Cheesecake: how to make it perfect
Whether refined or pure – your cheesecake will be a success with these simple tricks:
- With pudding powder or cheesecake help, you can first of all prevent the quark mass or cheese cream from sinking into the middle of the cake when you bake it. In addition, cooling it down in the switched-off oven prevents the cheesecake from collapsing. To do this, open the oven a crack. Many bakers also swear by the following method: cut the cake between the edge and the filling halfway through the baking time and leave it outside for a few minutes before putting it back in the oven.
- Egg white makes the mass particularly loose. However, the egg whites should not be beaten too stiffly, otherwise the surface of the cheesecake will tear easily.
- To prevent the cake from getting too dark, simply cover the surface with baking paper for the rest of the baking time.
- If you like it even more fluffy, fold in whipped cream. Attention: The cream makes the cheesecake even more substantial than it already is: a piece of cheesecake or quark cake can quickly reach 400, 500 calories or more.
- Heated apricot jam, which is then applied to the cheesecake with a brush (apricoting), ensures a nice finish and a shiny surface. Important: The jam must still be hot and the cake itself should be oven-warm.
Cheesecake: the star on the coffee table
Nobody can say ‘no’ to this cake: Cheesecake has proven itself for a long time and can be baked in many delicious variations. In summer we rely on the strawberry and orange cheesecake, while in winter we make ourselves comfortable with delicious cheesecakes with a speculoos crust. And the classic cheesecake version with cream also tastes heavenly. Reason enough to feast your way through all the delicious recipes very soon. With our step-by-step instructions you are guaranteed to succeed.
What makes the cheesecake?
Of course, nothing works without the ingredients butter, sugar, eggs and flour as a basis. But already with the cheese mass, which the Cheesecake gives its name, opinions are divided: It can be made of curd, mascarpone or ricotta. In most cases, a cheesecake is a quark cake – but even with that you have to choose between full-fat, half-fat and low-fat quark.
There are also religious wars about the right dough for cheesecake: some swear by cheesecake with a base of biscuits, others prefer their cheesecake with shortcrust pastry, with cocoa or without. Purists even make their cheesecake without a base – for the ultimate, no-frills cheesecake enjoyment. They would never spice up their dough with mandarins, crumble or raisins like more adventurous bakers do.
Prepare the bottomless cheesecake
Bottomless cheesecake works a little differently: Here the ingredients of the creamy quark mass are mixed with soft wheat or corn semolina, which gives it a certain stability. This is how the mixture comes in the springform pan. Then the cake goes into the oven.
What many do not know: you can even cook cheesecake. Well, not quite, but at least the ingredients – milk, sugar and butter – are boiled with starch to form a firm cream before curd cheese or cream cheese mixed with vegetable oil is mixed in. If you then add whipped egg white to the hot mixture, you get a dreamlike consistency that can be baked on the dough.
Cheesecake: American cheesecake
In the USA, people swear by a slightly more compact cheese mass. The classic one american Cheesecakeis prepared with double cream cheese. And that’s not enough of the special features: For the famous Strawberry Cheesecake, which was even included in the US stockpiling program for the case of a nuclear war in the 1960s, the cheesecake is coated with a sweet strawberry cream after baking. You should try this no-bake strawberry cheesecake once.
Grandma’s cheesecake is the best, isn’t it?
Cheesecake recipes have been handed down in many families for generations. And the daughters and granddaughters are certain: No one bakes such a good cheesecake as mom or grandma made it. If you still want to give a new recipe a try, you will find delicious inspiration here – with and without a base, for the springform pan or for the tin, but always delicious! In 90 to 120 minutes you will have a delicious, homemade cheesecake on the table that is irresistibly delicious.