Everything I do flops!!! I feel useless

amother

Indigo

Wed, May 09 2018, 3:14 pm

Made cheese cakes and all 5 of them have cracked surface. How do I repair that, I baked it in a water bath. So where did I go wrong? I'm hosting lots of guests and nothing is working out,...
Pls guys, it's 8 o clock here in UK I wanna feel usefull. any quick no fail guaranteed recipe I could do tonight.?. side dishes kigels cakes anything????

SixOfWands

Wed, May 09 2018, 3:27 pm

amother wrote:

Cheesecakes crack. Its a sign of how delicious they'll be. Don't worry about it.

If it really bothers you, top with fresh fruit or real whipped cream. Or both.

amother

Lavender

Wed, May 09 2018, 3:39 pm

It's so easy to hide cracks in cheesecake - all you have to do is pour canned pie filling on top! You can make each a different flavor, like blueberry, cherry, strawberry, lemon...

Please enjoy your cheesecakes and don't stress about it!

HeartyAppetite

Wed, May 09 2018, 3:41 pm

Cheesecakes usually crack. You could cover it with a sauce.
You say that everything you make flops, it could be that it’s not you. Maybe you should check your oven temperature and see if it’s even. I had this issue when I first got married. Everything I baked flopped, and I felt terrible. It turns out my oven was very uneven.

Tzutzie

Wed, May 09 2018, 3:50 pm

For next time. Put in cake in a cold oven and let his cool off in the oven. Don't touch till it's completely cool. It helps w cracks.

If it does Crack is nisht gefarlich. You can cover it up easily.
Mix 4 oz sour cream. 2T sugar and 1t lemon juice. Then pour it over the top. Looks nice and tastes delicious. You can add any decorations. Make a flour with chocolate leaves. Whatever.

thunderstorm

Wed, May 09 2018, 3:55 pm

OP, you can always top it with shredded chocolate or sauce to hide the cracks. As long as it tastes good that's what counts !!!!!
Five cheesecakes is a lot of cheesecake! I'm proud of myself when I make one!

etky

Wed, May 09 2018, 4:05 pm

Tzutzie wrote:

This. I do this topping as a matter of course. I pour it over the cake as it comes out of the oven and return it to bake for another few minutes. It fills in and covers up any cracks.

ra_mom

Wed, May 09 2018, 6:44 pm

I also think you should decorate the top either with sliced strawberries around the perimeter and some whole ones in middle, or with curls of chocolate.

greenfire

Wed, May 09 2018, 8:03 pm

in general one should let cheesecake cool off in the oven ... despite best efforts cracks can happen so it's all in how you serve it

open a can of lemon pie filling for one cherry pie filling atop another, decorate a 3rd with fresh berries sliced kiwi, strawberries and/or blueberries, also crushed raspberries are amazingly delicious, make a ganache with melted chocolate chips in microwave or oven adding a few spoons of whipping cream or milk [pareve or dairy] & spread or drizzle as you see fit

Tzutzie

Wed, May 09 2018, 11:02 pm

etky wrote:

This. I do this topping as a matter of course. I pour it over the cake as it comes out of the oven and return it to bake for another few minutes. It fills in and covers up any cracks.

Putting it back into the oven can Crack the sour cream mixture.

And imo, and those of my guests, or those ive gifted with cheese cake with non baked topping, it tastes better this way.

amother

Aqua

Wed, May 09 2018, 11:16 pm

I'm making cheese cake for 15 yrs, no exaggeration. I leave it in oven till it's completely cool. About 2 hours. Many times even longer. It never cracks on me. No bath of water. Just leave till it's cool. Don't keep on checking it. When u see the oven is totally cooled you will be able to see that the cake cooled. Honestly I leave it there for a quite a few hours, as I'm doing other things in meantime.
For now it's too late to change. Just put a sauce or other ideas u got. If it tastes good no one will care.

zaq

Thu, May 10 2018, 9:05 am

OP, I’m sure your cakes are all delicious and if the look disturbs you, you’ve been given plentu of ideas for camouflage.

What concerns me is your thread title. Assuming you are not still in teens and given to the exaggerated catastrophic thinking typical of that demographic, I have to assume that your despair is not just about baked goods. Everything you do flops? You feel useless? Really? Can’t be just the cakes. What’s really bothering you?

Chayalle

Thu, May 10 2018, 10:52 am

Tzutzie wrote:

Sprinkle some nut crunch over the sour cream for some extra deliciousness.

etky

Thu, May 10 2018, 11:23 am

Tzutzie wrote:

Putting it back into the oven can Crack the sour cream mixture.

And imo, and those of my guests, or those ive gifted with cheese cake with non baked topping, it tastes better this way.

So far hasn't happened to me.
Another thing I do, before returning the cake to the oven with the sour cream topping is to run a knife around the sides to release it somewhat. I think this may prevent further cracking.
Regarding taste I don't know 'cause I've never tried it non-baked. I've seen recipes that go the non-baked route but I've been afraid that without baking, the topping would stay loose and liquidy.

simba

Thu, May 10 2018, 2:31 pm

How the heck did you come to the realization that you are useless? You baked 5 cheesecakes and its over a week until Shavous. Cut yourself some slack and send your cracked cheesecake to me.
!