the batch, the more problimatic the measurements not to mention temp and time changes. Nah, I'm afraid the most straight forward approach to advance the cause is to work to scale.
 
NEver fear JEN is here lol

OK where to start Oh ya *smack* leave the freakin baking soda out of your cheesecake or im gonna break your knees :)

Secondly use cocoa powder your new to the chocolate scene take it from someone that has won lindt chocoalte comps.. I use cocoa for the cheesecake its makes a great cheesecake

if you insist on fresh chocolate.... use this recipe

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
Three 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

no flour in this recipe or corn flour cause of the chocolate...
 
I am preparing for another attempt. The following are some ideas I'm considering from all of your suggestions.

Still using stacked 10"springforms
  • 7 cream cheese bars
  • 3/4 cup flour (eliminate cornstarch)
  • 2 single ounce semisweet chocolates (swirled in)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • vanilla
  • 4 eggs + 3 yolks ???
  • 2 hour total baking time, first 15 mins @ 350, remainder @ 250
  • water tray
The eggs are the big enigma for me. For that last cake I eliminated 3 whites, representing a large amount of lost moisture. It was my impression that whites also creams the final baked texture, something I try to avoid. Yolks, I believe increases the breading of the final texture which I want. In any event, I'm at a loss to figuring out which if not both are aiding to the cracking of the top. It just might be, the best cheesecakes must crack !



 
Last edited:
rdcast said:
I am preparing for another attempt. The following are some ideas I'm considering from all of your suggestions.

Still using stacked 10"springforms
  • 7 cream cheese bars
  • 3/4 cup flour (eliminate cornstarch)
  • 2 single ounce semisweet chocolates (swirled in)
  • 2 cups sugar
  • vanilla
  • 4 eggs + 3 yolks ???
  • 2 hour total baking time, first 15 mins @ 350, remainder @ 250
  • water tray
The eggs are the big enigma for me. For that last cake I eliminated 3 whites, representing a large amount of lost moisture. It was my impression that whites also creams the final baked texture, something I try to avoid. Yolks, I believe increases the breading of the final texture which I want. In any event, I'm at a loss to figuring out which if not both are aiding to the cracking of the top. It just might be, the best cheesecakes must crack !




The stacked pans just blows me away! You must take a picture of this cake this time. Also you mentioned that you wanted to avoid the creamy texture. I very much prefer a dense creamy cheesecake. To each his own though. You probably have a better pulse on what your intended audience prefers than me. Where are you located? Good luck!
 
Chef_Jen said:
NEver fear JEN is here lol

OK where to start Oh ya *smack* leave the freakin baking soda out of your cheesecake or im gonna break your knees :)
ohhhh, I like this but please, not the knees :ermm:
 
The egg-yolks make the cheesecake more creamy while the egg whites contain the protien that help cause cracking. Let me explain. As protien is heated, it contracts. The egg is "glued" to the crust which prevents the custard filling from shrinking. But it wants to shrink. As the protiens pull in all different directions, the force causes the surface to crack.

This can be best avoided by turning off the oven and letting the cheesecake cool with the oven door partially propped open. The cheesecake must cool very gradually to create a perfect top. But usually, a perfect top isn't so important as most people put some type of topping on it which hides any cracks.

Both flour and corstarch act as thickening agents in the custard. But flour contains protien which just might make it harder to prevent the top from cracking. Cornstarch contains only starch, which thickens but retains it's original size as it cools.

If you need the custard to be more dense, add more cornstarch and delete the flour. The result will be a smoother end product.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the north.
 
vagriller said:
you mentioned that you wanted to avoid the creamy texture. I very much prefer a dense creamy cheesecake. To each his own though. You probably have a better pulse on what your intended audience prefers than me. Where are you located? Good luck!
yes, I live on Long Island, NY and it is much in the vein of the New York Cheesecake. The texture will cause a bite to break away without having to bite clean through it. The more creamy and dense version will not break away but rather pull through like ice cream would. This creamier product is what I've known to be called "cheese smear" apposed to cheesecake. I want my cheesecakes to have a texture more in keeping with other cakes.
 
Last edited:
Thanx Jen for the cocoa idea. I was wondered about that every time I saw it in the store. But what is the relationship between flours and chocolate ???
 
Goodweed of the North said:
The egg-yolks make the cheesecake more creamy while the egg whites contain the protien that help cause cracking.
I don't want the cracks and I want it to be less creamy and have a more break away texture. What if I do away with eggs altogether ???
 
ok to get the swirl pour 90% of your batter in the pan.. take the 10% mix with cocoa powder and swirl the 10% in with the 90% you can use this ratio for swirling any flavour of compounds..

I would add a touch of cornstarch as it does help with the cracking.
 
Chef_Jen said:
I would add a touch of cornstarch as it does help with the cracking.
Thanx for solving the issue of how to get the swirl in cause I'm sure I would have gotten to that point and rubbed mah head :LOL:

Can I do away with the flour and just use cornstarch and should I increase it to 1/2cup of cornstarch for 56 ounces of cream cheese ?
 
Back
Top Bottom