Undercooked center of a cheesecake baked at altitude
After two tries making a baked cheesecake, the center is undercooked. The outside is fine, but the center remains undercooked.
I have increased the cooking time from 45 minutes to one hour, but still the center of the cheesecake is underdone. I am cooking the cheesecake in a pan surrounded by boiling water but the center is underdone. I am wondering what effect our location (4000 feet above sea level) might be having as water boils here at around 195°F (about 90°C). Any advice would be appreciated.
Best Answer
You should not need major adjustments to cook a cheesecake at high altitude. However, you are correct that the baking time may be slightly longer. The best way to account for this is to check for doneness with a thermometer: make sure the center reads 145°F. This is a fool-proof way to check the cheesecake is set, regardless of altitude, oven temperature, pan dimensions, or almost any other factor. This is further explained in a Serious Eats Article:
An instant-read digital thermometer is the easiest and most reliable way to test a cheesecake. Insert the probe into the very center of the cheesecake, to a depth of about two inches, and hold the thermometer as steady as you can while giving the readout time to stabilize. This cheesecake is done when it hits an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C), as carryover cooking will push it about 10° higher as it sits.
The primary mechanism by which a cheesecake "cooks" is the coagulation of eggs. Since this starts to occur at about 145°F, and your bain-marie will be at 195°F, it is plenty hot to set the cheesecake. It may take slightly longer than in my 212°F sea-level water bath, but it should suffice. (You could even cook at cheesecake in much colder water; see this Anova recipe that cooks it at 176°F using an immersion circulator.)
This Denver Post cooking column concurs: "Cheesecakes do not need any altitude adjustments to the ingredients." Dever is at 5,280 feet, and they suggest baking an hour at 325°F. This might be a good place to start, but I would still use a thermometer.
Finally, it could be that your cheesecake it completely cooked, but not adequetly cooled. When you take it out of the oven, the middle should be slightly wobbly. It will further solidify as it cools. Be sure to cool completely for the best texture; overnight in the refrigerator would be perfect.
Pictures about "Undercooked center of a cheesecake baked at altitude"
Does altitude affect baking cheesecake?
ANSWER: Unless specified by the recipe itself, there should be no reason to adjust a cheesecake recipe when preparing it at a high altitude, other than the fact that a slight increase in baking time might be necessary. Do be aware that baking times are not always exact, due to variations in oven temperatures.Why is my cheesecake raw in the middle?
The Cheesecake Just Needs to Finish Setting The cheesecake should come out of the oven soft and somewhat jiggly in the middle. This is completely normal, and you just need to put the cheesecake in the refrigerator to allow it to finish setting.How do you rescue an undercooked cheesecake?
Even without a water bath, you can simply put your cheesecake back in the oven, even after it has already been in the fridge. In order to do that, set your oven to a low temperature and let the cheesecake slow-cook to the right temp. Come back to check every 5 minutes. It shouldn't take more than 15-30 minutes.Can you bake undercooked cheesecake?
You can save an undercooked cheesecake if you've just taken it out the oven, though. If you've been cooking it for the full time the recipe states and you don't know what to do when your cheesecake is not set in the middle, then place it back in the oven and bake it for another 10 minutes.How to tell if cheesecake is cooked with Curtis Stone
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Quang Nguyen Vinh, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska, Karolina Grabowska