Can I leave the sour cream out of my cheesecake?

If you’re searching for a crowd-pleasing dessert, cheesecake is the way to go. Cheesecake’s creamy and tangy taste has delighted dessert-lovers all over the world, and it’s a regular on the menus of your favorite fine restaurants and local eateries alike. Although most cheesecake recipes have simple ingredient lists, there are a few dos and don’ts that will make or break your cheesecake. Let’s go through some typical errors to avoid if you want your cheesecake to set correctly, have the perfect texture, and not sink or crack.

1. Get Your Crust Right

One of the most frequent cheesecake crust blunders is not smashing the graham crackers sufficiently. To get the finest texture possible, use a food processor. You don’t want large graham cracker bits that make the crust to crumble.
It’s also critical that your crust extends up the edge of the pan, covering the springform pan’s seam. This prevents leaking and gives you a nice crust on each slice.
Another typical blunder is failing to pre-bake the crust. Before you add your batter, it’s important that your crust has a short 8-10 minute visit in the oven at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). This bakes the crust and closes it, preparing it for the wet batter. When adding the batter, make sure it’s totally cool.

2. Don’t Go Low-fat

Although it may be tempting to reduce the fat level of cheesecake by using low-fat cream cheese or sour cream, full fat is the way to go. The fat content aids in the setting of the cheesecake and gives its trademark creamy texture. If you’ve ever produced watery cheesecake, low-fat ingredients are almost certainly to fault.
Sour cream with full fat provides moisture and a tangy taste to the cake. Nevertheless, you may substitute heavy cream or full fat Greek yogurt for the sour cream. To ensure that all of your measurements are correct, make sure you’re following a recipe that asks for those replacements. Don’t just wing it and hope for the best.

3. Don’t Use Cold Ingredients

Cold ingredients are a big no-no when it comes to cheesecake. If your components are cold, you will have to combine them for a longer period of time, which will result in too much air being whipped into the batter. If the cake contains too much air, it will rise too much in the oven and then sink as it cools. Nobody wants a sunken, melancholy cheesecake.
Let your ingredients to come to room temperature before adding them in the recipe sequence. If you add the ingredients all at once or out of sequence, your cheesecake may not bake properly. It is critical that the cream cheese whips up a bit on its own before adding the other ingredients to make a cheesecake that sets firmly and has a nice texture.

4. Do I Really Have to Do a Water Bath?

Can you bake a cheesecake without a water bath (aka bain marie)? Absolutely, but there is a considerably greater chance of burning and uneven cooking. A water bath employs steam to cook the cake gently and evenly, preventing splitting and scorching. Wrap your springform pan with aluminum foil to provide a barrier between the cake and the water bath.
Nothing is more annoying than carefully following every step and then being unable to remove your cake without it entirely coming apart. Thus keeping a springform pan on hand is worthwhile, particularly after you start producing great cheesecakes and want to make more!

5. Don’t Overbake

Overbaking cheesecake will result in unsightly cracks and a dry, crumbly texture. Cheesecake is a custard, thus it will not be totally solid when finished. Giving it a little wiggle is the simplest technique to ensure you don’t overbake it. Use a wooden spoon and gently tap the cake pan on the side. If the cake is done, it should wobble slightly in the middle. If the whole cake ripples and jiggles, it needs a bit longer to bake.
Quick tip: Your cheesecake will cool completely within the springform plate. Don’t attempt to remove it from the pan until it’s been refrigerated overnight.

6. Don’t Rush the Cooling Process

While chilling your cheesecake, a typical error is to try to cool it too rapidly. If you have a standard oven, turn it off, open the door, and let it cool for an hour inside before transferring it to a cooling rack to cool entirely. A gas oven, on the other hand, may overcook it, so transfer it to a cooling rack right away.
When your cake pan is no longer hot to the touch, cover it and place it in its springform pan in the refrigerator to cool overnight. Chilling it overnight ensures that it sets properly.
Let it to cool overnight before sliding a knife down the edge between the crust and the pan’s side and gently unbuckling the pan.
Quick tip: It may seem to be a convenience to place your cheesecake directly from the oven into the freezer. This will ruin the texture and prevent the cake from setting properly.

7. Don’t Leave It Out

Don’t leave your cooled cheesecake out longer than two hours or you risk food poisoning. It will keep fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days if kept tightly covered.
To prepare the cheesecake for the freezer, you’ll want to freeze the cake unwrapped on a plate for about an hour. Then take it out, double wrap it in plastic wrap, and put it in the freezer for up to 4-6 weeks. When you’re ready to eat it, defrost it overnight in the fridge with the plastic wrap still on.

If you follow these guidelines, your cheesecake will be delicious and gorgeous every time!