How do you know when cheesecake is done baking?
Simply jiggle the pan a small amount. Take care not to get water in the pan if you have baked your cheesecake using a water bath. Check to see how much the center jiggles. When you shake the pan and a 2 in (5.1 cm) area in the center jiggles slightly, the cheesecake is done.
How to bake cheesecake without cracking it?
Shake the cheesecake pan gently. While the cheesecake is still in the oven, use an oven mitt to gently shake the pan. Don’t be too rough with your still-warm dessert or it may crack. Simply jiggle the pan a small amount. Take care not to get water in the pan if you have baked your cheesecake using a water bath. [1]
Why is my cheesecake jiggling after baking?
It could mean that your cheesecake is okay if there is still a large area that jiggles. Or a liquid that breaks the surface over the cheesecake pan’s edges, which means that your cheesecake is not ready. With that, bake your cheesecake for another 5 minutes. And ensure to repeat the process to check for doneness.
Is it normal for cheesecake to be runny in the middle?
You might worry a runny middle means raw cheesecake, but it's totally safe and normal. The center will firm up as it cools on a cooling rack ($9, Target ), resulting in the smooth surface you want. Do not use a knife to check a cheesecake for doneness.
How to Tell if Cheesecake Is Done
The secret to testing a cheesecake for doneness: Jiggle it. Define jiggle, you say. Gently shake the cheesecake (wearing oven mitts, of course). If the cheesecake looks nearly set and only a small circle in the center jiggles slightly, it's done. You might worry a runny middle means raw cheesecake, but it's totally safe and normal.
All Topics in How to Bake
I've been making New York cheese cakes for 10 years and have perfected them. I use a pan of water on the bottom rack, baking at 325° for 70 minutes. The recipe calls for 55 minutes but I've come to learn from mistakes the cake needs to bake 1 hour & 10 minutes.
Community Q&A
I don't feel comfortable doing the warm bath and foil around the pan. Will the other steps and ideas work without doing that?
Tips
Try not to open the oven door while your cheesecake is cooking. Doing so can lower the temperature and lead to an unevenly baked cake.
Warnings
Don’t test a cheesecake’s doneness by poking it with a toothpick or knife. It won’t give you an accurate assessment and can also create a crack in the filling.
About This Article
This article was co-authored by Emily Margolis and by wikiHow staff writer, Sophia Latorre. Emily Margolis is a baking entrepreneur in Baltimore, MD. With over 15 years of baking experience, she founded Baking with Chef Emily in 2018, offering private baking lessons in the D.C. area. This article has been viewed 236,249 times.
5 Ways to Tell When a Cheesecake is Done
Here are five simple methods I’ve tested to help you figure out when a cheesecake is done.
FAQs
Here are a few other questions you might have on the topic. I’ll answer them briefly below.
Wrapping It Up
Cheesecakes can be tricky and a bit of a commitment. The cost for ingredients is generally quite high and they can take a while to bake in the oven. Nothing sucks more than seeing all that time you spent and all the yummy goodness goes to waste.
How To Tell If Cheesecake Is Done Baking: Checking The Temperature Of Your Cheesecake
We do not want to wait for a long time for our thermometer to determine the temperature. So, opt-out to an instant-read variety of thermometers. With that, ensure to clean after every use.
How Can You Tell When A Cheesecake Is Done: Shaking Your Cheesecake
While your cheesecake is still inside the oven, use an oven mitten to jiggle your cheesecake pan gently. Remember, avoid being too rough with your warm cheesecake, or it will crack. Also, try to jiggle your cheesecake pan gently. With that, ensure that no water can get into the pan if you are baking with a water bath.
How Do You Surely Know When A Cheesecake Is Done: Touching The Surface Of Your Cheesecake
Meticulously wash your hands with warm water and soap before touching and handling your cheesecake. Rinse your hands properly to remove any soap residue and dry your hands completely.
Looking At Your Cheesecake
Usually, you can distinguish if your cheesecake is okay. You will know when you can observe half an inch ring around the cheesecake’s edges starts to turn brown. And it puffs up slightly from your pan. In addition to that, the filling of your cheesecake should remain pale and not golden.
Jiggle it!
The most common mistake is to bake cheesecake as you would any other cake. The techniques you know for not taking an underbaked sponge out of the oven do not apply. Stabbing a cheesecake in the middle with a skewer or a knife is not a great indicator. This is because it will always come out wet! That is unless it is already overbaked.
Touch it!
It may seem counter-intuitive to touch something that has been in the oven for some time. It is, though, a great way of knowing if your cheesecake is done!
Check the Center Temperature
This is the most accurate method of knowing if cheesecake -and, actually, anything you cook in the oven- is done, but also the most specific. Once the center reaches the correct temperature, then its time to take it out!
