It is hard to tell you how long to bake your cheesecake. The center takes the longest to bake, so watch what it's doing in the middle! It is much better to explain what a done cake looks and feels like. 

Start checking the cheesecake about 15 to 20 minutes prior to the end of the suggested baking time.

If a cheesecake looks done in the pan it's going to be overdone on the plate. The residual heat that's held in the cake, will continue to cook it for a few minutes, even after its out of the oven. The cake will also firm up overnight in the fridge.

QUESTION: I seem to have a hard time prepping the cheesecake for icing. It sweats constantly and it can only be iced with buttercream, any suggestions?

ANSWER: I'm assuming that your cheesecake is being stored in the refrigerator before icing. The temperature differential between ambient air and the cakes will cause airborne moisture to condense on the cake's surface.

To prevent this, allow the cakes to warm (from the refrigerator) or cool (from the oven) to ambient (surrounding room air) temperature, then apply your icing (which hopefully will be at a comparable temperature).

Place the iced cakes back into the cooler and allow the cakes and icing to cool together.

The Number One Tip: Before attempting to remove your cheesecake from the Springform pan's bottom, your cheesecake must be chilled overnight, for at least 12 hours and preferably up to 24; it must be really firm and cold. If the cake is too soft, you will probably ruin your cheesecake when doing so. How do I know? Because I ruined one of mine; my cheesecake was only chilled for 4 to 5 hours and it was apparently still too soft for this technique. The next time, I chilled my cheesecake for 24 hours and removed it from the Springform pan's bottom with great success.

After you loosen the springform pan's ring, the cheesecake is usually stuck to the bottom part. When my family is chomping at the bit to eat cheesecake, I serve my cheesecake still attached. If I have some time and company is coming, I remove the springform bottom before presenting and serving my cheesecake. 

To remove the cheesecake from the spingform pan's bottom, start with one cardboard cake round (2 old fashioned record covers work well, too or the bottom of a round or square baking pan just larger than the circumference of the cheesecake.) You will need them to help support the cheesecake when taking from the springform pan. Cover its surface in foil. (With the record albums, stack on on top of the other so they are stiff and enclose in foil. You want them to be very stiff). Sometimes I purchase my cardboard cake rounds at the bakery counter in my local grocery store or from a cake decorating shop. You can make your own by cutting out a piece of a sturdy corrugated carton with a sharp cutting knife, but it's kind of a pain. Make sure it is a little bit wider then the cheesecake's circumference.

Before making the recipe, prepare the springform pan by greasing it with melted butter. Then, cut parchment paper in a circle, making sure that it completely covers the bottom round of it leaving 2 inches of room around the circle to spare. (Don't use waxed paper because it gets soggy and breaks easily after baking). Later, you will need to grab onto it order to slide the cheesecake off of the bottom of the foil or parchment paper. Grease the top of the paper. When you clamp on the side part, the extra foil or parchment should stick out the sides of the bottom. 

1. Before removing the cheesecake, chill the cheesecake for about 24 hours. Now comes the second event that tries the baker's soul. It's the cheesecake's removal from the pan.  

2. When chilled, take a very thin knife dipped in hot water and wiped dry and trace around the inside of the pan and the edge of the cheesecake to loosen it. Do so in an up and down manner holding the knife perpendicular to the pan's bottom. When done, remove the sides of the cheesecake's pan. Open the springform ring as wide as you can and remove without nicking the sides of the cheesecake. When the bottom is free, take a very thin knife blade, dipped in hot water and then just barely trace around the parchment paper just to make sure nothing is clinging.  

3. To remove the cheesecake from the springform pan bottom, there are several ways:

In General: After the cake is cooled completely in the refrigerator overnight, place the cheesecake in its pan (with sides) over a burner under low heat and turn it every ten or fifteen seconds; make sure you warm the entire bottom. This will soften the butter in the crust which will help release the cake from the pan. Afterwards, remove the springform pan ring, and it will slide easily onto a cake round or plate. If it doesn't, heat the bottom a few more seconds.

No Topping:  First, you need to turn the cheesecake upside down to remove it from the pans bottom as well as the parchment paper. You'll have an easier time if you freeze the cheesecake with the pan's bottom attached for about 15 to 20 minutes so it is semi-solid. Without thawing it, put a piece of wax paper on top of the cheesecake, because you don't want it to stick, and then place a cardboard round on top with the foil side down. With one holding the underside of the bottom of the springform pan and at the same time the other holding the bottom of the cardboard cake round, flip the cheesecake over.

Place the cheesecake on its cardboard cake round on a flat surface. The bottom should be facing up. With a thin knife (I use a long, very thin fish fillet knife), dipped and hot water and dried off, place it between the parchment paper and the bottom of the pan and in a careful up and down motion, loosen the crust from the pan. Every so often, try to remove the pan's bottom. The parchment paper you placed on the bottom of the pan should make the job easier.

If the springform pan bottom won't lift off easily, don't force it. To loosen it, take a kitchen towel, soak it briefly in hot water and ring it out. (Be careful because it's hot). Place it on the top of the pan's bottom ONLY and count to 10. The heat should melt the butter that was used to grease the pan with, making it easier to remove. Try to remove the bottom again. When you have, carefully peel off the parchment paper.

With your FLAT serving platter held face-down and centered over the cheesecake, press it against the crust and with both hands, one touching the underside of the cardboard round and the other holding the bottom of the serving platter, flip both over. Remove the cardboard which is now at the top. Your cheesecake should be sitting nicely on its platter. 

