I have a cheesecake recipe that I have used for years, It is as close to perfect as I need it to be…except, sometimes it cracks (maybe 1 of 5). I have never used a water bath and I don't want to start.
I was thinking if I lower the temperature from 350 to 325, it might stop occasional cracking. If I bake for 41 minutes at 350, how much time should I add if I bake at 325?
It has also been suggested that I add a tablespoon of cornstarch to the recipe…any thoughts on cornstarch.
Thanks
Baking a cheesecake at 325 instead of 350
bakingcheesecake
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I know it sounds like a stupid question, but are you sure the oven wasn't in "broil" or "clean" mode? It seems unlikely that a regular shape of flammable would emerge from a fairly homogeneous mixture. It seems more likely that a heat source in the shape of the burn marks on the top of the cheesecake was radiating directly onto it. It could have been an intermittent malfunction with the oven, too.
Other than that, I'm lost. It's quite a mystery you have on your hands there.
You can of course, try this.
The largest challenge you will face is that cheesecakes are notoriously difficult to release from the pan, and they are not very strong. The traditional crumb crust is also not very strong, so it doesn't provide much support or structural integrity to the slice.
This is why spring form pans are normally used for cheesecakes: they let you leave the cheesecake on its base plate, and just remove the ring. The crust sits on the base plate until service.
If you want to try it in another pan, to facilitate getting it out, I suggest that you:
Consider using aluminum foil instead of parchment, as it is easier to shape. Make a sling for the cheesecake, so that the foil comes up the edge of the pan. You will want to do this in both directions.
The sling will be used after baking to lift the cheesecake out of the pan. You should then be able to carefully peel the foil back from the edges, and slice it. (Many brownie recipes recommend this technique.)
Consider a sturdier crust than a crumb crust, perhaps a full shortbread, that will survive the lifting from the pan, and be strong enough to support the pieces when you cut them.
Changing the shape of the pan may change the surface area of the cheesecake, and thus its depth, which will affect the cooking time. You want to choose a new pan that is as close in area to the pan anticipated in your recipe as possible, so that the baking time and temperature do not have to be adjusted too much. Getting the perfect balance of time, temperature, and thickness of the custard is a tricky matter.
If your original recipe calls for a 9" spring form pan (which is fairly typical of cheesecakes), that is approximately 64" square inches. So you would choose an 8x8" square pan to have approximately the same area.
A complication is that spring form pans tend to be taller than square cake pans, and cheesecake recipes often take advantage of this fact. If all of your filling will not fit (with some reasonable room for a tiny amount of expansion (cheesecake should not really expand when cooked), you are going to have to adjust the baking time and possibly the temperature.
Your cheesecake should be done when it jiggles slightly at the center, and has an internal temperature measured in the center of approximately 180-185 F. You will need an instant read thermometer to measure this.
If you are changing the depth or the area, you will definitely want to monitor your cake closely for when it is done.
Another approach would be to make individual cheesecakes or tartlets in a tartlet mold.
You should easily be able to google many suitable recipes.
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Best Answer
The best way to prevent cracking is to use a water bath. It will give you consistently perfect results every time. The payoff is worth the extra effort.
A cheesecake is a baked custard and controlling the temperature is an important component in uniform cooking. Especially in a thick cheesecake, it is hard to finish cooking the center without the perimeter areas overcooking unless you use a water bath.
Having said that, the second best way to avoid cracking is to use an instant read thermometer to test the internal temperature at the center of the cheesecake. Most sources are pretty clear that if the internal temperature rises above 160 °F, the cheesecake will crack so you should either turn the oven off or remove the cheesecake from the oven—depending on your recipe—when the cheesecake registers just over 150 °F.
Unfortunately, although the temperature of the cheesecake at its center should be a foolproof way of preventing a side-to-side crack along the top of the cheesecake, without a water bath it is still possible that there might be cracks along the outer regions of top of the cheesecake if those areas overcook from being unprotected.
Lowering the temperature might give you more control over the consistency of cooking, but it won't eradicate the risk of having the exterior of the cheesecake cook-through before the interior is sufficiently set.
Ultimately, to get back to your specific question, there is no reliable time-for-temperature adjustment that can be recommended. You will enjoy much more reliable results using internal temperature to tell when your cheesecake needs to stop baking. And I can assure you that using a water bath would revolutionize your cheesecakes.