Cheesecake

주문제작케이크 Cheesecake is a rich, creamy dessert dish. It is a popular dessert worldwide and can be made at home.

주문제작케이크

When preparing the batter, stir the ingredients slowly to reduce air bubbles (one reason why cheesecakes crack). Use room temperature cream cheese and be diligent about scraping the bowl.

Bake in a water bath or bain marie, which insulates the cake and allows it to bake evenly.

Origin

Cheesecake is a dessert that is made with one or more types of cheese, such as cottage cheese, ricotta, cream cheese or mascarpone. It can be sweetened with sugar and flavored with vanilla, chocolate, pumpkin or other ingredients. It may be baked or no-bake, and can be topped with fruit, cookies, syrups or a variety of other items. The recipe for cheesecake has been around for centuries, but did not evolve into its modern form until about the 18th century. At that time, chefs began to remove the yeast from cheesecake recipes and replaced it with beaten eggs, which made the final product much more cake-like.

Anthropologists have discovered cheese molds dating back to ancient Greece, and historians believe that a cheesecake was served at the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. It was believed to be an energy-boosting treat for the athletes. The Greeks also used cheesecake as a wedding cake. The Romans brought the recipe to Europe, and by the late medieval era, it had re-emerged in tart form with a pastry base.

The modern American version of the dessert was 주문제작케이크 developed in the early 19th century, when German Jewish immigrants to America introduced a new type of cheesecake that would eventually become the Reuben sandwich. This variation used a heavy, rich cheese such as Neufchatel instead of the light cottage cheeses that were available in Europe at that time.

Ingredients

There are countless variations on the basic cheesecake formula, from the dense and rich New York style to light and fluffy Italian style made with ricotta cheese. Some use a cookie or cracker crust; others skip the crust entirely. Some recipes include flour in the main custard-like batter, while others do not.

It’s important that the cream cheese and eggs used in a cheesecake be at room temperature before mixing, which helps prevent lumps. The same goes for the graham cracker or cookie crust; it’s best to finely grind them in a food processor and combine them with butter, per recipe instructions, so that they hold together well once baked.

The filling can be as dense and rich or light and airy as one prefers, and it’s also common to add other ingredients like fruit, nuts, sour cream or glazes. For instance, a New York-style cheesecake is typically topped with fresh fruit or cherry sauce, while Italian-style cheesecakes are often glazed with a mixture of sugar and water, or a combination of honey and lemon juice.

Because the dessert can be very delicate, it’s usually baked in a springform pan with an expandable rim, which makes it easy to remove from the base for serving. During baking, it’s recommended to use a bain-marie, or water bath, technique, which keeps the cake from drying out while keeping the batter at a steady temperature without cooking it too quickly.

Variations

Many variations exist of the cheesecake, including those based on different kinds of cheese and those made with various ingredients. Some are baked while others are unbaked, and they can be topped with different garnishes. The texture can vary from dense and rich (New York style) to light and fluffy, depending on the ingredients used and mixing methods.

The most common cheesecake type is New York-style, which uses cream cheese and a graham cracker crust. Other types use a cookie crumb base instead, and some are made unbaked. Some recipes also use gelatin to thicken the custard-like mix, while others include eggs and baking powder.

Other varieties of cheesecake include those based on different cheeses, such as ricotta cheese or Neufchatel (a creamy French cheese). Some also have fruit or ground nuts added for flavoring. Typically, the dessert is layered and served with a topping such as berries, syrup, or lemon juice.

Although most people think of cheesecake as a dessert, it can also be served as an appetizer or snack. For example, in Sweden it is called Ostkaka and can be eaten warm with a topping of whipped cream and strawberries. Another variant of the dessert is Topfentorte, which consists of two cake sponges and a layer of Austrian quark cheese in between. Some recipes include chocolate chips or boiled raspberries to add extra flavor to the dish.

Preparation

Cheesecake is not a traditional cake because it lacks the flour and baking powder that make cakes “cakelike.” It also does not contain butter, but rather cream cheese, sugar, eggs, vanilla and sometimes rum or fruit. It is served as a dessert and often topped with berries, ground chocolate or cookie crumbs, and it may be surrounded by a savory graham cracker crust or a sweeter sour cream crust.

When making cheesecake it is important to use room temperature eggs, butter and cream cheese. They should be softened on the counter for at least an hour before mixing to avoid lumps and to achieve a creamy consistency. It is also important not to overbeat the batter, as a stiffly beat dough can cause cracks in the finished cheesecake.

Another crucial step is preparing the water bath, which acts as a buffer for heat and prevents uneven baking and sunken centers. A roasting pan or baking dish that is larger than the springform pan should be used and filled with boiling water.

Then gently place the springform pan inside and bake. When the center is firm to the touch and no longer jiggles, remove the pan from the water bath. When cool, remove the foil and transfer the cheesecake to a cooling rack. To serve, dip a long clean knife in hot water (running tap is fine) before cutting each slice.