Perfect Cheesecakes

Learn a few simple techniques to avoid lumps, cracks, and sunken middles.

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Baking in a Water Bath

Cheesecake is a custard at heart. It's delicate, so you want to bake it slowly and evenly without browning the top.

The most effective way to do this is to bake it in a water bath. Since water evaporates at the boiling point, the water bath will never get hotter than 212 degrees F (100 degrees C), no matter what the oven temperature. This means that the outer edge of your cheesecake won't bake faster than the center, which can cause it to soufflé, sink, and crack.

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Baking Cheesecake

It's common to overbake cheesecakes because, while they might look underdone, they are actually done when the center is still wobbly. At this stage, residual heat will "carry over" and the center will continue to cook.

Remove cheesecake from the oven to cool on a rack, or simply leave the door of the oven closed, turn off the heat and let the cheesecake cool forat least an hour. This helps prevent the cheesecake from sinking in the center. 

After chilling, the once-wiggly center should firm up just fine.

PHILADELPHIA Cheesecake Parfaits

what you need

2

pkg.  (8 oz. each) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened

1/4

cup  sugar

2

Tbsp.  milk

1

tsp.  zest and 1 Tbsp. juice from 1 lemon

1-1/2

cups  thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping

15

 square shortbread cookies, crushed

4

cups  strawberries, quartered

1

cup  blueberries

make it

BEAT cream cheese, sugar, milk, lemon zest and juice in medium bowl with mixer until blended. Gently stir in COOL WHIP.

RESERVE about 3 Tbsp. cookie crumbs. Spoon 1 Tbsp. of the remaining cookie crumbs into each of 10 parfait glasses; top with 2 Tbsp. cream cheese mixture. Cover with layers of strawberries, remaining cookie crumbs, remaining cream cheese mixture and blueberries.

SPRINKLE with reserved cookie crumbs.

kraft kitchens tips

HEALTHY LIVING

Trim 30 calories and 5g of total fat, including 3g of sat fat, per serving by preparing with PHILADELPHIA Neufchatel Cheese.

VARIATION

Substitute any seasonal fruit for the strawberries and/or blueberries in these colorful parfaits.

HOW TO SOFTEN THE CREAM CHEESE

Place completely unwrapped packages of cream cheese in microwaveable bowl. Microwave on HIGH 25 sec. or just until softened.