I worked out all these life hacks after cooking a lot of cakes, use it for your health:
1. I use not one, but a mix of cheeses in cooking. Most often Serbian “Syrko”, “Serbian cheese”, “Kaymak”, because they have a good composition. I make the base from homemade shortbread cookies (recipe) or shortbread dough (recipe here).
2. The ingredients should be at room temperature for easy whipping.
3. The form is only detachable, otherwise it is very difficult to take out the cake.
4. I try not to use the mixer to avoid excess air in the filling. Or I whip it in a blender, but 1-2 hours before baking, so that air bubbles come out of the mixture.
5. Baking temperature – 160C. Baking time plus/minus 1 hour (for molds about 25 cm in diameter and a cake weight of 1 kg). If you bake in a split form, I recommend putting it not on the grill, but on a baking sheet. If liquid flows out of the mold, and this happens, then it will remain in the baking tray, and will not burn in the oven.
The readiness of the cheesecake is checked by tapping on the shape, if only the middle trembles, then the cake is ready. If the cheesecake is overexposed, then when it cools down, it is likely that it will crack unsightly.
6. A water bath is needed! I just put the second baking dish with boiling water(!) on the level below. So the heat is more uniform, which helps to avoid cracks, burning cheese, and even its texture becomes softer.
7. Cooling. 1 hour in the oven with the door open, then at room temperature until completely cooled, then hold a knife along the sides to peel off the cake and put it in the refrigerator for at least 5-7 hours, preferably for a day.
8. Only after that it can be removed from the mold. A form with cheesecakes in which there is a lot of fruit/berries (that is, liquid), I put on a small layer of paper towels so that they absorb excess moisture if it leaks.
Items 3-5 and 7 are needed primarily in order to avoid cracks or deformation of the cheese. If the appearance is not important to you, but only the taste, you can neglect them.
Here are some examples of my cheesecakes for inspiration:
My ideal proportion of classic New York cheesecake:
☑Basis. Shortbread cookies (250g) + 50g melted ghee butter.
☑Cheese layer. Cream cheese about 800g (part can be replaced with heavy cream or sour cream, no more than 150 g) + 100 ml. Jerusalem artichoke syrup + zest of 1 lemon + vanilla 1 pod (or 1-2 tsp ground / extract) + 3 chicken eggs.
The process of making cheesecake can be read in detail in this recipe. There’s a pumpkin recipe, but all the actions will be similar.
In principle, any cake can be turned into a cheesecake. Here I got a “Black Forest” or Black Forest. What it consists of: the base is a self—made cookie made from whole-grain flour with the addition of cocoa + stewed cherry with Jerusalem artichoke syrup and cinnamon (without starch, just boiled to the desired consistency) + the cheese itself is also with the addition of cocoa. It was possible to use chocolate, but did not “weigh down” the already hearty dessert.
Cheesecake with fresh raspberries and white chocolate on a nut cake.
On top is raspberry sauce (raspberry juice + Jerusalem artichoke syrup), not jelly. I don’t like jelly textures, so I don’t use gelatin/agar-agar at all.
Irish Cream cheesecake.
For those who like creamy liqueurs or whiskey, this dessert is just a must! For those who do not like such drinks, I think it will also be very tasty)
Mango cheesecake.
I came up with the recipe without gelatin and starch (I don’t accept them at all in food) and on coconut milk instead of cream, because I adore the combination of coconut and mango, and even on chocolate cake.
