Fact #1 – I bought a set of three springform pans with the intention of making regular-sized cheesecakes (compared to baby cheesecakes). Fact #2 – I need to buy a roasting pan big enough so I can make a waterbath. Without a waterbath, disaster strikes:
Look! The Grand Canyon!
My best friend’s birthday was this past weekend. When I asked what kind of cake she wanted, she instantly said “cheesecake.” After getting more details, she decided on a caramel chocolate chip cheesecake. I thought, ok just need to find a turtle cheesecake and instead of nuts, use chocolate chips. After much research, I wasn’t satisfied with any recipe, so I went out on a limb and created my own. Really all I needed to do was fold in caramel sauce and chocolate chips.
So much better than last year’s birthday disaster
I chose Dorie’s recipe because I made it once before. Then at the end, I folded in caramel sauce and chocolate chips. Then after pouring into the pan, I plopped some more caramel on top and swirled it around. However, using my 9 inch pan meant no pan big enough for a waterbath. I can still bake without it, right? Wrong! I mean I could, and I did, but as you can see, it’s not pretty. I lost my swirling (although the cracks did swirl nicely) and the cheesecake shrunk. Like, it was at least two inches above the pan (think souffle) and shrunk after cooling. But the important part was it tasted good.
Apparently we don’t have a #2 candle
Joy says
I know this is a couple years after you posted this recipe, but I just want to say that I think your cheesecake looks fantastic! I actually prefer cheesecakes that have some cracks, higher edges, and aren’t perfectly smooth. In fact, I’d love to find a fail-proof method for ensuring a ‘textured’ surface on my cheesecakes. :)