The hard thing about recipes sometimes is that you don’t know exactly how much it will make. With cookies it’s never a big deal and entirely depends on the size of your scoop. But for cheesecakes when the ingredients are a bit expensive, it’s a slightly different story.

I had an order for a cheesecake for my neighbor. My memory can be super bad so not remembering which recipe I liked for cheesecake I went with my oldie but trusty Baking Handbook by Martha Stewart. I’ve only been steered the wrong way once with it… soon to be twice though.

I should have known looking at the ingredients- seven 8 ounce packages of cream cheese?! … I should have halved it, but… I wanted to make sure I had enough especially since it was for an order.

The recipe yielded enough for a 9″ cheesecake and there was a TON left over, enough for me to make 24 individual sized cupcakes… the original yield: one 10″ cheesecake. hmm… My book is now covered with notes and things crossed out. But lucky for my coworkers, they got a valentine’s day surprise. 😀

Half I topped with sprinkles. The other had hearts made from a raspberry coulis. For the crust, I ended up making three kinds, a chocolate cookie crust for the 9″ cake, a traditional graham cracker crust for 1 dozen mini cheesecakes, and a vanilla cookie crust for the other dozen. My favorite (well I think it was, I didn’t get to try the chocolate) was the vanilla cookie crust. The cheesecake infuses it with flavor and its not crumbly but instead this great complement to the custard.

The cheesecake itself- Amazing. Creamy and just plain delicious. I loved the cupcake size since they are perfect for one person. I’m setting this one aside as my go-to for a plain cheesecake, just in a reduced amount.

To make the hearts put round drops of the coulis on the surface then run a toothpick through it, top to bottom. (See upper right in the above pictures for an example of the dots). I used a squeeze bottle, but you could use a pastry bag or Ziploc bag to make the dots.

A lot of people are afraid of making cheesecakes- I definitely raise my hand to this statement… but I think I’ve got the hang of it now. Over the holidays I made many a pumpkin cheesecake for Thanksgiving orders and nailed down the steps to what has helped me produce the perfect cheesecake. One cheesecake in particular I was so nervous about turning out that I woke up at 2am after allowing it to cool on the counter top for several hours before putting it in the fridge. The next morning was like Christmas- no Grand Canyons!! I promptly posted the achievement to Facebook while grinning like a crazy person.

My Cheesecake Tips and Tricks:

– When you put the cheesecake in the oven, put a dish filled with boiling water on the rack below it. This creates steam in the oven and helps prevent cracks. I used a glass pie dish that I placed in the oven while it was preheating then filled it with water I’d previously boiled in a teapot right after I put in the cheesecake. It’s a little easier than carrying a dish filled with hot water around the kitchen.

– Once done baking, let the cheesecake cool- either in the oven with the door cracked or on the counter on a cooling rack.

– After about 10-15 minutes, run a sharp paring knife around the edges. This releases them to keep the cheesecake from pulling and cracking when it retracts while it’s cooling.

– Let cool completely at room temperature before placing in the fridge. This might take 2 hours or more.

– I sometimes don’t cover the top of the springform pan with plastic wrap or foil once it’s in the fridge because I don’t want condensation forming and then dripping on the top of the cake. I’ll wait until I know it’s cool for sure- an hour or so and then wrap it up.

I’ve had absolutely no cracks since taking these steps (hopefully I didn’t jinx it). Cheesecakes can be finicky! But hopefully this takes some of the guesswork out of it- because man are they delicious!!

Happy Valentine’s Day 🙂