Question On New York Cheese Cake Recipe

[Ed]

Hi,

I have read a post or two about this NY Cheese Cake from CL saying it came
out runny.

Well I didn't have that problem, but I can see why it might happen.

My question is this: The recipe says to bake it at 525 for 7 minutes and
then for 45 minutes at 200 This seems both too short a time and too low a
temp to me.

I followed the directions and when the time was up it wasn't set, I went
another 15 minutes, it still wasn't set, I went another 15 minutes. Well to
cut to the end, I had to go an additional 60 minutes and I needed to boost
the temp to 250 for the last 30 minutes to get it set. ( just a small circle
of about 3 inches jiggling when the pan it touched) The Cheesecake came out
just fine in the end, and everyone really liked it, but it was frustrating
to me to have to adjust the time and temp and keep an eye on it for so long.

BTW my oven temp is on according to two oven thermometers.

Most other Cheesecake recipes say to bake at 350 for about 70 minutes or so.

Have you made this recipe? have you had to adjust the time and temp to have
it come out O.K.?

I'm just curious if any of you have had this problem, and would like to hear
you opinions.

Am I expecting too much when I read a recipe? Is the phrase; "Or until set"
designed to cover any errors in a recipe?

The recipe follows.

Ed


* Exported from MasterCook *

New York Cheesecake


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
INGREDIENTS FOR 16 SERVINGS:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons chilled stick margarine -- cut into small
pieces
1 tablespoon ice water
Vegetable cooking spray
3 blocks nonfat cream cheese -- (8-ounce) softened
2 blocks Neufchatel cheese -- (8-ounce) softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 Tblsp. all purpose flour
1 Tblsp. vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. grated orange rind
1 tsp. grated lemon rind
1/4 tsp. salt
5 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place 2/3 cup flour and 2 tablespoons sugar in a food processor, and pulse 2
times or until combined. Add chilled margarine; pulse 6 times or until
mixture
resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly pour ice water through food
chute, processing just until blended (do not allow dough to form a ball).
Firmly press mixture into bottom of a 9-inch springform pan coated with
cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes; let cool on a wire rack.

Preheat oven to 525 degrees or to highest oven setting. Combine cheeses in a
large bowl; beat at high speed of a mixer until smooth. Add 1-3/4 cups sugar
and next 5 ingredients (sugar through salt); beat well. Add eggs, 1 at a
time,
beating well after each addition.

Pour cheese mixture into prepared pan; bake at 525 degrees for 7 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 200 degrees, and bake 45 minutes or until almost
set.

Remove cheesecake from oven, and let cool to room temperature. Cover and
chill
at least 8 hours. Garnish with lemon zest, orange slices, and lemon slices,
if
desired. Yield: 16 servings (serving size: 1 wedge).

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
CALORIES 261 (32% from fat); PROTEIN 11.7g; FAT 9.2g (sat 4.8g, mono 1.3g,
poly 0.7g); CARB 31.4g; FIBER 0.2g; CHOL 97mg; IRON 0.6mg; SODIUM 449mg;
CALC
147mg

[Grace]

Hi Ed. I made this recipe a long time ago and loved it, and while I don't remember exactly what I did (how long/what temp) to make it come out right, I do remember that it had to cook much longer than the recipe suggested. Additionally, I tend to use a smaller springform pan because I like the way a cheesecake looks when it is tall, so I know that factored into the equation.

I'm thinking that CL probably has a convection oven or something in their kitchen that cooks a little bit faster than an "average" gas or electric oven. It seems to me that almost every recipe I ever make from them requires a longer baking time. I don't mind it too much, since I have come to expect it, and because I (like you) can generally tell when something is done by how it looks, or by using a toothpick or something. I rarely, if ever, have disasters because of the incorrect timing or temperature, but I do agree that it is somewhat of a hassle to have to constantly reset the timer for another 5/10/15 minutes and keep checking the darn thing. And I think often of the inexperienced cooks/bakers out there who don't know what they're looking for when trying to determine if something's done, and rely more heavily on those times/temps. It's sad to think they'll have disappointing results and maybe be turned off to CL or baking or whatever. I think you're right that the statement "or until set" is their loophole to get around providing better information. Sorry you had so much trouble, but I think the cheesecake was worth it in the end? (I love that one).

Grace

[Norma]

Yes, Ed, I had the same trouble with this cheesecake. I didn't have that much experience with cheesecakes at the time and my finished product was quite soupy in the middle although it tasted wonderful. Everyone certainly gobbled it all up. But I wasn't at all happy with its appearance. I wrote to CL twice but never received a reply.

So, if you were to make it again, what would be your times and temperatures. I want to make this again for a birthday in about a week.

[This message has been edited by Norma (edited 12-30-2000).]

[Norma]

Just bringing this back to the top for Ed.

[Ed]

Hi Norma,

Thanks for bringing this back to the top to remind me of your question.

In answering your question please understand that there are far better cooks on this BB than I am. Many times I hesitate to give any cooking advise because there are so many good cooks on this Bulletin Board. But to answer your question here is what I will do the next time I make this Cheesecake.

I'd stick with the 7 minutes at 525° but then I would only lower the temp to 250° and bake it for 60 minutes. I'd check it at 45 and again at 60 minutes to track how it's doing. I believe in proceeding cautiously when adjusting a recipe. Then I would add time in 15 minute blocks depending on how the Jiggling of the cheesecake looks.

I would hope that at 60 minutes it would be close to a 3 inch area in the middle if not then I would add the 1st block of time and either leave the temp the same or up it by 25° if it was a large area that was jiggling.

After I make this a time or two more I'll have it honed down to an exact recipe.

One of our Daughters and her Husband came by today and she got the recipe. They had some of the one I made and really liked it. She thinks it's probably the best Cheesecake she's ever had, and she was quite surprised to learn it was a Cooking Light recipe.

Maybe if she makes it her experience will help me out a bit too.

All I can say is that you can't go by that recipe like it's the gospel and then take it out of the oven. You need to eyeball it and smell it. When there is very little to almost no jiggle and the aroma is good, then it's time to take it out of the oven.

Cool it, and chill it in the pan, and take it out of the pan just before it's time to serve it.

Even with all the putsy stuff with this Cheesecake, I still like it.

I hope all this is a help to you.

Ed

[Norma]

Ed, thanks for taking the time to give me this information. I will be making it on Sunday and I'm going to use your guidelines and see what happens. I know it will taste great. No one I've served it to in the past had a clue it was low fat. Thanks again. I'll probably post what happens. Norma