At Cucina Rustica, we’re hot on dessert and want to ensure that it tastes great for our customer every single time. For that reason, we’ve collated our top tips to creating the perfect cheesecake when baking at home.
- Good things take time
First and foremost, it’s important to take time over each and every step of your baking, but especially when it comes to that all-important cheesecake base. Of course, biscuit-bases are easier to construct than pastry ones, however that doesn’t mean that less time or care should be taken with it. A little trick for well-supported sides is to use a straight-sided glass to push the mixture to the edges of the dish, ensuring that you cover all joins and cracks.
- Choose your cream cheese wisely
Cream cheese is the main ingredient within this tasty dessert, so it’s one that needs to be used properly. Avoid buying the low fat brands, and opt for full-fat cream cheese for a delightfully creamy flavour and texture!
- Avoid those unwanted cracks
The main problem that bakers can suffer from when forming their cheesecake is the annoying cracks, which can be caused by overcooking or cooling your creation too quickly! Don’t worry though; cracks are entirely preventable provided you follow some simple steps.Cook your cheesecake until the outer sides of the cake are fairly firm, but the inner circle still jiggles. If you see any small cracks, immediately move to a cooling rack.When cooling your cheesecake, ensure you do it gradually – good things take time! When the timer of the oven goes off, let the cake sit in the turned off oven with the door slightly open to let it breathe.
- Use a water bath
Not everyone uses this method, but one of the best ways to ensure that a cheesecake cooks gently all the way through; is to place the cake dish in a roasting tray half-filled with boiling water.(To stop the water spilling into the mixture, wrap the dish tightly with tinfoil!)You’ll find that this method not only helps to gently cook the cake all the way through, but it also creates steam so that the surface doesn’t dry out.
- Always chill the cheesecake
After all the careful baking and cooling, the cheesecake still needs to chill for hours – there’s a reason why it’s a make-ahead cake! Once you’re happy with the look and feel of your cheesecake, place it in the fridge to finish setting overnight.Another trick is to cut the cheesecake slightly before placing it in the fridge, don’t worry if you feel the texture is too soft (this is normal!), once chilled, it will have transformed into the beautiful kind of cheesecake you’re used to!So, next time you head into the kitchen to create your own cheesecake from scratch, try to remember these top tips and let us know how it goes – we’re sure you’ll be impressed!Check out our other desserts here.
