Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

If I decide to use a water bath while baking a Cheesecake, will it have
any effect<affect?> on the density?... I'd like to keep it as dense as
possible... A soft creamy cheesecake reminds me too much of those boxed
varieties... BLECH!


~john!


--
Say hello to the rug's topography...It holds quite a lot of interest
with your face down on it...

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

levelwave wrote:

> If I decide to use a water bath while baking a Cheesecake, will it have
> any effect<affect?> on the density?... I'd like to keep it as dense as
> possible... A soft creamy cheesecake reminds me too much of those boxed
> varieties... BLECH!
>
>
> ~john!
>
>


I recently water-bathed a cheesecake for the first time -- the heavy
kind, with two pounds of cream cheese in it. It was not only dense as
ever, but smoother than ever. It took about two hours to cook though,
but well worth the wait. And it didn't crack. I highly recommend
water-bath for cheesecake baking.

Cheers!
Peg

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

Peggy wrote:

> I recently water-bathed a cheesecake for the first time -- the heavy
> kind, with two pounds of cream cheese in it. It was not only dense as
> ever, but smoother than ever. It took about two hours to cook though,
> but well worth the wait. And it didn't crack. I highly recommend
> water-bath for cheesecake baking.


What temperature did you bake it at?... also, did your recipe call for
Sour Cream?...

~john!



--
Say hello to the rug's topography...It holds quite a lot of interest
with your face down on it...

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

"levelwave" > wrote in message
...
> If I decide to use a water bath while baking a Cheesecake, will it have
> any effect<affect?> on the density?... I'd like to keep it as dense as
> possible... A soft creamy cheesecake reminds me too much of those boxed
> varieties... BLECH!
>

Using the water bath will not cause it to be more or less dense. Density
come from the formulation of the batter and how much air you incorporate
into the batter when mixing. French cheesecakes are very light because the
egg whites are whipped into a meringue and folded into the cheese and egg
mixture. Using a water bath when baking a custard will let the custard bake
more gently and result in a more smooth, uniform texture. Direct heat is
more harsh and tends to cause the eggs in the custard to curdle a bit,
resulting in a more grainy product. For a more dense cake, I would
recommend a recipe with lots of cream cheese and little or no sour cream. I
think the recipe from the Junior's cookbook is the best combination of dense
and creamy.

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

levelwave wrote:
> Peggy wrote:
>
>> I recently water-bathed a cheesecake for the first time -- the heavy
>> kind, with two pounds of cream cheese in it. It was not only dense as
>> ever, but smoother than ever. It took about two hours to cook though,
>> but well worth the wait. And it didn't crack. I highly recommend
>> water-bath for cheesecake baking.
>
>
>
> What temperature did you bake it at?... also, did your recipe call for
> Sour Cream?...
>
> ~john!
>
>
>

I can't remember if I baked it at 325 or 350 -- will try to remember to
check for you. Boil up the water before putting it into the waterbath.
No, no sour cream. I'm watching my calories ;-).
Peg

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 17:19:23 -0500, Peggy
> wrote:


>I can't remember if I baked it at 325 or 350 -- will try to remember to
>check for you. Boil up the water before putting it into the waterbath.
>No, no sour cream. I'm watching my calories ;-).
>Peg

Watching calories? Let me go back and look at the name of the thread.

Gar

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

"levelwave" > wrote in message
...
> If I decide to use a water bath while baking a Cheesecake, will it have
> any effect<affect?> on the density?... I'd like to keep it as dense as
> possible... A soft creamy cheesecake reminds me too much of those boxed
> varieties... BLECH!

I don't think it does. I just recently started baking my cheesecake in a
water bath, and it seems to make it more smooth and maybe a little creamier,
but it is definitely still dense and doesn't taste anything like those
disgusting boxed mixes. Yum!

Cheesecake: Water Bath
 

Hark! I heard Gar > say:
> On Mon, 01 Dec 2003 17:19:23 -0500, Peggy
> > wrote:

> >I can't remember if I baked it at 325 or 350 -- will try to remember to
> >check for you. Boil up the water before putting it into the waterbath.
> >No, no sour cream. I'm watching my calories ;-).

> Watching calories? Let me go back and look at the name of the thread.

I think she was kidding. Then again, you might be too -- text is a
hard way to share humor sometimes.

As for sour cream: one of my cheesecake recipes calls for a sour
cream topping (see below), which I've used on other cheesecakes
as well. It gives it a nice, sharp flavor:

Very Best Cheesecake

CRUST

1 ½ C. Graham Cracker crumbs (about 18 crackers)
¼ white sugar
5 T. melted butter or margarine

FILLING

3 (8 oz.) packages cream cheese, room temperature
3 eggs
¾ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

TOPPING

1 cup real sour cream
¼ sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 375° F. Mix crust ingredients well
and pat firmly into bottom and 1/3 of the way up the sides
of an 8 inch springform pan. Beat filling ingredients with
rotary beater or electric mixer until satiny and pour
into crust. Bake 25-30 minutes, remove from oven and cool
15 minutes. Meanwhile, raise oven to 475° F. Blend
topping ingredients and spread gently over cheese filling.
Return pie to oven and bake 10 minutes longer. Cool in
pan to room temperature, then cover with foil and chill
10-12 hour before serving. Top with fruit or canned pie
filling as desired, or add one bag of mini chocolate
chips to filling before baking.


--
j.j. ~ mom, gamer, novice cook ~
...fish heads, fish heads, eat them up, yum!