Cooking the Alphabet: Ch is for Cheesecake

A while back I read an enthusiastic endorsement of a new cheesecake cookbook on a foodie site; being a cheesecake lover, I clicked through to Amazon to check it out. The cookbook is apparently based on a successful restaurant’s New York-style cheesecake recipes. But a few things in an editorial review turned me off of the book, and of their cheesecakes. My primary objection is the use of corn starch in the cheesecake. Now, I know that restaurants need to be as concerned with food appearance as much as taste, but as something of a cheesecake snob, I do not like extra binders in my cheesecake. The cheese and eggs should be sufficient—no flour, gelatin, or corn starch should be necessary to get a smooth cheesecake. They can add off flavors and textures to the cake. I’ve never had a problem with cracks in my cheesecakes, and I’ve never gone to the lengths described to accomplish a picture-perfect cheesecake—I don’t use extra binders, I don’t use a water bath, and I bake the cheesecakes at typical (325–350° F) temperatures.

All that said, making a pretty and delectable cheesecake is one of the trickier propositions I’ve encountered. Still, all that’s required is some extra care in preparing the batter and baking the cake. For starters, one must plan ahead: cheesecakes taste best after mellowing about 24 hours after they’re baked. Follow me into the kitchen if you’re interested in the secrets of homemade cheesecake success.

First, some equipment pointers for cheesecake success are in order.
  1. An oven thermometer is a must for ensuring the cake bakes at the proper temperature.
  2. While one can mix cheesecake batter by hand (I did for many years), a good stand mixer is enormously helpful. A hand mixer will work, but take care not to mix the batter at too high a speed, as that can contribute to center cracks; it also makes adding ingredients while mixing tricky.
  3. Make sure you have the right size springform pan for the recipe. If it’s too small, the batter may not all fit; if it’s too small or too large, cracks in the cheesecake are possible. I have had success using pans within a half-inch of the size called for in a pinch, but wouldn’t recommend going beyond that.

Because a good cheesecake relies heavily on its fundamental ingredients, don’t skimp on them.
  1. Use the size of eggs the recipe calls for (usually large). They should be at room temperature.
  2. Use good-quality cream cheese. After trying many supermarket or other off-brand cheeses, I only use Philadelphia brand, and only the regular version. I haven’t found another brand that blends as smoothly. The cheese needs to be at room temperature too; I leave it in the foil wrapper and let it sit on the counter overnight to ensure that it’s completely warmed. If the cheese isn’t at room temperature you will almost certainly end up with little lumps of cream cheese in the batter.
  3. Use real vanilla flavoring. When I can afford it, I use Penzeys double strength vanilla in the full amount specified by the recipe.
  4. If the recipe calls for it (most likely in a crust or for coating the pan), use real butter with no substitutions. This is also one of the few times when I agree that non-salted butter tastes better than using salted butter.
  5. Do I really need to say that low-fat versions of butter, cream cheese, sour cream, etc., will generally not substitute well in cheesecakes? A cheesecake should be a glorious celebration of flavor and texture—save the calorie and fat-gram counting for other items.

Mixing the ingredients is also more important than it is for other cakes. The goal is to have everything well blended, which means having a patient hand. Beating at too high a speed can incorporate a lot of air into the cheesecake, and make it prone to center cracks; so keep the mixer speed at low to medium, and be diligent about blending everything.
  1. Before adding any other ingredients to the cream cheese, beat it thoroughly so that it's soft (I cut it into half-inch cubes to help speed this process, which also allows me to check that the cheese is at room temp throughout), scraping down the bowl (and beater[s]) as necessary. This step is crucial to getting a uniform texture; if you notice unmixed bits of cream cheese after you’ve started adding other ingredients, do not try to incorporate them—you’ll end up with little cream-cheese lumps.
  2. Scrape down the bowl and beater(s) frequently to ensure a uniform mixture, especially between ingredients. If you notice some batter that hasn’t been incorporated during a previous step, do not try to incorporate it; you will almost certainly end up with odd clumps in the batter.
  3. When adding the sugar, do so very slowly; then beat the mixture until all the sugar is absorbed. Test (between your fingers or by tasting a tiny bit) to make sure the sugar is dissolved into the mixture. You should feel no sugar crystals in the mixture.
  4. Add the eggs to the batter last, and in small amounts (say, 1/4 C. at a time or so); after each bit is well mixed, scrape down the sides of the bowl and then add more egg to ensure complete and even blending.
  5. After pouring the batter into a prepared pan, rotate it several quarter turns to help remove air bubbles.

