Cheesecake is a dessert consisting of a topping made of soft, fresh cheese on a base made from biscuit, pastry or sponge. The topping is frequently sweetened with sugar and flavored or topped with fruit, nuts, fruit flavored drizzle and/or chocolate.
Savory cheesecakes also exist, served sometimes as hors d'oeuvre or with accompanying salads.
Cheesecake was already a popular dish in ancient Greece before Romans adopted it with the conquest of Greece. The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus, who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes. Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura includes recipes for two cakes for religious uses: libum and placenta. Of the two, placenta is most like modern cheesecakes, having a crust that is separately prepared and baked. In 1872, William Lawrence from Chester, NY, along with other dairymen, came up with a way of making an "unripened cheese" that is heavier and creamier by accident, actually looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese, Neufchatel. Lawrence distributed the cheese in foil, becoming a brand that is familiarly recognized as "Philadelphia". Later on in 1912, James Kraft invented a form of this cream cheese, but pasteurized it; this is now the most commonly used cheese for cheesecake.
Almost all modern cheesecakes in the United States and Canada use cream cheese; in Italy, cheesecakes use ricotta; Germany and Poland use quark cheese. Cheesecakes are most easily baked in a leak-proof springform pan, often paired with a water bath to more evenly distribute the heat. Because of the high density of most cheesecakes, they continue baking for some time after removal from an oven.
The type of cheese affects not only the texture and taste, but also the ability to incorporate certain types of ingredients. When cheesecake batter is too thin, many cheesecakes will not be structurally sound and fall apart at the table. One way to get around this is to use unflavored gelatin or a little cornstarch beaten with the eggs.
A common difficulty with baking cheesecakes is its tendency to “crack” when cooled. This is due to the coagulation of the beaten eggs in its batter. There are various methods to prevent this. One method is to bake the cheesecake in a hot water bath to ensure even heating. However, a major drawback to the 'bath' is water leaking into the springform pan despite layering the outside of the pan with aluminium foil. This is easily solved by placing a small (8" X 8") pan of water on the lowest oven rack; care needs to be taken when opening the oven to let the built-up steam escape. Other methods include blending a little cornstarch into the batter or baking the cheesecake at a lower temperature and slow cooling it in the oven, turned off, with the door ajar. If these methods fail, a common practice is to cover the top of the cheesecake with toppings such as fruit, whipped cream, or cookie crumbs. One additional method is to wrap a wet towel around the cake tin, which slows down the cooking of the outside edge and results in a flat top.
Alternatively, cracks can also be repaired by simply using a flat knife and some warm water. Or you can use mixture of sour cream topping and castor sugar spread evenly over the top and bake for another 10 minutes. For a detailed explanation refer to the Article at Cheesecake Symphonies. After the cake has been chilled for a few hours, simply dip the knife in warm water and mold the cheesecake as if sculpting. Cracks and unevenness can easily be taken care of in this fashion. This method also works well for repairing the sides and giving the final cheesecake a flawless look. For crater size cracks, try using the bits that are stuck on the side of the pan to help repair the damage. Alternatively, a mixture of sour cream and caster sugar with a drop of vanilla extract can be spread over a recently baked cheesecake (while still hot), before returning it to the oven for ten minutes.
Another common problem, particularly with baked cheesecakes, is that the biscuit base becomes too soft. For extra crunch, replace around a quarter of the crushed biscuits with Grape Nuts.
Fruits like Strawberries and Pineapples are also often used to make baked cheesecakes. Whilst Strawberries are best used fresh for a cheesecake, to bake a Pineapple Cheesecake it is recommended to use canned pineapple. Reason, the fresh fruit contains the Bromelain Enzyme which can break down the proteins in gelatine. If you do use fresh pineapple it is recommended to boil the fruit chunks in their juice or water for a few minutes until they are soft.
Many types of cheesecake are essentially custards, which can lead a novice baker to overcook them, expecting them to behave like true cakes.
A sour cream-style cheesecake uses close to a 1:1 volume ratio of cream cheese to sour cream to make the traditional texture that crumbles like a good roquefort cheese with a distinctive sunken center and a golden-colored top from the Maillard reaction. An extra egg white brushed on the top can achieve the same effect in less time if one desires the cheesecake to be "gooey" when set.
