How To Tell When Your Cheesecake Is Done (2024)

FAQs

How To Tell When Your Cheesecake Is Done? ›

Doneness Test

Unlike with a standard cake, it is not recommended that you poke a cheesecake with a toothpick to see if it is done. In fact, a cheesecake is done before it looks done. The edges should be set, but the center will still be soft. Give the pan a little jiggle; the center few inches should still move a bit.

Doneness Test

Unlike with a standard cake, it is not recommended that you poke a cheesecake with a toothpick to see if it is done. In fact, a cheesecake is done before it looks done. The edges should be set, but the center will still be soft. Give the pan a little jiggle; the center few inches should still move a bit.

Overbaked cheesecake will crack and the texture will be dry and gritty. Egg proteins become quite firm and tightly coiled when cooked quickly at a high temperature, but can be silky-smooth and creamy when cooked gently at a low temperature.

Check to see how much the center jiggles.

When you shake the pan and a 2 in (5.1 cm) area in the center jiggles slightly, the cheesecake is done. If there is a large, jiggly area, or if liquid breaks the surface or sloshes over the edges of the pan, the cheesecake is not finished cooking.

Avoid Overcooking

DON'T overbake. Overbaking a cheesecake can cause cracks on the surface.

The cake should jiggle just a little in the center if it's done. If the whole cake ripples and jiggles you know it needs a little more time to bake. Quick tip: Your cheesecake will do its entire cooling process inside the springform pan. Don't attempt to remove it from the pan until it's been refrigerated overnight.

No-bake cheesecakes generally need at least 4-6 hours in the refrigerator to set properly. If your filling is still runny after that time, try chilling it for another 2-4 hours.

You can usually tell within the first 20 minutes of baking the cake if the foil didn't hold and water entered your cheesecake. Very thin, usually large, watery bubbles will appear on the surface of the cake or you can see little sputtering places on the edges.

If the cheesecake looks nearly set and only a small circle in the center jiggles slightly, it's done. You might worry a runny middle means raw cheesecake, but it's totally safe and normal. The center will firm up as it cools on a cooling rack, resulting in the smooth surface you want.

How to test cake doneness without toothpick? ›

Our Favorite Alternative to Toothpicks

Look at your knife set and find the one with the thinnest blade. Then insert the blade into the center of the cake. If the knife comes out clean, the cake is done. If batter or crumbs stick to the blade, let your cake bake a few minutes more and retest with a clean knife.

Perhaps your kitchen is colder because of weather or your oven has a hot spot. For whatever reason, the cheesecake has cracked despite your best efforts. Remember, your cheesecake is still delicious, so instead of calling it a failed experiment, cover the crack with a delicious topping, like a sour cream coat.

An underbaked cheesecake will ripple and jiggle noticeably. The key to a perfect cheesecake is a subtle wiggle—not a sloshy jiggle. Because cheesecakes are part of the baked custard family, you can use this technique not just for them, but for classic creme brulee and old-fashioned baked custards.

To prevent serious cracking, cheesecakes should always be baked in a moderate (325 to 350 degrees) oven. Thick cheesecakes (greater than 1½ to 2 inches deep) bake more uniformly at the lower end of this temperature spectrum.

You can usually tell within the first 20 minutes of baking the cake if the foil didn't hold and water entered your cheesecake. Very thin, usually large, watery bubbles will appear on the surface of the cake or you can see little sputtering places on the edges.

When you have cheesecake that's already baked and chilled, the absolute max time you could let it sit out to avoid the USDA's "danger zone" is two hours. Save yourself the stress of wasting that by putting it in the fridge as soon as everyone's grabbed a slice or it's cooled enough after baking to chill.