Now for baking your nascent masterpiece. Cheesecakes are very sensitive to temperature fluctuations during baking and cooling. I have already mentioned the importance of having the oven at the proper temperature, but there are a few other tricks to mind.
  1. The oven rack should be in the upper-middle of the oven; if it’s too low the bottom will overcook before the top is done.
  2. Begin checking the cheesecake for doneness at about 5 minutes before the suggested minimum time. Work rapidly—if the oven temperature drops too much the cheesecake center could crack.
  3. Check the cake at 3– to 5–minute intervals to ensure that it is baked to your desired texture. Really—that small time span can make the difference between an underdone, perfect, and overbaked cheesecake.
  4. If you want a soft center to the cheesecake, remove it from the oven when there’s a 2– to 3–inch band that’s set at the rim, but the center is still jiggly. (It will continue to cook during the cooling process and become soft set.) For firmer cheesecakes, remove it from the oven when the center is just set. At this point, there may be small cracks near the rim, but those usually disappear as the cake settles with cooling. [return to recipe]
  5. When it’s done, remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool, undisturbed, on a wire rack in a draft-free spot. If it appears that the cheesecake is pulling away from the crust or sides of the pan, gently loosen the cake or crust from the sides with a thin knife. When it reaches room temperature (this could take several hours), refrigerate it unwrapped. If it will be refrigerated longer than 24 hours, cover it loosely with plastic wrap after 24 hours. Freezing is not recommended, as it will adversely affect the texture.

To slice the cheesecake, use a thin-bladed, sharp knife. Rinse it in hot water and wipe dry before each cut.

And now, as a reward for slogging through all that, here’s my favorite recipe for New York-style cheesecake. The recipe calls for a cake-crumb crust, but I’ve found that it’s just as tasty (and gluten-free) without that. Sometimes I’ll finely grind toasted pecans to make a tasty gluten-free crust. If you’d like a great, easy fruit topping, berry sauces are pretty easy.

New York Cheesecake

Serves 8–10

Place oven rack in center position; preheat oven to 325° F

2 T. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 C. fine plain cake crumbs (white, yellow, or pound cake)
1 1/4 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
3/4 C. whipping cream, at room temperature
3 T. fresh lemon juice (bottled is not an acceptable substitute)
2 t. vanilla
3/4 C. sour cream, at room temperature
1 1/4 C. sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature, slightly beaten

Coat an 8-inch springform pan evenly with the butter. Place cake crumbs (or substitute, if using any; if not making a crust, proceed with cheesecake batter) in pan, and tilt and rotate it to evenly coat bottom and sides with crumbs. Press gently to hold them in place; then invert pan to remove excess crumbs. Set pan aside.

Cut cream cheese into cubes and place into large mixer bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary, until cheese is completely smooth. Continue to beat while slowly adding whipping cream, lemon juice, and vanilla. Scrape down sides, and beat until mixture is smooth.

Add sour cream, and beat until blended. Scrape down sides and beat until mixture is smooth.

Very slowly add sugar; beat until sugar is completely absorbed (no gritty feel to the mixture). Scrape down sides of bowl, beating and rechecking batter for smoothness.

Add eggs, about 1/4 C. at a time, beating well and scraping bowl between additions.

Pour batter into prepared pan; gently rotate pan several quarter turns to settle batter. Bake about 1 hour and 15 minutes for a soft-centered cheesecake, or 1 hour 20 minutes for firmer-centered cheesecake (see descriptions above). Turn oven off; let cheesecake sit in oven with its door propped open about 8 inches for 30 minutes.

Remove cheesecake from oven; place on a wire rack in a draft-free place and let it cool to room temperature (check pan side and bottom). Remove side of pan; refrigerate cheesecake uncovered overnight, or at least 8 hours. Keep cake chilled until serving time, covering if refrigerated longer than 12 hours.

If desired, garnish with fresh berries, or serve with a berry sauce.