It is tricky to know when to take the cheesecake out of the oven, so today we will discuss how to tell if a cheesecake is done. Baked cheesecake is definitely one of my absolute favorite treats but it can be easy to either under or overcook it -and burn it!
To actually tell if a cheesecake is perfectly baked, we need to shake it. Yes, you read that right. Shake it in the pan to see how much jiggle it has. You are looking for a small jiggle in its center. It needs to look nearly set, except for a small circle in the middle that still moves around a bit.
With clean hands, lightly press the center of the cake’s surface. You want to feel that it is firm but still has to give. Of course, if your fingers sink into it with little resistance or come out with batter on them, it needs more time. Be patient!
This is the most accurate method of knowing if cheesecake -and, actually, anything you cook in the oven- is done, but also the most specific. Once the center reaches the correct temperature, then its time to take it out!
A warm baking sheet. can cause the butter to melt in the dough.To prevent this, you can either let the sheet cool or place the dough in the refrigerator beforehand.
The most common mistake is to bake cheesecake as you would any other cake. The techniques you know for not taking an underbaked sponge out of the oven do not apply.Stabbing a cheesecake in the middle with a skewer or a knife is not a great indicator. This is because it will always come out wet! That is unless it is already overbaked.