CHEESECAKES

Cheesecakes are creamy, and smooth, and rich, and dense, and absolutely delicious.

We cannot talk about cheesecakes without mentioning the pitfalls, mainly the questions of how do we prevent cracking and when are cheesecakes done?

First, let's talk about cracks on the surface of a baked cheesecake, as this is a common problem and is caused either by over beating the batter and/or by too much moisture being lost as the cheesecake bakes (over baking).

In order to prevent cracks make sure you beat the ingredients at low speed as, unlike a butter cake, you do not want to incorporate a lot of air into the batter, you only want to beat the ingredients until they are nice and smooth.

As far as the over baking of cheesecakes goes, this is a common problem as it is difficult to know when a cheesecake is done.

The thing to remember is that you want the cheesecake to be firm but, if you shake the pan gently, it should still wobble a little, and the center will still look a little wet.

For even though the center may not look fully baked, once it cools it will firm up and be the correct consistency.

Cheesecakes are cakes that should not to be eaten straight away as they need to cool and then be refrigerated for several hours, preferably overnight, so the flavors have time to blend and the texture becomes nice and firm.

The great thing about cheesecake is that it stores very well and can also be frozen.

To freeze, place the cooled cheesecake on a baking pan and freeze, uncovered, until firm.

Remove the cheesecake from the freezer, wrap it in heavy duty aluminum foil and place in a freezer bag. Seal and return to freezer.

It can be frozen for several months.

Thaw the uncovered cheesecake in the refrigerator overnight.

This cheesecake tastes best after being refrigerated for at least a day.