You decide to make cheesecake. You've got the 2 pounds of cream cheese, the eggs, the sugar, vanilla, cookies for a crust...
Stop right there! For best results – and surely you don't want any result but the very best – read these cheesecake tips before you even start preheating the oven.
Trust me, your inner cheesecake goddess will thank you.
Cheesecake tip #1: Choose your favorite crust.
Graham cracker crusts, while typical, aren’t the only way to go. Try using other cookies – vanilla wafers, gingersnaps, even chocolate sandwich cookies – in place of the graham crackers called for in your recipe. Or go with a cake crust, as they do in Brooklyn.
Cheesecake tip #2: To prevent lumps, have everything at room temperature.
A lumpy batter going into the oven won't magically transform itself into lump-free cheesecake as it bakes. Having all of your ingredients at room temperature makes it much easier to combine everything thoroughly into smooooooth, lump-free batter.
Cheesecake tip #3: For best texture, mix the batter at low speed.
For quintessential cheesecake texture – dense without being heavy – beat filling ingredients at low or medium-low speed. Beating at high speed adds air to the batter; longer, slower beating yields a pleasantly dense cake.
Cheesecake tip #4: How to prevent the deadly cracked top.
Cheesecakes sometimes develop a cracked top. Here are some tips for “crackless” cheesecake:
- Make sure your oven is at the correct temperature. Use an independent oven thermometer to confirm. Cheesecake baked at too high a temperature (and/or for too long) will crack.
- Wrap your pan in cake strips, to even out baking from edge to center. Alternatively, bake it in a water bath.
- Use lighter rather than darker pans. Dark pans absorb heat more quickly, leading to uneven baking.
- Make sure your cake cools slowly. Cold can “shock” cheesecake into cracking. When your cake tests done, turn the oven off, prop the door open a couple of inches, and leave the cake inside to cool completely in the cooling oven.
- If your cake cracks while baking, spread the top with sour cream 10 minutes before turning the oven off; and/or top with fruit before serving.
Cheesecake tip #5: To test for doneness, take the cake's temperature.
To ensure your cake is baked all the way through but not over-baked, take its temperature. The perfectly baked cake will register 170°F about 1" from the edge of the pan. Its center will still appear soft; that's OK. Turn off the oven, it's done.
Cheesecake tip #6: For best shape, loosen the cake's edges.
To help prevent a slumped center, run a thin spatula or table knife all around the edge of the cake as soon as you remove it from the oven, and prior to returning it to the oven to cool.
Cheesecake tip #7: The final step –
Well, that's easy: enjoy!
From NY Cheesecake to Chocolate Cheesecake to Caramel Pecan Cheesecake and tons more, we've got plenty of cheesecake options to put these tips to the test. Search our recipe site for even more!
November 30, 2022 at 5:01pm
I made a cheese cake and used a 9" spring form pan. It seemed to have a metalic taste to it as if it absorb it from the pan. Should I have lined it with parchment paper on bottom and sides?
December 6, 2022 at 7:37pm
In reply to I made a cheese cake and… by Carol Beyerlein (not verified)
Hi Carol, you do not have to always line with parchment but it certainly can help in this case! Happy Baking!
November 26, 2021 at 4:29pm
Do you have a recipe for eggless cheesecake?
November 27, 2021 at 11:25am
In reply to Do you have a recipe for… by Jackie Vyas (not verified)
Hi Jackie, I'm sorry, we don't have a recipe for an eggless cheesecake, but I did find one here.
September 2, 2021 at 2:22pm
What are cake strips
September 3, 2021 at 11:44am
In reply to What are cake strips by John (not verified)
Hi John, cake strips are basically oven safe pieces of cloth that you soak in water and then place around the outside of your cake pan. They help moderate the heat and keep the outer edge of the cake tender, and can also help prevent over-baking.
October 5, 2019 at 9:21pm
I'm making my very first cheesecake for my husband's 40th birthday! I have cake strips (and LOVE them!) but so many websites talk about the water bath. The cake strips seem like they would be so much simpler and do a great job of making sure the outside doesn't cook too fast relative to the inside. But does the water bath work better? Like does it create additional steam in the oven, leading to some desired characteristic? TIA! Huge KAF fan!
October 8, 2019 at 3:09pm
In reply to I'm making my very first… by Erin C (not verified)
Hey Erin! The purpose of the water bath is mainly to keep the cheesecake from baking too quickly or getting too hot, as it will keep the pan insulated. You're definitely welcome to try using cake strips in place of the water bath. Just because it isn't something we've tried out ourselves, we'd recommend trying it once before your husbands birthday just since it's a special occasion and we want to make sure it turns out the way you want it to!
October 14, 2019 at 2:07pm
In reply to Hey Erin! The purpose of the… by anicholson
Thank you so much for your response! Part of Tip #4 is to use cake strips or, alternatively, a water bath. I wouldn't have thought of trying cake strips except for seeing it in this blog. I'm going to try that this evening. Thanks again!
July 23, 2020 at 8:08am
In reply to Thank you so much for your… by Erin C (not verified)
Hey Erin, how did the baking strips work out?
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