Cooking Techniques and Tips

Perfect cheesecake

1. No mater what kind of cheesecake you gonna make New York-style or lighter Italian version, cheese and sour cream should be full fat and the best quality you can have.
2. Make sure all ingredients: the cream cheese, sour cream, eggs are at room temperature. This will allow the ingredients to blend together better, giving you a smoother cheesecake. Take them out of refrigerator at least 2 hours ahead.
3. Overbeating can cause the cheesecake to crack when you bake it. Unlike other cakes where beating air into the batter is key, cheesecake suffer if over-mixed.
4. A little bit of cornstarch in the cheesecake batter decrease possibility of cracking and makes the cake easier to cut into clean slices. Starch makes the cheesecake more firm, while eggs give it softer, super-creamy texture.
5. Cheesecakes, like custards must cook gently and slowly. Otherwise the eggs puff, overcook and get grainy, then constrict when cooled, resulting in an undesirable split in your smooth cake. The best way to bake cheesecake is to cook it in a bain marie (water bath). Just wrap spring form pan in multiple layers of wide heavy duty aluminum foil to make sure that no water leaks in and ruins the crust of cheesecake. Place the aluminum foil wrapped pan inside a larger baking pan. Pour boiling water into the larger pan filling it from ½ to ⅔ of the way to the top.
6. If you find a bain marie method too difficult, you can still use the aluminum foil wrap around the cheesecake pan. The aluminum foil will be a good buffer to the heat. High heat and baking too quickly is the main reason that a cheesecake becomes dense and not creamy. 
7. Don't open the oven while baking! Cheesecake won't go anywhere. You don't want to let all that steamy air out. Also, changes in temperature during baking can cause the cheesecake to crack or sink in the middle.
8. To check if it's done don't poke anything into the center of a cheesecake, you don't want to have a hole in the center of your perfect cheesecake! Instead just give it a jiggle. If it's firm at the edges and still wobbles a little in the center, it's done.
9. The cheesecake needs to chill in the fridge and finish setting up for at least four hours or (ideally) overnight.
10. Dip a knife in warm water and wipe dry before slicing each piece.