A complete guide on How to bake Cheesecake at Home (Troubleshoot 101 guide)

By Apurvi Bansal

One day on a pleasant morning you think about baking a creamy cheesecake instead of buying it off shelves from your favourite bakery. You gather all the Ingredients and set yourself up for the task. 

After some time you are pleased with yourself as you put your Cheesecake to Bake and wait patiently for your Oven to do the magic.

A creamy and delicious Cheesecake is now out of the oven it has a perfect jiggle and colour on the Surface just looking at it makes you salivate. You place it on a wire rack to cool completely before refrigerating it Overnight. 

With hopes and dreams in the heart you sleep awaiting the next day so that you can present it to your family and friends and showcase your fantastic Baking skills.

Now comes the morning and with spring in your feet you walk towards the refrigerator and pull out your set Cheesecake. The smile that was a moment ago in your Face is wiped out, this is not how you had visualised it, you can see a clear dent in the centre, it looks like you can use it as a bowl for your compote or drizzle that you had planned for.

You start to wonder "What has gone wrong I had followed all the steps but still I have some how ended up with this instead of a beautiful Cheesecake that I see in bakeries." It still is what it is far from how it should be there are now crease on what could have been a beautiful picture. 

Here is your complete guide on how to Bake that Perfect Cheesecake at home that too with out Eggs. Is it possible? Absolutely it is!

Simply follow these steps and next time that you bake your Cheesecake it will be an absolute stunner.

Why Water Bath?

1. Even Baking: Water Bath helps in even baking of your cheesecake. It prevents that the edges does not overcook before the centre is done.

2. Creamy texture: It provides moist environment thus maintain the smooth and creamy consistency of Cheesecake.

3. Prevents Cracks: The steam from water bath keeps the cheesecake's surface moist thus preventing it from drying out and cracking as it bakes.

How to use a Water Bath:

There are two ways in which you can create a water bath-

A. Wrap the Pan: 

1. Use aluminium foil to wrap the pan from sides and base tightly to prevent water from seeping in.

2. Place the wrapped pan in large pan then pour hot water into the larger pan until it reaches halfway up the aluminium wrapped pan.

3. Bake it. Carefully place the setup in the Oven and bake as directed. Avoid splashing the water into cheesecake while transferring, Not even a drop.

B. Use multiple Pans: 

1. In this set up place your Cheesecake tin in a pan then in turn place this Pan in a slightly larger Pan so, in total you are using three pan for this set up thus, ensuring that water does not comes in contact with your cheesecake while avoiding the use of any Aluminium Foil.

2. Fill the largest (outer) pan only with hot water. The middle pan's walls will prevent water from coming in contact with your cheesecake tin thus creating a leakproof assembly.

3. Bake. Carefully transfer the whole setup in the Oven and bake accordingly. 

How to avoid Sunken Centre in a Cheesecake? 

1. Avoid Over mixing your Batter: as fun it seems Over mixing your batter is a big No No. Over mixing will incorporate excess air into the batter, which can cause the cheesecake to rise too much while baking and then later collapse as it cools. 

So, Mix only until all the Ingredients have combined.

2. Use Room temperature Ingredients: Use all your Ingredients at room temperature as Cold Ingredients can cause uneven mixing thus leading to a lumpy batter that bakes unevenly.

3. Bake at Low Temperature: Bake at a temperature between 150-160C as high temperature will cause the edges to set too quickly while the centre remains uncooked, leading to a sunken centre as it cools.

4. Use a Water Bath: The moist heat will ensure even baking preventing the cheesecake from puffing up and then collapsing.

5. Cool Gradually: One step that I never skip is properly cooling my cheesecake. After my Cheesecake has baked I switch Off my Oven then open its door slightly (door cracked) so that heat can escape slowly, then I leave my Cheesecake inside and let it cool slowly. 

After about an hour when it has cooled completely I transfer it to the refrigerator to let it rest Overnight.

This way I ensure that there is no sudden temperature change which will cause temperature shock leading to the Cheesecake with Sunken centre.

6. Use the right Pan: Using a too small or overfilling the pan can affect the baking process, leading to a sunken centre. Always fill the pan only upto 3/4 of the pan's height.

What is Wrong with my Cheesecake Texture?

Not achieving a creamy texture in your Cheesecake could result from various factors related to Ingredients, Mixing, or Baking Technique.

1. Over mixing or Under mixing: Over mixing incorporates too much air causing the cheesecake to rise unevenly and becomes dense or dry whereas, Under mixing results in uneven texture.

