testkitchen45
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Post by testkitchen45 on Mar 22, 2017 15:28:30 GMT -5
OK; friends--I'm desperate here. I know all about the importance of getting ingredients to room temp for cheesecake, and I do that. I'll let them sit out all day or even overnight, & then the last time I made cheesecake, I even put my cream cheese into a ziplock baggie in warm water for a bit as I got everything else going, just in case the center was still cool from that morning.
My batter still had tiny lumps.
I've used my KitchenAid stand mixer with the regular flat paddle; the KA stand mixer with the wide-open-center spatula (scraping) paddle, & my KA hand mixer. (I tried the whisk attachment once, but it added too much air, of course.) My mom used her little Sunbeam stand mixer, I think; I don't recall if she used a hand mixer. Her cheesecake was always perfect, & mine's not.
Are teeny lumps (about 1/16" across, or 1/8" max) normal? I didn't notice them so much in the final taste of my last cheesecake (made w/ hand mixer); the resulting cake seemed very smooth but I thought the batter should've been perfectly smooth also. The KA stand mixer is such a gourmet-kitchen standard that I can't imagine it'd be eclipsed by a hand mixer, & Google searches are no help here.
Thoughts? Mixer recommendation? Thanks!
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Post by wallycat on Mar 22, 2017 16:16:42 GMT -5
The first time I made cheesecake (oy, before I was married!), I mixed everything by hand.
After I got married, I made one more cheesecake--I used a food processor.
Mine always ended up creamy and I never remembered to leave anything at room temp, especially when I was working. **blush***
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 17:04:15 GMT -5
It's been a while. It was probably a hand mixer or food processor since I don't own a KitchenAid. Did you use full-fat cream cheese, incorporate all the sugar, add the eggs one at a time? Perhaps it's the recipe or the method? There's a recipe and video for New York cheesecake at Joy of baking.com that might be helpful.
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testkitchen45
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Post by testkitchen45 on Mar 22, 2017 17:50:06 GMT -5
Yup: full-fat cream cheese & sour cream; careful incorporation; no cold ingredients . . . still it's hard to get that 100% creamy look w/o some flecks of unbeaten cream cheese.
If one tool is better than the others (food processor, KA, whatever), then you'd think this topic would've come up before & would pop up in a Google search.
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Post by wallycat on Mar 22, 2017 19:49:44 GMT -5
Are you using a bain marie to bake it? Maybe it is as simple as I have a bad memory. Cheese cake...YUM...who cares if there's a fleck of unbeaten cream cheese  |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 22, 2017 20:09:06 GMT -5
Maybe you have kitchen Gremlins that wreak havoc with your cooking tools while you're asleep. Mwahahaha.
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Post by PattiA on Mar 22, 2017 21:24:37 GMT -5
I use my food processor for mixing cheesecake batter.
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cafelatte
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Post by cafelatte on Mar 23, 2017 8:27:48 GMT -5
I've made many cheesecakes over the years using hand mixer, KA mixer and a FP. I don't think it matters which you use. But, I always mix the cream cheese on it's own for a bit before I add any ingredients. Have you tried doing that? Also, even if a recipe doesn't say to add the eggs one at at time, I still do. I'm not sure that this all helps, but I can't recall having lumps in my batter. I only make 1 or 2 cheesecakes a year these days, but in the past, it was always my go-to dessert since it's DH's fave. Which reminds me, his Bday is coming up and I just might have to make him a cheesecake.  |
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Post by swedishcook on Mar 23, 2017 21:14:18 GMT -5
Very limited experience but I believe cafelatte is right. For myself I've only made Emeril's Raspberry Chocolate Cheese Cake a couple of times. That recipe says start by beating cream cheese 5 minutes until smooth. After adding chocolate,sugar and raspberry liqueur you beat for 4 minutes until very smooth. On low eggs are added one at a time, beating until incorporated but do not overbeat. No water bath and I only have a handheld mixer. Never had lumps and any cracks are covered with fresh raspberries.
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Post by beth on Mar 23, 2017 23:05:40 GMT -5
My first thought is that it is a proccess issue. I'm not sure off the top of my head whether all the recipes I have made have had you beat the cream cheese separately first or with the sugar -- or some of each, but you have to basically cream the mixture like you do butter and sugar in making cookies. If you are doing that, I would question the cream cheese you are using. Have you tried a different brand? Maybe there is something about the brand you are using. I usually use the reduced fat. Just never use the fat free unless a recipe specifically calls for it.
