Hi, so I recently made my very first ever cheesecake. It was going fine until after I got it out of the oven. It was puffed up and looked perfect when I got it out, the middle seemed set like the instructions said. However, after it had been out of the oven for awhile, it deflated and sunk in the middle. It still tasted great and I didn't receive any complaints about it. But still, I'd really like to know how to tell if it's really done so that it won't sink in the middle in the future.
Cheesecake: When is it Done?
- Thread starter anmassun
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Did you open the oven at all while it was baking? I don't know much about cheesecake specifically, but I know that for practically all baked goods, if you open the oven too soon, then the air gets in and can cause your cakes to sink in the middle.
The only time I opened it was for long enough to check it the first time the timer went off. When I decided it wasn't quite ready, I closed it up right away. That may have been the problem, but I feel like maybe just in general it hadn't full "set in the middle" as much as it should have. I just don't know how to know when it has.
I take mine out when it has a slight wobble in the middle - it shouldn't look at all like a liquid wobble, just a slight wobble in the very middle.
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Homemade cheesecake do not have to have a sink in it.
After the cheesecake is baked, leave it in the oven for one hour. Crack the oven door and let it cool. When you take it out it will not puff up, sink or crack. It will be perfect.
Look at my kickstarter project, perfect cheesecake.
After the cheesecake is baked, leave it in the oven for one hour. Crack the oven door and let it cool. When you take it out it will not puff up, sink or crack. It will be perfect.
Look at my kickstarter project, perfect cheesecake.
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My cheesecakes always have a slight slink in them. I'm guessing its because they come in contact with quite a bit of air from me opening oven to check on them. As long as they are not runny and are of slight brownish, they are done.
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Whoa, I didn't know this...I usually open up the oven to see how my cake is baking but I guess I should stop opening my oven door!
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One thing I do at the restaurant is bake it at 250F for 2 hours or until the internal temperature reaches 180F. By baking it at a low temperature, you don't risk it over baking it. A possible reason it sinks is because you removed it out of the oven too soon and the proteins and starches from the cheesecake are too unstable when hot and by sudden cooling, it cause the structures to collapse. You can also add a little more flour in your recipe to add more structure to the cheesecake hold up to shape.
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I have a system now for cheesecakes that has given me great results - no cracking or sinking! I cook them in a water bath - the cheesecake pan gets set inside a turkey oven bag with the sides rolled down so that there is no danger of them dropping into the batter. This gets set in my large roasting pan. Then I fill the cheesecake pan with batter. I set the roasting pan in preheated oven on slightly pulled out rack and fill roasting pan with hot water from a tea kettle to come halfway up sides of cheesecake pan. Then carefully push the whole thing in and close the door.
The cheesecake pan itself is lined with parchment paper. I spritz pan with cooking spray first then line bottom and sides then I spritz the paper as well. I use wooden clothespins to help hold the side pieces in place until I get them situated and the crust in place if making a cheesecake that calls for one. Just have to take them off before baking!
I bake until the center still has a slight wobble. Sometimes you can see the top of the cheesecake starting to get ever so slightly brown - this is when I know for sure it needs to come out! Using the water bath and the parchment lining I have not had one crack or sink, even when I cool out of the oven. I've been making new recipes right and left since I started having such success!
The whole "wobble" thing is nerve wracking for me each time but as I bake more and more cheesecakes it's starting to get easier to tell!
The cheesecake pan itself is lined with parchment paper. I spritz pan with cooking spray first then line bottom and sides then I spritz the paper as well. I use wooden clothespins to help hold the side pieces in place until I get them situated and the crust in place if making a cheesecake that calls for one. Just have to take them off before baking!
I bake until the center still has a slight wobble. Sometimes you can see the top of the cheesecake starting to get ever so slightly brown - this is when I know for sure it needs to come out! Using the water bath and the parchment lining I have not had one crack or sink, even when I cool out of the oven. I've been making new recipes right and left since I started having such success!
The whole "wobble" thing is nerve wracking for me each time but as I bake more and more cheesecakes it's starting to get easier to tell!