Has a Topping (Sour Cream, Fruit, etc.): With a topping, you can't flip a cheesecake over to remove it from the pan's bottom. Instead, hold down one corner of the parchment paper and gently push on the bottom of the cheesecake so it slides off onto a FLAT serving platter. Make sure the platter is positioned at the same level as the cheesecake. This way you don't have to remove the paper on the bottom. If the cheesecake starts to crack when removing it, chill it in the freezer (about 15 - 20 minutes) until it becomes hard enough to safely take it out of the pan. It works really well. 

4. If necessary, smooth the sides of your cheesecake with a large, flat cake icing spatula, if necessary, before serving. Or, press left-over dry cheesecake crust crumbs or chopped and toasted nuts around the side of it after removing it from the pan to hide any imperfections. 

Freeze cheesecakes wrapped in plastic wrap and then followed by foil. Remember to cool it completely before freezing. I remove mine from the pan beforehand. Then, set the cake on a sheet pan and freeze for about 15 to 20 minutes until it stiffens. Take it out briefly to wrap in plastic and then in foil. 

Mark the package, so you know what it is and freeze for about a month. When it is time to thaw, set the unwrapped cake in the refrigerator and thaw overnight.  

Fat, found in cream cheese and egg yolks, helps the cheesecake keep well in the freezer. The fat cells keep the ice crystals separated so it won't create soggy pockets in the cheesecake. You can use reduced-fat cream cheese, such as Neufchatel cheese, and still freeze homemade cheesecakes. 

Always use a long, very sharp and thin knife and keep it warm and clean. I would suggest using a very sharp and thin slicing knife, not a cake knife or server. The cheesecake must be well-chilled and gelled before slicing or else it won't work.

Hold the knife blade under hot running water right before you are ready to cut. Repeat the process every time you cut the cake to make sure the knife is clean every time. This will keep the cheesecake edges clean and crisp. The warmth from the knife will partially melt the cream cheese in the cheesecake and seal it at the same time, helping the slices easily separate from one another.

Since cheesecake is pretty rich, I like to slice it pretty thin. If cutting a few slices, dip the knife in hot water and dry it before proceeding and then cut to the center in one motion. Then draw the knife out. Dip the knife in hot water and dry it before proceeding.

If cutting an entire cheesecake, think of it as a face on a clock and make cuts accordingly:

The other thing I do is to cut a cheesecake with WAXED dental floss. (Flavored dental floss can be used because it does not leave a taste!!) You need a long lengths because you need to wrap around your fingers, as well as making sure the exposed length is a little longer than the circumference of the cheesecake. Please note that as soon as the floss gets sticky, it doesn't work 

Wind one end of floss around each of your index fingers until the string is taut, then push the floss down to cut across the diameter of the cake.

Once you reach the cake pan, unwind the floss from one finger and pull it through the cut until it's free of the cake.

Repeat the process in equal increments around the cake to create even slices.

I like to bake my cheesecake in a regular cake pans because the water from the waterbath tends to leak into the springform pan. It isn't a complex process, but slightly different from the more common springform pan method. 

If the recipe calls for a 10-inch springform, use a 10-inch cake pan. First, grease the bottom and the sides VERY WELL. You want a good layer of butter to help the cake release in the end.  I also prefer to place a round of parchment or waxed paper on the bottom and grease it on top, too.  Prepare the tools necessary for a waterbath.

1. Make your crust and press firmly into the bottom of the pan. If you want to finish the sides in the end, save about 1/3 - 1/2 cup of dry ground crumbs. Pre-bake the crust if specified in the recipe.

2. Make sure your oven is preheated to 325 degrees F or the temperature specified in the recipe. Pour the filling into the pan. Fill the outer waterbath pan with hot water and bake.

3. When the cake is done, remove it from the waterbath and place it on a level surface. Allow the cake to cool completely, then chill it at least overnight, preferably for 24 hours, especially if using a cake pan. You want the cake to be solid before removing it otherwise you will probably ruin it. If the cheesecake is not well-chilled, you will certainly ruin it.

4. When it's time to remove the cake from the pan, have at least one flat serving plate and a cardboard round or two flat plates ready. 

5. Place your cake pan just above a heated burner, as you are only heating it long enough to warm the butter in the bottom of the pan. If you are using gas, use a low flame, and if you are using electric, use a medium setting. Keep the pan rotating over the burner to evenly heat it. When you feel the sides of the pan beginning to warm, take the pan off and place the plastic covered plate or cardboard round on top (up-side-down) and invert it so the bottom of the pan is facing you.

6. At an angle, firmly tap the edge of the pan all the way around with a wooden spoon to release the cheesecake. When you feel the cake give way, remove the cake pan.  If it doesn't, repeat Step #6, above. IMMEDIATELY place the second serving plate on the crust and holding both plates, turn it back over so the top is facing up. The sides can be smoothed with a warm knife or offset spatula, by first dipping in hot water and then drying before using.  

7. If desired, finish the sides with a thin layer of crumbs. Hold the serving plate in one hand, with the crumbs on a plate below. With your free hand, take a hand full of crumbs and gently press them up against the sides of the cake. Keep turning the platter until all of the cake sides are covered.  

8. Store the cheesecake in the refrigerator or freezer. It can be frozen for over a month. 

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