American Cheesecake Experiment
I've always been a big fan of cheesecake, but while I've made some pretty tasty cheesecakes, I've never been 100% successful. My cakes ended up cracked or the texture too dense. After making a bunch of Japanese cheesecakes and finally having a good oven, I turned my attention back to American cheesecake once again. I tried the chocolate swirl cheesecake recipe found in Better Homes and Gardens' Old-Fashioned Home Baking but with a few minor changes. Instead of 24 oz (680 g) of softened cream cheese, I only had 670 g of cheese instead. I also use 1.5 cup of Oreo crumbs with about 2 tablespoons of melted butter as the crust. The springform pan was 9".
With a hand mixer I mixed cream cheese, imported fine granulated sugar, vanilla, and all purpose flour together until the ingredients were well combined. Then, I added two eggs and a yolk to the mixture and, again using the hand mixer, beat the mixture until just till combined. The mixture was actually still a bit chunky but I switched to my wooden spoon to finish the mixing. After the milk was added, I split the batter in half and added the melted chocolate to one half. I poured all the batter into the pan, made swirls using a small spatula, and placed the cake in the oven.
The starting temperature was 375 but it dropped down to around 350 when the cake was in the oven. I noticed that oil (butter in the crust?) kept dripping out of the springform pan. Thank goodness I placed a cookie sheet under the springform pan. I let the cake bake for around 35 minutes before I checked it. I finally took the cake out around 45-50 minutes when tiny cracks started to appear. I think I could have taken the cake out around 40-45 minutes instead. I let the cake cool on a wire rack for about 15 minutes before I ran my knife around the edge of the cake. I then let the cake cool for another 30 minutes before taking the pan off the cake. I chilled the cake in the fridge overnight after the cake completely cooled on the counter.
The cake received very favorable comments from Wid's parents and Wid. It's surprising because Wid isn't a fan of American cheesecake yet he liked the one I made this time. The cook's sister who's the baker of the family said she likes the swirly pattern. Overall the cake had really good flavor and texture. It's not as fluffy as the ones from Cheesecake Factory, but the texture is still very cheesecake-like. The sweetness is just right for everyone. The edge of the cake was really brown so next time I'll have to remember to use more crumbs and build the crust up about an inch.
Now I'm tempted to try new cheesecake recipe though using 24 oz of cheese at a time is rather scary. Hehe.
posted by cyen @ 10:21 AM
2 Comments:
cracks in cheesecakes;caused by steam from liquid ingredients .the cracks are caused by too high of a temperature.if you are cooking on a wire rack start with preheated oven at 425f for 20 minutes reduce temp to 350 for 20 minutes reduce temp 300 for another 20 minutes or until center is still rubbery to the touch crack oven door open,about 2-3 inches.turn oven off and let cool for at least half hour.temp of cheesecake when cooked is 160-165*f.
for best results use a double boiler fill the double boiler until the water comes up 2/3 of the way on your cheesecake pan.set oven at 225*f.water will remain at a constant 212*f.bake your cheesecake for 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 hours.(time for a 9" x 3" at sea level high humidity)turn oven off.open oven door asbout 2-3 inches (a rolled up dish towel works well.)let cool in oven for at least 30 minutes.place in refrigerator.serve 24 hours later for best results.
cheesecake factory uses a lot of modifiers.
your crust turning dark brown or even burning.once again temperature too high.place your crust mixture only about 1-1 1/2 inches on the sides of the springform.also if your cheesecake is dripping excess amounts of butter reduce the amount by 1-2 teaspoons at a time until you have just enough to keep your crust together.try placing your pan in the freezer for 15-20 minutes the add your crumb mixture.
I agree with robert about the water bath. Another tip is to substitute two egg yolks in place of 1 of the whole eggs in the recipe- this will yield a creamier mouth feel.
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