HELP!!!! Lemon Swirl Cheesecake

[jazzyjas]

I am making the lemon swirl cheese cake for my father's birthday tomorrow and I am having a bit of a problem. I was making the crust according to the recipe I copied from a BB post and added 2 teaspoons of butter and then 1 Tablespoon of ice water -- well there was no way there was enough liquid to bind the flour together so I added a second Tablespoon of water and it still didn't seem right and I know this is supposed to be light but... Well I looked up the recipe in its original issue and it calls for 2 Tablespons of butter -- I added the additional 4 teaspoons and it still doesn't seem moist enough -- should I throw it out and start over? Thank you for any ideas you might have

Jasmine

[LaraW]

I made this cheesecake this past weekend. My crust turned out fine. It will not bind together like a regular pie crust, it will just be crumbly. Go ahead and put it into your springform pan and press it into just the bottom. That process will also make it bind together better, and then you bake it. THe baking will melt the butter, and will add to the liquid in there as well. It sounds like you're OK!

Let me know how it turns out! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[jazzyjas]

I'm a little worried because there is another Tablespoon of water in there -- will this hurt it? I guess since you bake the crust first I can try it and if it doesn't seem to work start over before adding the filling -- I'm going downstairs to try it out

Jas

[LaraW]

I still think you will be fine....

http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

Laar

[Beth]

I agree...try what you already have and see how it works...maybe bake it a couple minutes longer. If it doesn't work, try again, but expect the crust to be crumbles, more like a graham cracker crust, except that it will press together in the pan and make something closer to a pastry crust. Hope you like it. I loved it, but will use all the lemon curd next time.

[jazzyjas]

Ok -- its out of the oven and looks OK except there are a few small cracks in the middle (I had a heck of a time getting it to cover the whole pan it must be a 9.5/10" instead of a 9" I didn't think to measure. If you can't tell this is my first cheese cake. Will the cracks in the crust make a difference? They are very small and not many of them.

Jas

[LaraW]

If there are just a few cracks in the crust and they are small, you should be fine.

[jazzyjas]

Thanks for all your help. Here I am in the middle of a food crisis and my lovable golden retreiver decides its a good time to have a seizure (the poor dear -- he's epileptic) just to put my life into perspective.
I filled the crust and baked the cake turning the oven off 5 minutes early (I had heard this one takes longer to bake) and opened the oven door to let it cool slowly in the oven -- apparently this wasn't a great idea as the outside edges got a little overly brown. Now I am trying to think of something creative to do with lemon slices to hide the bit of edge a cut off.
I do think this is likely my last cheese cake -- maybe I'll change my mind after trying it.
Anyway, Thanks again for being there in my time of cooking crisis

Jas

[Beth]

Just remember, the next one has to be easier. This is probably too late, but I would have suggested a spread or piping of lemon curd if you had some left over or felt inclined to squeeze more lemons. A piping or dollop of whipped topping hides many sins or flaws too. Hope your dog is doing well now, and that you and your dad liked the cheesecake.

[schuh]

I did mine according to directions and found that the outsides got brown too. I just got canned whip cream and piped it around the outside just before serving. (Don't do it early or it will melt.) It looked fine and still tasted good.

I think you chose a hard one to start with. I had a hard time with that recipe too. Don't give up! Also, I hope your dog is ok.