Coffee Chocolate Mocha Cheesecake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What should cheesecake mix look like? ›

You need to check your mixture often, to make sure it won't over mix. If a mixture is under whisked, it tends to be thicker, and looks like softly whipped cream – it'll have a smooth texture, and look a bit like meringue almost – if it is under whisked, it may be slightly soft set, but this is better than over whisked.

Overmixing may lead to cracks and a grainy texture

Overmixing your batter can ruin the structure and texture of your cheesecake. With a batter mainly composed of cream cheese, sugar, and egg yolks, you can quickly form cracks in your cheesecake with the excess air that comes from overmixing (via Cheesecakes World).

Make sure to add eggs one by one on low speed and mix until just combined. Over mixing the eggs will incorporate too much air into the batter, which will result in the cheesecake deflating and possibly cracking when it comes out of the oven.

A water bath helps cheesecakes cook evenly, ensuring the edges don't bake faster than the center. The process gently bakes the custard slowly, ensuring a smooth and creamy filling. Otherwise, the dessert may get a rubbery texture. It also prevents cracking along the surface and browning on the top.

You may know what you get when you overmix cake batter: a dense cake with tough texture (and maybe some unappetizing gluey streaks as well).

Sour cream adds tanginess and moisture, so if you use too much, it can make the cheesecake too tangy and the additional moisture can make it runny.

Ready-to-go pancake batters and muffin doughs should be delightfully fluffy—don't fear a few lumps! When overmixed, these batters become dense and heavy or liquidy and runny, or visibly slack.

If overmixed, the batter may become runny and slack. With cakes featuring whipped egg foam, you'll also want to make sure you mix to the right consistency — forming "stiff peaks" is the usual standard. When overmixed, the egg whites may break and take on a cottage cheese consistency.

In the case of cheesecakes and other batters with a high fat content, adding cold eggs could re-harden the fat, making the batter appear curdled or lumpy, possibly affecting the texture of the baked product. To avoid this, make sure you use room temperature eggs for baking.

What does an extra egg do to cheesecake? ›

Adding richness and a smooth texture, the proteins in the eggs set up during the gentle baking process, solidifying the dense network of dairy and sugar into a sliceable whole. Too many eggs will create a cracked and sunken cheesecake with an overly firm texture.

Avoid Overcooking

DON'T overbake. Overbaking a cheesecake can cause cracks on the surface. The center of the cheesecake should still be a little wobbly, the filling still pale, and the outer ring slightly puffy and firm. It will continue to cook as it cools and maintains that smooth and rich texture.

But it's less possible to bake an excellent cheesecake without one. Big, showstopper cheesecakes baked without a water bath are more likely to overbake, which will give them a curdled texture, cracks in the surface, and lopsided tops.

You need 1 inch of hot water in your roasting pan for the water bath, so make sure you boil enough. Add the Filling: Pour/spread your cheesecake batter into the crust as directed in your recipe. Place the entire roasting pan with the cheesecake inside it onto the middle or lower-middle oven rack.

You only need about 2 to 3 inches of water. I like to stop pouring when the water is halfway up the side of the cheesecake pan. Essentially you want enough water that it won't quickly evaporate during the baking process, but not so much that it'll splash up or touch your cheesecake batter.

The fat content helps the cheesecake set and creates its signature creamy texture. If you've ever made cheesecake that was runny, it's very likely that low-fat ingredients are to blame. Full fat sour cream adds extra moisture and a tangy flavor to the cake.

A lumpy batter may result from adding other cool ingredients to the cream cheese. This causes it to firm up, resulting in lumps. Small pieces of cream cheese inside the batter don't pose a huge problem, as long as the rest remains smooth. After the cheesecake has been baked, you'll be unable to tell the lumps existed.

If the batter is lumpy, the finished cheesecake will not be smooth, but gritty. Softened, room temperature cream cheese mixes easily with the other ingredients.