It took a while…

Well I’ve finally gotten around to it. Writing a post about cheesecake! I mean, they’re one of the main reasons I started this blog and they set my mind awhirl with ideas of food trucks and bakeries specializing in cheesecake.

Ever since I made my first cheesecake, I’ve had a passion for baking them. I don’t know why - it seems crazy to me now! I mean what other dessert is as temperamental and requires such precise directions? However, it was always a hassle to make a huge 9” round because I would be eating every meal for the next week. So, I reserved them for special occasions.

That is to say, I used to only make them on special occasions. I recently came across this product online called a mini-cheesecake pan and it changed my life forever! It is very similar to a mini muffin pan, except the sides of each well are straight and at the bottom of each well, the bottom is removable. The sheet makes 12 small 2” cheesecakes (if I’m not mistaken about the size), which are the perfect size for one person.

So armed with my new pan, I had the chance to let my passion explode and have made more cheesecakes than I can count. I thought about baking them for bridal showers, weddings, parties and even opening my own cheesecake shop/food truck – I loved baking them so much. I also found a basic New York cheesecake recipe that I love and can alter easily to change the flavour of the cake depending on the occasion.

As I debated what to make this week, I got a request from my mom’s co-worker for my berry cheesecake recipe and I thought, what better opportunity to write my first post about cheesecake? So here is my basic New York Cheesecake recipe and my favourite berry sauce. 

Basic New York Cheesecake with Berry Sauce

Adapted from Chantal’s New York Cheesecake Recipe from Allrecipes.com

Makes 12 mini cheesecakes + 2 ramekins of cheesecake

Crust

¾ cup graham crumb (or chocolate cookie crumb)

2 tbsp granulated sugar

2 tbsp butter, melted

½ tsp cinnamon

Filling

2 8oz. packages of cream cheese (I usually use one low-fat, one full fat)

¾ cups granulated sugar

1.5/4 cup milk (half of ¾ cups)

2 eggs

½ cup sour cream (I use low-fat)

½ tbsp vanilla

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

Berry Sauce

5 oz frozen berries

1 tbsp white sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

¼ cup water

Directions

1. Before you put the crust into the pan, wrap the bottom of the pan with aluminum foil (see image).

To make the crust:

2. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of the mixture in the wells of the cheesecake and press down with the bottom of a shot glass.

To make the filling:

3. Make sure all ingredients are room temperature!
4. Cream the cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in the milk and eggs, one at a time, until incorporated. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour till smooth.
5. Spray the pan with PAM or use parchment paper to make sure the batter won’t stick to the sides of the pan. And prepare a water bath for the cheesecake pan to sit in.
6. Pour the batter into the pan and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes (at 350 degrees) until the cheesecake jiggles as one (or just a little bit in the center is still jiggling on its own).
7. Let the cheesecakes sit in the oven (in the water bath) for at least an hour with the oven off and door closed. However, the longer it stays in there, the better! Remove from oven and let it sit out on the counter for another hour before moving to the fridge to cool over night.

To make the sauce:

8. Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a boil for 5-10 minutes. When the sauce is thick (coats the back of a spoon), remove from heat and strain.

To make a 9” round instead of mini cheesecakes, double all recipes and use a 9” round springform pan lined with parchment paper (on the bottom and the sides) and wrapped with aluminum. Bake for an hour.

Now this recipe is entirely based on my experience with cheesecake. These steps help my cheesecakes turn out perfectly in my oven. Every time I don’t follow the recipe, the results have been disappointing. Your oven might be slightly different, so unfortunately it is a learning process. The thing you need to understand about cheesecakes is that they aren’t a quick dessert – so take the extra time to ensure they turn out perfectly! Here are a couple things I’ve learned:

Every single time (and I’m not exaggerating here!) I’ve made cheesecake without a water bath, the sides of the cheesecake have browned far faster than the center of the cake – giving it an odd coloring and a slightly tough exterior. So to keep my cheesecake pretty and smooth I always use a water bath. The aluminum foil keeps the water from leaking into the pan, but you need to make sure there are no rips in the foil (which is why I usually double up – but even, then there are sometimes casualties). However, I have read suggestions recently about putting the water bath on another rack entirely, or putting the water in a muffin pan and sitting the cheesecake pan on top of that. I’m not sure how these ideas will work, but I figure I should give them a try if they save me from soggy crusts!!

Second, I say to leave the cheesecake in the oven for at least an hour, but ideally I usually keep it in there for 3 hours, if not more. The reason is this allows the cheesecake to cool evenly and keeps it from shrinking away from the sides of the pan too quickly (which can cause cracking or make it worse) and I think helps with sinking. Also it helps minimize the amount of condensation that forms on the cheesecake when it’s put in the fridge.

And lastly, how do you tell when a cheesecake is done? For my mini ones, I usually take a knife and bang the side of the pan. If the cheesecake jiggles as one (it doesn’t look like a water bed), it’s done. For bigger cheesecakes, if a small circle (maybe an inch?) in the middle is still a little jiggly in the center, it’s ok.

I don’t know why I chose to love such a finicky dessert, but I did. This recipe is by far my favourite and usually gives me good results, but I am continuously working to perfect it. Through trial and error I’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, and that’s all part of baking! Sure following a recipe is simple and you usually get good results, but when you put time into a recipe to perfect it the food just tastes that much better and you get an immense sense of accomplishment. And that’s definitely worth it to me.