Marbled Cheesecake, also known as…
… not everything I make turns out as expected. Or looking good for that matter…
A lot of people ask if I ever make things that don’t turn out right. This is a prime example of the fact that it does happen to everyone. I decided to make cheesecake for our monthly cooking club. The theme this month was indulgent foods and I immediately thought of the cheesecake pictures in Baking from My home to Yours. Dorie’s cheesecake looks absolutely perfect. I’ve never made a cheesecake before. I made the Daring Baker’s Cheesecake pops last year, but it didn’t have a crust… When I was getting everything together, I realized I don’t have a pan big enough to make a water bath for my 9″ springform pan. After some research online, I decided to put a pan with hot water on the bottom rack below the cheesecake.
I opted to make the marbled variation of the cheesecake with a chocolate graham cracker crust. I think I used more than 1/3 of the batter in the chocolate because it didn’t look very marbled. I should have taken a picture of it before I baked it to show the marbled top…
After the hour and a half, I pulled the cheesecake out a tad just to stick a knife in it to see if it was done. It had risen up but didn’t look done so I put it back in for 15 more minutes. When I checked it at that point, some of the edge had fallen over the pan. I turned the oven off and propped the oven open with a wooden spoon for an hour. When that timer went off, I found my hideous looking cheesecake. Not only had a good amount flowed overboard, the cheesecake was cracked, and sunken in. Not my best showing… BUT, it does taste like a delicious cheesecake, so I guess that’s all that matters.
If anyone has any advice on how to prevent this next time, I’d greatly appreciate it.
To see the entire recipe, check out the Tuesday’s with Dorie member who chose the recipe for the group, Anne of AnneStrawberry. Be sure to see how all the TWD members did (also check out what Dorie herself says about the cheesecake). The recipe says you can use 1 1/3 cup sour cream or heavy cream or a combination of the two. I used 2/3 cup sour cream and 2/3 cup heavy cream.
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
Aren’t they the best? They’re so addicting. I’ve actually starting using the same ingredients, but mixing them like a more traditional chocolate chip cookie (i.e., softened butter instead of melted), because I like the dough better with softened butter. The baked cookies were just as good. Best of both worlds!
These look gorgeous. Don’t you just love AB??? 🙂
The cookies look great. I love AB too..he’s such a dork (in a good way).
I love the ATK/CI Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies. I will have to try these to see what I think. I remember seeing that the recipes looked similar so I am sure I will love them.
Another AB lover here. My husband gives me a hard time about my DVR list with him but loves it when I give him a fun tidbit or cook him something from AB.
I completely agree CoCo. Hubby does the same thing. I sometimes even watch episodes I’ve seen before! Hubby doesn’t like to admit it, but he loves AB too. Sometimes he’ll be the one saying “AB says to do this…”
They look SO good!! I am a sucker for a chewy chocolate chip cookie. Although, I must side with your hubby – I prefer mine with just a bit of chocolate.
How much is a stick of butter? I’m not in the US and have never come across this measurement before.
Sorry about that Naomi – 1 stick of butter = 8 Tbsp. Does that help?
this is very similar to the ccc recipe i use, but anything that makes it chewier is good in my books! i will have to keep this one in mind 🙂
Yes Jen, thank you!
Yum! I will definitely be trying these. I always chill my cookie dough too usually because I’m too busy with 3 little ones but I also read that article in the NY times awhile ago and I felt like I deserved a nice big pat on the back for always doing the 24hour chill 🙂 Great post and beautiful cookies!
I love Alton Brown because of his scientific approach to cooking and baking. I’ve been baking “The Chewy” for years. One thing I do differently: Before chilling the dough, I scoop it into balls. This makes the process much easier. Sometimes I freeze the balls for baking later. After I place the balls on parchment, I carefully place a few extra chocolate morsels on top, pointy side up. This extra step produces picture-perfect cookies every time.
The Chewy is my go to recipe for cookies. I make a few alterations, occasionally, such as substituting 1/4 of the brown sugar with dark brown sugar. I bake small portions in mini muffin tins; one batch makes 48 cookie bites that are super chewy and the perfect size bite. I’ve made them every year for Christmas gifts for a few years now.