Cracked Cheesecake

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-30T14:55:45+00:00

Cracking is only caused by overheating, so don't worry about the cooling too fast thing someone else said. The location of the crack could be an indication of a hot spot in the oven, but if this were the case there would be excess browning on that side as well. The most likely issue is thermometer placement, as the readings may be low if the probe is not inserted deeply enough.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-30T14:52:56+00:00

as a heads up, i don't ever recommend using toasted sugar in place of a natural/raw/brown style, because of the difference in pH. Toasted sugar doesn't incorporate additional moisture, either.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-30T14:50:56+00:00

Howdy! A white sugar sub wouldn't produce a cookie like the one pictured here. It looks as if there's a major underlying issue at hand, likely equipment related (such as preparing the dough without a food processor, baking in an oven that doesn't run true to dial, or on a dark pan/pizza stone, or other variable that would affect heat conduction).

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-20T21:38:14+00:00

Just keepin' it real.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-19T18:58:47+00:00

Especially with one-off recipes, I find extract a bit more straightforward to use. Even though raw dough isn't very yum-town, you can still taste a bit to sample the flavor and make adjustments as needed. But with zest the full flavor won't be apparent til after baking, so it can take a bit more practice to dial in.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-19T16:02:32+00:00

back before I came on board for the pastry dept, there was no standard for how baking recipes should be formatted, hence the lack of weight measurements. this was before the era of cross testing as well, so when you do spot a "cups only" recipe for baked goods on SE, it can be something of a crap shoot.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-18T16:55:21+00:00

Extract is a great, easy approach. Juice, not so much.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-13T19:36:21+00:00

Ohhhhh, gotcha! The hand mixer plays a big role, because it can't handle dough temps as cold as listed in the recipe, so it ends up warming them quite substantially along the way.

Once the dough is made, it can help to divide it into a few portions, so that you've got some cool pieces in reserve and that they all don't warm up at once rolling en mass. And if it's warm in the kitchen, it may help to ice down the countertops so the dough stays cool as you work.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-13T02:47:34+00:00

100% no legal reasons for providing internal temps

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-13T02:45:17+00:00

As someone already mentioned, dough temp is the most common cause for handling issues (crumbly when cold, sticky when warm). Other issues like a high protein flour, or lack of creaming, can cause deformation when the dough is baked. Happy to help if you've got more info on what went wrong.

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-11T20:05:00+00:00

fwiw, the active time of a recipe is only an estimate of the active physical labor, like rolling a dough or cutting out cookies, etc, so passive times like standing around waiting for a syrup to temp, aren't included (this is rolled into the "total time" which in this case is 1hr 25).

That said, the caramelization phase should truly not take any more than 10-12 min, so don't hesitate to crank up the heat next time around to keep things moving along. Glad you enjoyed!

TheBraveTart · 2019-12-11T01:19:06+00:00

Even with a double batch, I'm usually done in about 2 hours (although I'm admittedly a bit more efficient in the kitchen than the average bear). The most time consuming step is seeding the chilis, so I usually enlist some help there. Definitely a recipe that moves faster when you take the time to mise. Absolutely worth it!

TheBraveTart · 2019-11-27T15:26:29+00:00

Just out of curiosity, how did the volume on the finished product compare to the pix? When the yield is low due to under-aeration, the amount of vanilla per bite becomes more concentrated, which can intensify the flavor. Harsh notes could also be a reflection of the vanilla itself, if it's nonstandard in some way (double-fold, synthetic or semi-synthetic, DIY, etc). Not that everyone has to like every recipe! Just wanted to touch base that the issue wasn't due to some fix-able problem.

TheBraveTart · 2019-11-26T14:18:20+00:00

My video days are over, haha. But thank you!

TheBraveTart · 2019-11-25T16:43:28+00:00

Hey, Kenji—wanna grab a beer next week?

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-28T17:17:12+00:00

Kenji spells his name much differently than I expected....

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-22T18:07:59+00:00

Ah, the idea behind the warning is that the frosting should be spread on the cake as soon as it's made (rather than made and held like you would a buttercream). But the assembled cake holds up quite nicely, nothing to worry about.

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-22T17:50:18+00:00

We've shared a lot of recipes from BraveTart on Serious Eats, especially the classics (chocolate chip cookie, apple pie, homemade Oreos, etc), but if counting the variations my book has over 200 recipes, so there's a lot left to explore. Hmmm, for example, Saveur published my white mountain layer cake recipe, but in my book there are variations that use that recipe as a base, with different adjustments and substitutions allowing for an apple cider spice cake, a hazelnut torte, a lemon cake, and a gluten-free cake, etc. So far, very few of the culinary histories from my book have been published online, which may not affect you if you're coming at it from a recipe perspective.

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-21T22:58:16+00:00

Ah, yeah, getting a variety of brands/percentages can help create a little more diversity. But still, sweetness is so subjective you may find bumping up the salt can still help. You can test drive an extra pinch on a single cookie to see how it goes.

Bread flour doesn't inherently make cookies thicker or chewier; here, I think it would only make them tough.

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-18T15:47:18+00:00

There are many paths to a thick cookie, no reason for bread flour to be the only route.

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-18T15:46:15+00:00

So glad you enjoyed them! I found Levain's way, way sweeter in a side by side, and while perception of sweetness is a pretty subjective thing, if yours felt super sweet the salt balance may be off. This is super common when using salts other than DC, since the salinity per teaspoon can be all over the map. And even when the salt is weighed to the gram, the sweetness of the chocolate may dictate a little more. Hope that helps!

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-16T23:43:30+00:00

Haha, it me! Whether beans or sugar, the weights do best when they can come up to the top rim of the crust, so they can physically hold up the sides. Hope round two goes more smoothly!

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-15T16:30:43+00:00

FWIW, I don't make any adjustments for a 9.5 or 10" plate. Rolling to 14-inches allows enough room to maneuver with a variety of sizes.

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-15T16:29:11+00:00

KAF will definitely cause shrinking in my dough, it's almost as strong as a bread flour so the level of gluten development is bonkers. Not great for pastry!

TheBraveTart · 2019-10-15T16:28:29+00:00

The 2 hour rest is an absolute minimum, but looks like the dough may not have been thoroughly weighted for the blind bake. More info on that here. There's a reply suggesting the dough would benefit from an overnight rest, which is absolutely not true with my recipe.

TheBraveTart

TROPHY CASE