And to answer your question, I have made them with a wooden spoon, a hand mixer and a stand mixer. I found the wooden spoon made it a little harder to get really smooth, but other than that, no difference as long as the cream cheese is at room temp.
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testkitchen45
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Post by testkitchen45 on Mar 24, 2017 16:03:28 GMT -5
Well, all, wish me luck . . . room-temp ingredients (including name-brand, full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese) await. (With the fat level of a cheesecake, it's a good thing we're not on the CLBB any more, right?) ETA, next day: OK; this baby's in the fridge as of last night. I just found out that my future daughter-in-law will be here with DS tomorrow night; should I just leave the chilled cheesecake untouched (I imagine it'll be great tomorrow night?), or should I cut into it & make sure it's OK? She loves all things cheese, esp. cheesecake. |
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Post by swedishcook on Mar 25, 2017 19:36:26 GMT -5
I vote for waiting. If the cheesecake is not perfect she will still appreciate your effort - baking it just for her. She probably knows by now that you're a great baker Question: have you prepared this particular cheesecake before? My big advise to our daughters when they left home was that there are no bad cooks just bad recipes. |
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cafelatte
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Post by cafelatte on Mar 26, 2017 9:09:23 GMT -5
Well, all, wish me luck . . . room-temp ingredients (including name-brand, full-fat Philadelphia cream cheese) await. (With the fat level of a cheesecake, it's a good thing we're not on the CLBB any more, right?) ETA, next day: OK; this baby's in the fridge as of last night. I just found out that my future daughter-in-law will be here with DS tomorrow night; should I just leave the chilled cheesecake untouched (I imagine it'll be great tomorrow night?), or should I cut into it & make sure it's OK? She loves all things cheese, esp. cheesecake. Cheesecake keeps well, so if you want to test it, you can, or wait. I'm sure it's fine either way! Swedishcook is right |
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Post by wallycat on Mar 26, 2017 10:26:02 GMT -5
I agree, nothing made with love will be received badly. Enjoy the visit and the cheesecake!
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testkitchen45
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Post by testkitchen45 on Mar 27, 2017 10:40:30 GMT -5
Well, I'm happy to report that the cheesecake was a success. DS & FDIL came over on Saturday, not Sunday, so the timing was perfect (however, Sunday leftovers--we sent a chunk of cake home with FDIL, but she left some here--were just as good). This recipe requires you to chill (not prebake) the crust (so easy!), plus it has lemon zest and orange zest, which help mitigate the heaviness of all that cream cheese. I was careful to mix for much longer on a very low speed (2, I think--not "stir"; used KA stand mixer), in order to mix thoroughly w/o adding air. I think my previous mistake was too-short, too-fast mixing; longer & slower worked well. Even bought some canned cream-cheese icing (hey, time constraints; don't judge ), tinted it light pink, & added swirly rosettes around the top & a shell border at the bottom (after first moving the cake from the springform base to a cake board). |
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cafelatte
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Post by cafelatte on Mar 28, 2017 9:28:31 GMT -5
Good to hear it was a success!
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Post by swedishcook on Mar 28, 2017 21:51:22 GMT -5
Glad it went so well after all you worries |
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testkitchen45
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Post by testkitchen45 on Mar 29, 2017 11:49:45 GMT -5
Thanks, all. The cheesecake part was great . . . now I have crust questions. Maybe I should post this part over in the pressure-cooker thread, but as long as I've got you all here . . . My mom's traditional cheesecake was perfect; even the crust remained wonderful several days later. However, the pressure-cooker cheesecake crust isn't as nice. It's fine on Day 1, maybe Day 2, but it gets fairly hard over time (with the cheese portion staying wonderful), whereas Mom's crusts stayed perfect for the several days it takes us to eat up a cheesecake or two (if one of my sons is around, that time plummets to about a day and a half!). Wonder why the pressure-cooker cheesecake crust isn't as good? I've tried two versions, prebaked & prechilled (not baked till the filling goes in), & both aren't as good as Mom's. Obviously, no baked goods will be at their best for more than a few days, but there's a notable difference between Mom's crust & the pressure-cooked ones. Found one link here & still searching for info on great PC crusts: link . |
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Post by beth on Mar 30, 2017 12:51:22 GMT -5
I've never used a pressure cooker, but as a closed system, would it allow drying the way a conventional oven does? Doesn't seem like it would, or it would be more limited, in which case, the crust wouldn't seem to get as crisp in the first place and wouldn't retain what crispness it gets as well. I have always made cheesecake with a crumb crust with just a 5-10 min prebake. That's my preference with cheesecake and cream pies, though I won't turn down a pastry crust on either.
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