Crustless Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Crustless Vanilla Bean Cheesecake. Creamy, rich and fluffy. This crustless cheesecake melts in your mouth with the enticing flavor of fresh vanilla beans.

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This Crustless Vanilla Bean Cheesecake turned into an adventure, actually a challenge if you will. When I set out to make this cheesecake it was for my husband, he always brings home the little store bought ones that have been refrigerated way longer than any cheesecake should be refrigerated and it was breaking my heart. I hesitated for quite some time because I have never made an authentic cheesecake. I made this beauty but because it was a Ricotta Cheesecake it seemed like the rules were already being broken so I had nothing to loose.

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Off I went, I started gathering all my ingredients, measured all my ingredients perfectly. Mixed it all together, prepared a water bath (yes, a water bath, we’ll get to that later). Followed the instructions to a T and proceeded with the baking. In my mind I just knew this was going to be the best cheesecake ever….then I peaked in the oven, I should not have. CRACKS, not minor cracks but earthquake style cracks. I kept thinking, “don’t panic, maybe they’ll heal themselves…”, as if this would ever happen but my inner mother was trying to calm me down. Not to mention it had risen, seriously, I never thought a cheesecake would rise assisting with the cracking, where’s the rising agent? Argh, total mess.

I reluctantly pulled it out of the oven, determined to see it through but at the same time my inner child was scuffing their feet and pouting, arms crossed, head down. I let it cool for an hour. My cheesecake dreams crushed. I had thrown in the towel…until I picked off a piece of the sad cracked edge and tasted it. Angels started singing! To my surprise it was the most amazing tasting cheesecake I had ever had in my life. Light, creamy, rich and delicious.

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My inner baker renewed, it was time to get this right. I had the great taste and creaminess, now it needed to bake properly. But what the heck did I do wrong? After reading and re-reading my cookbook, ALOT! Here goes…

1. I made this cheesecake with cold ingredients. Really? I know better, feel free to roll your eyes at me, even in standard cake baking but I never thought to leave cheese out on the counter…
2. Even though I had enough batter to fill the pan to the top I should’ve left a half inch for rising.
3. Because the cheesecake is similar to a custard its baked in a hot water bath, my water was not hot enough to start. It was tap hot but should have been just about boiling hot.

The cookbook I adapted this recipe from is The Cake Bible. One of the reasons I was so distraught with the first outcome is that this book has nothing but tried (and retried) and true recipes that if followed perfectly will provide outstanding results. I really knew the errors were mine when I first saw the cracks and then on. By going back and following the small print, the words of advice and the instructions I finally got the cheesecake I was dreaming of.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because with a cheesecake, details matter. And if anyone has made one you know they are a splurge and no one hates wasting $$ more than I do.

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Don’t let my tales of bad preparation scare you, it was all human error on my part. But do learn from me so you can get it right the first time, you will not be disappointed.

Enjoy!

Stacey

Crustless Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

The Sugar Coated Cottage

Crustless Vanilla Bean Cheesecake. Creamy, rich and fluffy. This crustless cheesecake melts in your mouth with the enticing flavor of fresh vanilla beans.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 20 mins

Cook Time 1 hr 45 mins

Total Time 2 hrs 5 mins

Course Dessert

Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ALL INGREDIENTS SHOULD BE ROOM TEMPERATURE.
• 1 LB Philadelphia cream cheese
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch
• 3 eggs
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 vanilla bean
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 cups sour cream

Instructions

 

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare 1- 8 inch springform pan by greasing and lining bottom with parchment paper.
• Have large pan ready to place the 8" pan in for water bath.
• Cover the bottom of the pan in heavy duty aluminum foil to stop water from seeping in.
• Prepare hot water ahead of time to just about boiling for hot water bath, you will need enough to surround springform pan an inch.
• In large bowl with whisk attachment beat cream cheese and sugar until well creamed, about 3 minutes.
• Add in cornstarch, mix until combined.
• Add in egg one at a time, scraping down side of mixing bowl as needed mixing well with each addition.
• Add in lemon juice, vanillas and salt, mix well to combine.
• Add in sour cream, mix until all combined.
• Pour into prepared pan leaving 1/2 space to account for rising. (you may have a little leftover batter, bake a separate little cheesecake or discard).
• Set in larger pan and pour the piping hot water in until the springform pan is surrounded by an inch of water.
• Bake 45 minutes.
• DO NOT OPEN OVEN DOOR. Turn off oven and let cool for 1 hour in the oven.
• Put on rack and cool on counter 1 hour.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• When ready to remove from springform pan warm the bottom of pan by placing on warm stove top. (I turned on the burner for 30 seconds on high and then turned it off and set the cheese cake on burner for 15 seconds). Wipe sides of pan with hot damp cloth.
• With a larger spatula carefully lift slightly and slide onto serving plate. This may take two spatulas, one in front and one in back so the cake does not crack.
• Keep chilled until ready to serve.

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