Cheesecake Round 2!

I learned a lot from the first cheesecake and since I had none left for Sunday's get together, I decided to bake a new cheesecake.  I took into account what might be the issues with the last one and adjusted the recipe.  Here's a list of what I did different.

1. I made sure not to overmix the batter.  I mixed each ingredient in just enough so it is even.  Make sure to control the speed and set it to a low speed.
2. I made sure to avoid air bubbles and folded the batter into itself carefully, specially when pouring it in the pan.
3. I cooked the cheesecake a little longer.  About 1 hour 15mins.  45mins at 325 then the rest at 350.  Make sure to check the top of the cake and if it gets too stiff, you might overcook it.  Just cook it enough so the middle core jiggles only slightly.
4. I noticed that the last 10 minutes of cooking might have been too high at 350 so i dropped it back to 325.  When it finished, I left the over door open for about an hour till the oven cooled down and won't keep cooking the cake.  Then I closed the oven door for the next 3 hours.  

 This is the result before it went in the refrigerator.

The next day, I took it out of the ref and plated it.  It was nicely chilled and firm.  And yes, no cracks!

 The final product with a crust because everyone wanted a crust on the fist one I made.  The crust is the same mixture as the bottom from the recipe.  Make sure to make twice as much as the perimeter of the cake takes a lot of crackers to cover it.

That's it.  My cheesecake adventure is complete.  I didn't think I could make a perfect crack-free cheesecake but I did and it only took two tries.  I thought this was going to be tough and it was.  I had to learn a lot just based on what I've researched and it turned out pretty nice.  I can't wait to experiment with this recipe next time I bake it.  Oreo cookie crust sounds great to me.

And if anyone was wondering, it was a hit with the friends for Cheesecake night.  The fresh crust really made a difference.  It was actually more moist and fluffier than the first one.  I thought I might have overcooked it but it was actually perfect.  I'd like to try this with fresh strawberries on top.  I guess I'll wait till spring to try it.

Cheesecake Oh My!

Here are the results of my attempt at baking a cheesecake and I topped it with blueberry preserves.  For an easy time cutting the cake, I recommend using dental floss which worked like a charm.  I need to put something on the outside of the cake, maybe a nice mix of graham crackers or almonds would work great.

The taste was great.  It was exactly how I like my cheesecake, on the borderline of flaky but moist.  It was a bit sweet but everyone thought the taste was just fine.  I might reduce the sugar down by 1/2 cup to a 1 cup for the recipe and it should cut the sweetness down.  You can have it without the preserves as it stands on its own without toppings because it's moist enough.  I think simple fresh fruit would be enough with this.

Now I know how to bake a cheesecake and I can't wait to try another one.  Maybe next time, I'll conquer the age old challenge of baking a perfect cheesecake.  Darn cracks!

Cheesecake Trip

I love cheesecake. It's my weakness. Diet or no diet, I can't resist a nice slice of cheesecake. So what better way to enjoy one than to learn how to bake one of my own. After much research on how it's made, finding a great recipe from All Recipes, and learning a lot of tips online, I made my first cheesecake last night. I learned a lot but I also need to improve on a lot of things to get this recipe right.


The recipe and ingredient came from Chantal's New York Cheesecake with a serving size of 12.


Here are the ingredients I used and the ingredients measured out according to the recipe.

First thing was crush the graham crackers. By the way, when the recipe calls for 15 graham crackers, they actually meant 1 small square of graham cracker. I started out with 15x4 squares (which came in platters of 4) and realized this was too much for 2 tablespoons of butter.


Crush the crackers to manageable size then place them in a zip lock bag.

Use any solid round object like a handy empty bottle of honey and use it as a roller to roll over the bag.


An actual roller would have been better of course. This helps getting the proper crumbs you need.


I mixed the butter and crumbs in a bowl and if you want the crumbs to stick together more, add more butter to give it more moisture to come together better.





I made sure to rub some butter to the pan to make sure the cake won't stick when you pull the cake out later on.





I padded the bottom of the pan with the crumbs as evenly as possible.


I also decided to line the bottom of the springform pan because this pan did leak from an earlier test. It was a Cephalon Classic 9" springform pan from Target store for about 12-13 bucks. You can never tell if a pan will leak or not until you've tested it out. However, this pan is sturdy and will not warp in the oven. I simply cut out a circular aluminum foil and wrapped the bottom with it.


Next, the mix. I placed 4 x 8oz Philadelphia Cream Cheese in a bowl and mixed it together. I added the sugar and started mixing. Oh boy was that a tough job. You better have some guns under your sleeves if you do it by hand.


Luckily, I found an old mixer in my mom's basement and put it to good use. But even the mixer brought problems with it. I'll go over that later.


While in the mixer, I mixed the cream cheese and sugar to a smooth mix. I then followed the recipe and added the rest of the ingredients one at a time.


I kept mixing the batter till I got most of the dreaded air bubbles and lumbs out.


This is what I had at the end. It was nice smooth mix with little lumps or bubbles.


I then poured the batter into the pan, making sure not to fold in any air.


I used a tray filled to about 3/4" its height of water or half the height of the tray for the water bath which should help keep the cake from overcooking on the rim of the pan.


I placed the pan in the tray and put it in the oven at 325 degrees for 45 mins.

I checked back after the timer was done but when I jiggled the cake, there was a jiggle on most of the surface of the cake. I raised the temperature to 350 degrees and put it back in for 15 more minutes. I rechecked and saw only the middle 2" diameter jiggled.


I turned off the oven and let it sit overnight. By morning, the cake had firmed up. As you can see, unfortunately, the dreaded crack was there. I had been trying to avoid that with all my online research but I guess I missed something.

The possible reasons my cheesecake cracked were.

1. I had over beaten the mix with the mixer. The mixer was a little too fast even at the lowest settings. Maybe it's just too old.
2. I might have folded in air bubbles into the mix especially with the way the mixer was. I also think the accessory on it wasn't the right attachment. I need a wider/bigger wisker attachment.
3. I forgot to remove the water bath when I left the cake overnight. I'm not sure but instructions on some websites says remove the water bath before leaving it in the oven.
4. I might not have cooked it all the way.  The cake wasn't firm after cooking it so I was uncertain if I had cooked it properly.  However, the jiggle test should be enough to confirm it's cooked.
5. Changing the temperature from 325 to 350 during the cooking process may have affected the cake. The egg component is definitely sensitive to temperature changes from what I'm reading.

Anyway, I'm pretty pleased with the result and it taste yummy. I'll just have to give it out to friends cause at about 500 calories per slice, it will ruin my healthy diet. Haha!  I learned a lot and I'm hoping my next cheesecake will have a perfect top. I'll post an update on how it turned out after I've cut into it.

The Adventure Begins

A little introduction to who I am and what this blog will be about. My name is Genesis and I'm an avid fan of food in all forms. I'm not trained in any culinary institute and all I know about cooking comes from my mom. She taught me how to cook some dishes when I went to college to live off campus. I've loved cooking ever since but I slowly fell out of the hobby and I've always wanted to fall back into it.

After watching Julie & Julia, I've been inspired to pick it up again. My plan is to cook anything I've wondered how to make and learn something new about the dish in the process. The recipes will come from either my mom, grandma, or the internet, normally, I use www.allrecipes.com for my recipes which is a fantastic site for tasty food. I plan on making at least one item a week and go from there. Join me on this trip and let's learn something together.

This week, I plan on starting my adventure on one my favorite desserts ever, cheesecake. I'll finally crack what makes this dessert so tasty to the taste buds.