And from personal advice and experience...
When mixing cheesecakes, try not to whip the batter too much. You do not want to incorporate any air into batter. You just want to make it as smooth and lump-free as possible. Slow and steady blending is ideal. Air bubbles in the batter can result in a dry cheesecake, as well as cracks on the surface. -Although some people do think that "real" cheesecakes must have cracks in them. Not so.
And to make your mixing and blending easier, make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. Just take out you cream cheese a few hours before you plan to mix things up. You can also leave your eggs out for a while too - they'll be safe. If you are a little squeamish about leaving eggs out on the counter, just put them in a bowl of very warm water when you take them out of the fridge for about 10 minutes. That will warm them up slightly.
-And if you have a "cool" kitchen like I do, just soak a dish towel in very warm water, and wrap it around the bowl to keep it from "absorbing" the chill from the air while you mix things up. *I have to use this trick a lot when I'm baking in the winter, especially when trying to get the right consistency for creaming butter and sugar for cake batters.
Finally, if you are feeling adventurous and want to turn out your cheesecake...
You have to make sure the cheesecake is absolutely cold and set up or this will not work. Run a thin knife around the edge of the pan if necessary. Unlatch the side of the springform pan (if using one). There should be some condensation on the plastic wrap and/or the cheesecake when you take it out of the fridge. -This also assumes that you've wrapped your cheesecake in plastic wrap before putting it into the fridge. If not, just very lightly sprinkle a few drops onto the surface of the cake. Turn one of your oven burners on low. -A gas stove really comes in handy here. "Take up" enough of the plastic wrap so that it's no longer on the sides and bottom of the pan. Place the cheesecake pan over the flame/heat for about 15 seconds - just enough to warm the bottom of the pan, and consequently, gently melt some of the butter in the crust.
Working quickly and fearlessly(!), place a plate or cake circle on top of the pan/cheesecake. Flip the pan over, holding the plate in place. DO NOT HESITATE!! The cake should fall out. If not, give it a gentle tap here and there on the bottom of the pan. If it still does not fall out, then invert the pan again, and place over the heat for a few more seconds. Repeat.
Once the cake plops out, remove the pan sides, then remove the cake bottom from the cake. Place your serving platter on the cake and flip again. -The plastic wrap keeps the cake from sticking to the plate, and the condensation helps the cake from sticking to the plastic wrap. Voila!
I never believed this would work until I tried it a few years ago, but it does. However, if your cheesecake has some additional toppings on it, you may want to flip out the cheesecake before placing the toppings on it. Additionally, I'm not sure a cheesecake with a sour cream topping - like DR Jane's recipe - would work with this procedure. However, the cookbook I got this procedure from says it will work with any cheesecake recipe in the book, and there are few sour cream topped recipes in the book, so... Maybe I'll find out next week... Or not...
-And that concludes today culinary lesson. You may drop off your toques and chef's jackets and aprons in the baskets by the door on your way out.
