One dilemma that every cheesecake baker has to deal with is related to presentation. Springform pans are great because they are usually fairly nonstick and they naturally will pull away from your cake once opened, but you will ALWAYS have to cut around the edges of your cheesecake to separate it from the pan. Well, almost always because...:
- There's this thing called parchment paper. Instead of having to manually separate the cheesecake from the pan, you can line the edges with strips of parchment paper. Once the cheesecake is baked and chilled, all you will have to do is open up the pan and pull away the strips. Then you have beautiful edges with very little work.
There are two uses for foil when baking a cheesecake, one that is necessary and the other that is convenient:
- A very important step when using a water bath to bake your cheesecake is wrapping the pan in foil. Depending on the size of your pan and the width of your foil, you may need one or two pieces. Place the pan in the center of your foil piece, and wrap the edges around the pan edges. This keeps the water out of your pan. Yes, now you understand why this is important.
- Serving the cheesecake can be an issue because the standard springform pan isn't the prettiest base for a cheesecake to be placed on. It can also be scratched when the cheesecake is cut. One solution to this is buying a springform pan with a tempered glass base. I've seen these even at stores like Marshall's, so you can totally get a great deal on them. But if you're like me and already have springform pans to use, another solution is wrapping the bottom of your pan with foil. Bake, chill, and open the pan up. Then you can unwrap the foil and slide the cake onto whatever serving dish you desire.
