I work at a bakery cafe making all of they're cakes and cupcakes.  The owner really likes everything there to be locally made from scratch but he still has two cheesecakes that he orders from a supplier and he wants me to start making cheesecakes so that he can stop ordering them...I don't really know how to make cheesecake so it has been a challenge figuring it out :)  They are patient with me but I would really like to get it figured out soon.  Right now any that I make are hit and miss because I am just not too good at it yet.  They taste good and have a smooth texture and look pretty but sometimes they stick to the pan and sometimes they are too soft in the center to slice.  I would love some advice if any of you have ever made cheesecake for a restaurant before. 

Thanks!!!

Sarah

A couple of things that will help you get better results are:

1. Grease the pan

2. Have ingredients at room temp, especially cream cheese

3. Unless the recipe instructions specifically note otherwise, you should beat the cream cheese by itself until it's smooth and light, before adding any other ingredients.

4. Don't overbake--it is done when center is wobbly

I usually leave the cheesecake in the oven after I turn it off with oven door closed for about 1 hr.  Then take it out and let it cool on a wire rack.

Hope this helps

You need to make sure that you beat your cream cheese alone first and then you can add your sour cream, eggs, vanilla etc.  Also are you using a water bath/  Cheesecake is like a custard you want to make sure you are not over cooking and treating it very carefully.  You can grease the pan but personally that is how you get your height.  You want the air that you whipped into it and the steam to raise your cake.  Let cool completely and then chill in walk in and de pan after that.  This should help.  You can also do a line of parchment inside the edges.  Hope this helps.

Thanks!!  So I think I will line it with parchment next time I do usually beat them quite a bit and I leave it in the oven for 1 hour after it bakes.  I still am wondering how to keep the center from being too soft when I cut into it... I wonder if maybe I am under baking them because I am so afraid of them cracking!  I do use a water bath sometimes and sometimes I just cook it on a really low temp.  So far I have never had an issue with cracking...I am not sure why that is.  Also I may just have bad recipes.  I am just using ones that I found online.

AI use the Chantal New York Cheesecake recipe from Allrecipes.com. I can't post the link from my mobile device but a google search should pull it up. It is very good.

get an instant read thermometer to test for doneness--you would probably like to do a search online to research the different temperatures you can get for safety-- "internal temperature of cooked cheesecake"

the range is from 145 f to 165 f

best baking to you

A thermometer is a great idea thanks!