The Trouble With Cheesecake - Recap

Alton begins this episode in the Food Gallery – specifically, Heartbreak Hall, the home of food that “bites the hand that makes it.” Here are found examples of recipes that turned out wrong in spite of time, money, and effort lavished on them. Alton stops before the cheesecake display – an inedible mass. He contends that with the right technique and an understanding of the science, cheesecake no longer need inhabit Heartbreak Hall, but can become instead… Good Eats.

Alton starts by explaining the problem – with the help of an alien. It seems most cooks expect cheesecake to act like, well, a cake. After all, cake is right there in the name. But his alien visitor “The King” approaches from a different perspective. He takes one look at Alton’s cheesecake and declares it pie. After “further analysis” (a messy devouring) the King says that the structural matrix is made of egg proteins, making this a custard pie.

After the King bows out, Alton explains further: a cheesecake only contains sugar, eggs and dairy – definitely a custard filling. What makes it a cheesecake is that most of the dairy is cream cheese, a soft and tangy cow’s milk cheese containing no less than 33% fat and no more than 55% moisture. Alton adds additional dairy elements: a little whipping cream for softness and a little sour cream for tanginess.

While those ingredients warm on the counter, Alton talks pans. He prefers a single piece pan with high walls for sweet cheesecakes, and a spring form pan for savory cheesecakes. Good results are predicated on proper pan preparation, and Alton’s got some tips to share. He shows an easy way to prepare a parchment disc for the bottom of the pan, and a parchment cylinder for the sides, tacking these in place with just a little melted butter. When the prep is done, the pan should be covered in parchment.

The crust is hand crushed graham crackers. The food processor would produce a uniform powder, and Alton wants bigger and smaller pieces mixed together with crumbs. To this he adds butter and sugar, then about two thirds of that goes into the bottom of the pan. Tamp it (a drinking glass full of pennies works well) and blind bake it. Blind baking is the process of baking a crust without a filling. It works well when the batter of filling is very liquid.

Sour cream goes in the mixer first and gets mixed a little by itself. That lubricates bowl and paddle so the filling is less likely to stick. Sugar and cream cheese go in next for more mixing. It can take time for the cream cheese to be completely mixed, and that’s fine. While that’s getting to the right consistency, some whipping cream, vanilla, egg yolks and whole eggs are mixed together outside the bowl. Scrape the bowl and begin integrating the liquid as it mixes. Scraping the bowl is important for a fluffy cheesecake – Alton recommends another scrape when about half the liquid is added.

The crust must cool thoroughly before the batter is added, or the batter will separate – a pool of fat will form near the bottom of the pan. That’s NOT good eats. While the crust cools, boil two quarts of water. Then add the batter to the cooled crust, shaking gently to remove bubbles.

Put a pan large enough to hold the cake pan into the oven and line it with a towel. Set the cake pan into it to one side. Gently fill the pan with the hot water – the towel will help prevent splashing – until the level is about two thirds as high as the cake pan. Center the cake pan. This is why Alton prefers a single piece pan; a spring form pan would leak and the result would be a soupy mess.

Why a water bath? Using a sponge and a net, Alton explains: egg proteins are like the net. Their coagulated structure is what makes cheesecake possible. But if they cook too fast, they’ll coagulate too much and squeeze the moisture right out of the cake. This means a dry and probably cracked cake. The water bath provides insulation and a very controlled rate of heating to discourage this.

Like omelets and roasts, done in the oven is overdone at the table. Carryover heat continues the cooking even after the heat is removed. To account for this, Alton explains how to bake in two stages. Once baking is complete, the cake goes in the refrigerator for six hours. (It’s easy, says Alton, not fast.)

Removing the cake from the pan is often a challenge, but Alton’s got tips for that: float the pan in hot water for a few seconds to loosen any of the butter. Then use a thin sharp blade to free the side parchment and invert the pan into a temporary holding surface. Peel off the bottom layer of parchment, and invert again onto the serving plate. Cardboard cake rounds (from a bakery, or cut out of a box) are ideal.

Alton finishes by showing how to cut a cheesecake so it won’t disintegrate. A little hot water and the right knife help here. He also offers some insurance for those uncertain of their baking skills – a little cornstarch in the batter will help prevent cracking. If your cake cracks despite these precautions? Well, that’s what icing is for.

Back in the Food Gallery’s Heartbreak Hall, Alton removes the cheesecake exhibit. What new horror will take its place? Perhaps we’ll find out on the next visit…

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