baking tip

A perfect cheesecake has to be just set. Not under baked and saggy, or over-baked and slightly coarse. So HOW do you know when it’s done? First of all, bake your cheesecake on the regular bake setting of your oven (solid stripe top and solid stripe bottom). Do NOT use a thermo-fan or convection oven. Now the testing. Some swear by the jiggle or “wibble-wobble” test. Honestly it is a bit vague to me. I can never really tell if it’s done by how much it wobbles. Monique ended up under baking her cheesecake, and so have I, with the jiggle test. The easiest way for me to tell is looking at the surface. The edges should have puffed up a bit and be dull, but the center circle (about 8cm in diameter) should still be shiny. The jiggle test is a handy second option for me. The cheesecake should have a stiff jiggle and move as one unit. If the centre still keeps moving after the outer edges have stopped, then it’s NOT done yet. Wait another 10 minutes and check again. As soon as the outer rim of the cheesecake breaks loose from the side of the tin (or pastry), you’ve gone a bit too far. If the cheesecake browns on top, you have definitely taken it WAY too far. It will still be tasty, but it will be a tiny bit grainy, drier and not as creamy. There are also some fancy thermometer tests you can use if you like.