Mix only until everything is well combined. Here's the simple way that you can do this-

First combine only Cream cheese and Icing or powdered sugar this will help you with under mixing which could lead to clumps of cream cheese in the batter. Then add rest of the ingredients and mix only until everything is combined.

2. Incorrect Ingredients: Substituting the Ingredients in the Recipe like for instance when the Recipe mentions Cream cheese it means use a full fat cream cheese unless mentioned otherwise, substituting it with low fat Ingredients will change the overall texture of Cheesecake.

Using the Ingredients at right temperature also comes in this. Use the Ingredients at the mentioned temperature. Use room temperature Ingredients unless mentioned Otherwise.

3. Baking at Wrong Temperature: Baking at high temperature causes the edges to cook quickly while the centre is still undercooked, resulting in a grainy or Curdled texture.

While Over baking dries out the Cheesecake resulting in Grainy, dense texture.

Bake at a low temperature of 150-160C to avoid this.

4. Skipping the Water Bath: If you bake with out water bath it leads to a dry oven which causes the cheesecake to loose moisture, leading to a firmer less creamy texture.

A water bath will ensure a moist baking environment for the cheesecake resulting in creamy texture. 

One point to consider here is your Cheesecake should never comes in direct contact of water.

5. Inadequate Cooling: Cooling your Cheesecake quickly with a sudden temperature change leads to a temperature shock that causes the texture to firm up improperly, leading to a dense cheesecake aside from sunken centre.

6. Poor quality Ingredients: A good baked good requires good quality ingredients, using a good quality ingredient not only improves their taste but their texture as well. Few of the products have too many stabilisers, regulators, or preservatives that can affect texture.

For instance if your Cream cheese already has too many stabilisers and in addition to that we are adding Cornflour in the Recipe this will result in a dense Cheesecake.

7. Over Baking: Over baking will lead to loss of moisture and with a crust that is over baked resulting it to be too dry or hard. This will lead it to absorb moisture from the cheesecake which will leave the filling less creamy.

Bake the Crust until just set not over-browned.

Cracks on Cheese Cake?

Cracks on the surface of cheesecake are a common issue, but they can be avoided with the right technique.

Here are some of the common reason and their solutions.

1. Over Baking: Baking for too long dries out the cheesecake, causing it to crack.

Lower your baking temperature to a range of 150-160C,  remove the cheesecake when the edges are set but the centre still jiggles slightly.

2. Sudden Temperature Change: Rapid Cooling or sudden temperature change causes the cheesecake to contract too quickly, leading to cracks.

To avoid this gradually cool your cheesecake as mentioned in above points under Sunken Cheesecake.

3. Dry Baking Environment: A dry Oven makes the cheesecake to loose moisture and cracks. To avoid this bake your cheesecake in a Water bath.

4. Over mixing the Batter: This will incorporate too much air, resulting in cheesecake to rise while baking then collapsing as it cools.

Mix only until combine.

5. Improper Pan Preparation: If you haven't prepared your pan before baking a cheesecake in it then, it can lead to cheesecake sticking to the sides of the pan resulting in cracks as it cools and contracts.

To avoid this grease the sides lightly or line them with a parchment paper.

Before de moulding run a knife along the edges to release it from the sides.

6. Not using Stabilisers: Unlike Cheesecakes with Eggs, Eggless (without Eggs) Cheesecake does not have enough structure to hold it together even though Store bought Cream cheese has some form of stabilisers in it, this can lead to cracks.

Use of a stabiliser in an Eggless Cheesecake Recipe is a must.

Fixing Cracks After Baking

Say you have already baked a Cheesecake before reading this blog and it develops Cracks on it now what to do to save it:

1. Toppings: Cover the cracks with a topping like a compote, Ganache, Nutella or a simple Whipped cream.

2. Repair with Water: Gently smooth out Cracks with a spatula dipped in warm water. Dip your spatula in a glass of warm water, wipe it clean on a kitchen napkin then run it around the area where crack has developed. This works best on Edges.

3. Hide with Frosting: Use Cream Cheese Frosting to mask and conceal the cracks.

Conclusion:

Baking a cheesecake at home is nothing less of a Baker's dream come true as easy as it is to bake a cheesecake following a Recipe, it can soon turn to a disappointment.

By following this trouble shooting guide you will be able to Bake a perfect Cheesecake at home whether you are a beginner or a Pro, get ready to impress everyone with a Perfect Creamy Cheesecake that is baked at home.

For a quick revision though here's the summary:

• Use Room Tem̉perature  ingredients to ensure smooth batter.
• Avoid over mixing and over baking.
• Use a water bath or steam to maintain moisture.
• Cool gradually and release the edges from the pan.