In news:rec.food.cooking, sf > posted on Fri, 26 Nov 2010
19:03:13 -0800 the following:

> On Fri, 26 Nov 2010 20:25:51 -0600, Damaeus
> > wrote:
>
> > Yes, on my third attempt, I should get cheesecake perfection because
> > (a) I will use a water bath, and (b) I already planned to pour the
> > water boiling hot, straight off the pot on the stove into the pan
> > holding the springform pan. I may need to get another pan, come to
> > think of it, because I don't think I have one deep enough to hold a
> > springform pan unless I use one of the big soup-type pots I'd use on
> > the stove.
>
> We discussed cheesecakes and water baths yesterday. I don't do water
> baths, period. Others do and say their cheesecake will crack anyway.
> Not during baking, but during the cooling down process. The tip was
> to loosen your cheesecake from the pan ASAP. If you do that, then no
> cracked crust.

I didn't loosen my cheesecake from the pan ASAP and it developed no
cracks. I did that eight hours after it recuperated in the oven and there
were no cracks in it when I loosened it, and no cracks after sitting for
14 hours in the fridge. The edges of the pan were sprayed with food
release and the cheesecake shrank away from the edges of the pan. I
imagine if I hadn't used food release, it might have cracked. And my
springform pan is nonstick on top of that.

Research shows that cracks in cheesecakes are caused by overbeating,
overbaking, or cooling too quickly.

Damaeus