I've made many cheesecakes and always remove it from the oven after 55 minutes or so. The top is not brown!

I often make a strawberry preserve to pour over each slice of cheesecake. I usually use frozen strawberries and make it by putting them in a pot (about 4 cups) with about 1/2 cup sugar (depends on sweetness of the fruit). Cook over low-medium heat until stawberries are cooked and sugar dissolved (about 30 minutes). You can thicken the juices with a slurry of cornstarch and water.

How long you cook the cheese cake depends on how big it is...I have recipes calling for 2 1/2 pounds of cream cheese and another calling for 1 1/2 pounds of cream cheese...no one time will do for all.
If your cheese cake looks like ti might be getting too brown on top and still "jiggles" a lot, lay a piece of parchment paper or foil over the top after it is partly cooked, to keep it from getting more browned.
You want to cover that brown top? Melt a cup of good quality semi sweet chocolate chips with 1/4 cup sour cream...mix and spread over the top of the cheese cake and sprinkle with nuts....slivered almonds, chipped walnuts or hazelnuts...or whatever else floats your boat.
Linda C

In retrospect, most cheescakes I have made I have only kept in at the most an hour...I think the leaving it in the oven for the extra half hour probably did it. I know it is to slowly cool it off, but I'm sure it added some cooking time to it too. And, dumb me, just out of habit I cooked the crust for a few extra minutes separately first too (even though the recipe didn't call for it) ...hope that is not burnt.

Do you think there's a chance it will still be creamy enough inside? It's not really burnt, just brown. Anyone have experience with brown topped cheesecakes? Here's the recipe:

Here is a link that might be useful: Mom's Cheesecake

oh linda, I missed your post. That sounds like a good topping to cover it with...everyone loves a little chocolate! Thanks.

With all that sour cream it will be fine...
My cheese cake is 5 packages of cream cheese 5 eggs and 1 1/2 cups of sugar...but only a little sour cream....so it's a lot larger, but less liquid. I cook it at 500 for 8 minutes, turn the oven to 200 withopening the door and cook for another hour, turn off the oven and leave with the door ajar until it's cooled....about 2 hours.
It's a firmer New York style cheese cake.
Linda C

Carla : We don't have enough info. Can you take out a
piece, cut a little sliver and taste test it.
If it is good you can put the piece back in and cover it with a good topping.

Chocolate like Linda mentioned or you could make it a Pineapple Cheesecake.
I make the Easter Cheesecake, with Ricotta and Phila. Cream Cheese.
It cooks in 45 minutes . Then I turn the oven off and leave it in until it cools. The top is a Golden tan.
The last one I cooked too long ,I fed to the animals, they loved it.
Do you know how to do the fruit topping ? If you want the recipe; for the Cheesecake, yell out the back door.
Or send an email.
Let us know how you made out !!!!!
LOU

{{gwi:1521150}}

Carla, mine are always lightly browned as you can see and are in the oven 10 minutes at 500 degrees and then 1 hour 30 minutes at 200. I think the 350 for an hour is too hot for too long.
{{gwi:1521153}} {{gwi:1521155}}

If you used a dark pan you'll want to decrease your oven temperature too.

Marilyn.

hawk,

That's sort of how mine looks (but round and with a couple cracks - LOL). Is that the one that tasted good, or did you have to feed it to the dogs?

I already did the choc. topping linda suggested. I'm going to put some cut strawberries on for decoration right before I go. It looks ok now...will let you know how it tastes. Hey, at least I tried. I have a feeling most people will be buying stuff.

I've never done a ricotta cheesecake. Does it taste much different? Please post the recipe.

Thanks again everyone!

Were you by any chance supposed to open the oven door after it was turned off?

As to whether the dark top means the cheesecake is ruined depends on the recipe. Did it have a lot of sugar? That will give you a browner surface. Or is it a relatively dry recipe? (European recipes seem to be dryer and therefore browner on the outside.) In either case the cheesecake may well be fine.

OTOH, cheesecakes can get overcooked without browning. It's not a question of dryness as much as the weepiness (of a custard that got hot enough for the egg proteins to start squeezing out the moisture) that's the real defect, and a topping doesn't fix that. If you want to present a perfect cheesecake but see liquid coming from yours, you may want to start over.

livingthedream,

I was wondering that about the oven door too! I posted the recipe on an above link. I don't think it had that much sugar, and it wasn't a dry recipe.

I didn't see any liquid coming from the cake, but obviously, I haven't taken off the sides yet as I was leaving them on to transport easily. Oh well, I guess there's not much to do about it now. Hopefully, it will be at least somewhat edible. Thanks.

I hadn't noticed the link you posted, but looking at it now I can see it has a lot of sugar for the amount of cream cheese and sour cream. So the browning is likely to be from the sugar, not overcooking. In other words, the texture should be fine.

Carla, I checked out your recipe. I use 3 packages of cream cheese too but only use 3/4 cup of sugar, 3 eggs, and vanilla or lemon zest and juice - no sour cream.

The ratio I use is 1 egg and 1/4 cup of sugar for every 8 ounce package of cream cheese.

