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. 
I too didn’t have a pan big enough for a water bath. I just cooked it for 1 hour and 30 minutes and then let it cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. I didn’t even cool it in the oven. I haven’t tasted it yet, so I don’t know if it turned out ok…but it looks just like my other that I made.
Hey if it tastes good who cares what it looks like?!
Regardless of how it looks, it’s the taste that matters! My cheesecakes look similar when I don’t do a water bath. Another idea with cheesecake is to make cheesecake truffles with leftovers (that is, if you even have any!)
If you get an answer to your cake running over problem would you mind sharing it? I had the same problem, despite the fact my pan met Dorie’s requirements. I’m also curious where I went wrong.
I’ve had similar problems, especially with the cracking, which I believe is from cooking too long. Once I started taking cheese cakes out based on time and not appearance the problem went away. I think a lot of cooking still takes place from the internal heat…just a theory…BTW, great marble effect on your cake!
Aawwww poor little cheesecake. To be honest I am not sure why your cheesecake fell but I know when I make cheesecake mine always bakes more evenly when I use a water bath also if the internal temperature reaches 160F (don’t quote me) it starts to make the cheesecake crack. Maybe next time don’t bake it as long? Either way taste is the most important IMO.
Clara @ iheartfood4thought