Making Cheesecake Filling

Making Cheesecake Filling







Making Cheesecake Filling


A step-by-step tutorial for making this smooth, satisfying and
stylish dessert.

Cheesecake is the perfect dessert for any time of year: it is
creamy, elegant, and delicious whether served plain, with fruit, or with
a sauce. There are countless flavors of cheesecake, but we chose to
make a traditional New York-style cheesecake.




1. We used the
recipe for Chantal's New York Cheesecake. It calls for four
8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened at room temperature, 1½ cups
white sugar, ¼ cup all-purpose flour, ¾ cup of milk, 4 eggs, 1 cup sour
cream, and 1 tablespoon vanilla extract.

• Do not substitute
  spreadable or reduced-fat cream cheese for the solid block of cream
  cheese, as they are different formulations and your cheesecake might
  fail to set properly.
  

• Chantal's
  New York Cheesecake
  

2. Cream the cheese
with an electric mixer until it is soft and contains no lumps. If no
electric mixer is on hand, use a wooden spoon to cream the cheese.



3. Whisk the flour
and sugar together to prevent flour lumps. If the recipe you are
following calls for additional dry ingredients (such as salt or cocoa
powder), stir them into the sugar and flour mixture as well. Pour this
mixture into the cream cheese and scrape the sides of the bowl with a
rubber spatula to incorporate the ingredients and prevent lumps from
forming.



4. Add the eggs one
at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition. Stir in
flavorings and any other liquids. The mixer should be on a low speed to
limit the amount of air incorporated into the mixture.



5. If too much air
is whipped into the mixture, the cheesecake will puff up while baking
and sink in the center, the texture may be grainy, and air bubbles will
mar the surface of the cheesecake.



6. The texture of
the finished batter should be smooth and glossy. Carefully remove the
electric mixer's bowl from the mixer. Don't scrape batter on the mixer's
paddle into the smooth filling: batter on the paddle and at the very
bottom of the bowl may contain lumps of cream cheese. If your filling
does contain lumps, you can pass it through a sieve or pulse it in a
food processor to smooth the batter.



7. To add candies,
chocolate pieces, or fruit to the cheesecake, fold in the garnish with a
spatula or wooden spoon before pouring the mixture into the prepared
pan. Pour the batter into a springform pan lined with a crumb crust, or
into muffin tins lined with foil or paper liners for individual
cheesecakes. To make a marble filling, pour a fruit or chocolate sauce
over the cheesecake filling in a spiral pattern. Use the tip of a paring
knife or a wooden skewer to pull lines out from the center like spokes
on a wheel, or create a free-form swirl pattern.



8. Bake the
cheesecake as directed. For instructions on baking cheesecakes in a
water bath, see Baking Cheesecake, Step by Step. For more
information and cheesecake recipes, see our Perfect Cheesecakes
article.Try topping your plain cheesecake with a fruit sauce
using your favorite berries