Always make sure your cream cheese is at room temperature so that it creams easier. Cream it with the sugar first, then add your eggs - one at a time. Do not beat too much once you add the eggs because it will add too much "air" causing your cake to rise and fall which will make your cheesecake crack. That's why it's important to make sure you have a creamy texture with only the cheese and sugar first. I got this advice from a pastry chef, and it works every time. I don't even use a water bath.

I believe GINGER gave me the Praline Topping for the cheesecake an Its fantastic Ill post if you need it

khandi,
The cream cheese was very softened and creamy, I blended it with the sugar first, didn't overbeat at all, and added eggs one at a time, etc. I think I did everything right, except maybe the door was suppose to be left ajarred, or the oven was just too high for too long like Marilyn mentioned. A few cracks have never bothered me...it was really the coloring that I questioned.

Anyway, it seemed to turn out ok. The crust was not at all burnt (and I even substituted butter which I thought may burn easier)! A few people commented that they liked it, etc... although, have to admit, it was probably not my best cake!

I would love the recipe for the praline topping, eileen. I think maybe I'll gonna try a cheesecake for Mother's Day.

Thanks again to everyone.

Below is a link for one of my personal favorites...

Here is a link that might be useful: Key Lime Cheesecake

Carla : I came across the CheeseCake Question; you posted in May,
while looking for something and realized I never put in the recipe.
I worked on a new one for a few months. It is Fluffy.
Thought you might want to give it a try.It is easy to make and has a Great flavor.
LOU

Fluffy Cheesecake

Ingredients:

6 extra large eggs, Separated
1 cup of Vanilla Ice Cream
1 ¼ Cups of Sugar
1 /4 pound of Butter (softened in micro wave and let cool but still soft)
2 packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese. ( 16 Oz. )At room temp.
Sugar ¾ cup for Batter and ½ cup for egg whites
1 tablespoon of Lemon Juice
6 Tablespoons of Orange juice2 teaspoons of Vanilla flavor
2 heaping tablespoons of AP flour

Beat the egg whites, until they start to peak. Add the ½ cup of Sugar,
A little at a time, at a medium speed for 1 minute.
Beat for another 3 minutes, or until they hold stiff peaks.
Put aside, until the batter is mixed.

In a bowl large enough to hold the batter and beaten egg whites,
Add the 6 egg yolks, Cream Cheese, ¾ cup of Sugar, Lemon juice, Orange Juice,
Softened butter, Vanilla flavor, Flour and Ice Cream.

Beat this for 3 to 4 minutes, until smooth, add Cornstarch and mix on low speed 1 minute.

Fold 1/3 of the beaten egg whites into the cake batter, using a rubber spatula.
Then fold in the remaining egg whites , very easily but well.

Pour this into a 9 x 13 in. SS Pan or your favorite pan, that is oiled and dusted with flour.
Or you can use a Graham Cracker crust.

Place this Pan into a slightly larger pan, that has about ¾ inches of water.
And then place pans into a pre heated 320 degree oven on the middle shelf.
Bake for about 50 to 55 minutes or until the top is a Golden tan ( not Dark Tan !!! )
Turn the oven off but leave the cake in, until it cools down.
When cooled down, cover the top with Aluminum Foil and refrigerate, for at least 1 hour.

You can add a topping of your choice , a Pineapple Sauce, preserves, thickened peach pie filling , etc.
Seems to be OK for freezing.

I forgot, I used a hand grater, (The finer side ) and
grated the skin of one orange, about 2 tablespoons.
I added this to the recipe.
Lou

I normally cook my cheesecake one hour only. I tried a recipe that said to turn off the oven and leave it in an extra half hour. I tried that and it came out way too dry-not inedible, but not the creamy cheesecake I like. I went back to the one hour method.

jannie: You haven't tried my recipe.
I know I'm not a famous cook, that's probably why nobody
tries my recipe's.
Maybe a prestiege thing ? I did so and so's recipe !!!!!

Here's the one feedback I recieved !!!

Posted by carnelian (My Page) on
Sat, Aug 11, 07 at 16:29
Lou,
I made your cheesecake yesterday, and it was delicious! Truly light and fluffy and fabulous flavor. I'd say it had a slight bit of custard-like taste, too.
I followed your ingredients except for three things:
I used large eggs instead of extra large because I had just bought a brand new carton.
Instead of orange juice I used Nantucket Nectar pineapple-orange-guava.
I left out the cornstarch because I had not seen your note on how to add it. Next time I will add it for sure.
I used a graham cracker crust which I prebaked a few minutes. We like it with the crust.
I did use a springform pan. That worked great, but I had to increase the baking time - maybe 15 minutes (?). Sorry, I didn't get the exact number of minutes. I just kept checking for the color you described.
The cheesecake filled the springform pan beautifully, but as it baked, it went over the sides a bit, kind of like a muffin top. It also cracked around the edges. When it cooled, it sank in the middle, and I gently eased the edges back into place, which closed the cracks and made it all look fine. The cheesecake ended up exactly level to the top of the pan.
The only problems were minor. It didn't cut perfectly, probably because I cut short the chilling time and because I left out the cornstarch. Later, after more fridge time, it cut a lot better. When it was baking, some liquid that looked like melted butter seeped out of the pan into the foil I had wrapped around it. I think the cornstarch would have absorbed that.
Oh, I forgot; I served it with fresh plain red raspberries.
It was yummy and it was different! My neighbors loved it and asked for the recipe.