It's all down to the recipe. I've tried different recipes before. One ended up with New York Cheesecake texture but with burnt top, and another was too runny and soft for my liking. I ended with this recipe which is also keto friendly. No flour is used but you can if you want. It's optional.
You'd need parchment paper to line the tin and a 6-inch round tin that is 3 inches tall. The size of the cake tin is important. It is tall so the centre of the cake gets cooked last, hence you get a gooey centre with rougher edges for that contrasting texture. You'd need to preheat your oven (for at least 30 mins) to 240C, top bottom heat with no fan. Ingredients need to be at room temperature. Take them out from the fridge for at least an hour before use.
Here is the recipe:
454g cream cheese (I use 2 blocks of Philadelphia cream cheese)
240ml heavy cream
3 large eggs
80-100g allulose or lakanto (You can also use regular sugar)
15ml fresh lemon juice
a pinch of salt
a dash of vanilla or 1/4 tsp vanilla seeds
15g cake flour (optional)
First, you'd want to preheat your oven to 240C. Just let the oven heat up while you prepare the cake. Take out your hand mixer and cream the sugar with cream cheese. You can also use some elbow grease and whisk it yourself. Soft cream cheese makes life easier. Once you get a smooth batter, add in 1 egg at a time. Continue whisking. Then, add heavy cream, lemon juice, salt and vanilla. You'll get a runny batter.
Line the pan with parchment paper and put a strainer on it. Pour the batter through the strainer into the cake pan. You might notice some small clumps of cheese, and you can just mush it in, through the strainer. This ensures your cake is super smooth and creamy. Now, once everything is done and your oven is hot enough, put the cake at the centre of the oven. Turn down the temperature to 230C and bake for exactly 30mins. Please use only top down heat, no fan. However, if this bake setting does not brown your cake, you might want to put it higher, so the cake is closer to the heating element. The cake that is just baked is soft and jiggly. Do not be alarmed, it will shrink to half its height. Let it sit at room temperature until it is cool to touch. Then transfer it to the fridge and let it chill for 12 hours.
To slice, it's best to use a warm knife. Soak it in boiling hot water, wipe it dry, then cut. Wipe it again, warm it up, and cut. Do you absolutely need to? Not really. But if you're like me, and want the slice of cake to look good, then this extra effort is worth it. I have made this exact recipe for 2 years, and I get consistent results, like in the picture above (taken 2 years ago) and below (taken today). If you want the cake even softer, let it come to room temp before eating. If you want it slightly firmer, bake maybe 5 minutes longer.
I hope you'll give this recipe a try. It's super delicious. Be prepared you might be the dedicated burnt cheesecake baker in every party though!
Happy baking
Lily
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