Cookaholics Bulletin Board

Help me Amy! Yes, we have 7 poorly designed, warped springform pans. Is there a reasonable way to waterproof and ease cheesecake removal?

Do I line the base with parchment, foil or stick-proof foil? Does it help to go around the edge of the base to tighten the joint?

How about lining the ring with stick-proof foil? Sounds like a no-brainer.

Yes, we will double line the exterior with heavy foil.

Why don't they make a heavy aluminum pan with a glass base and silicone seal? Actually, there is one pan with a silicone collar; that might change the thermal properties to eliminate the need for the water bath. The fastener does look a little dicey.



I'd appreciate thoughts.

Tim

Tim,

I don't use a springform pan for cheesecakes. I use a regular cake pan (line the bottom with parchment, and the sides as well if you want...I don't). Spray the pan liberally with non-stick spray and bake as usual. Freeze the cake really solid once it's cooled. Then, dip the cake pan into warm water to loosen the cake and slide a thin knife or small offset around the side of the cake. Flip onto a parchment lined inverted half sheet or the such (spray the parchment lightly with non-stick), and immediately invert again. You may get a blemish, but with practice typically don't.

Hope this helps.

Amy

Amy,

I love the idea of that springboard flip. Unfortunately, I'd end up with the cake on the floor of my kitchen. Thanks for the idea.

Tim

Tim,

Because the cake is frozen solid, it's really pretty easy. Just pick the right sized pan for the flip...the closer to the diameter of the cake pan, the easier it is.

Amy

I put a sheet of parchment over the bottom and and close it over the parchment and then trim from the the outside. No leaks and some of my pans I got from my MIL so they must be as old as dirt.

Mary

Mary - next time you're baking with your spring form pan, I'd love to see a photo.

Like Amy, I don't normally use springforms for cheesecakes. This started when I first made the triple layer one, and I've made almost all of them this way (except a chocolate peanut butter one, which has a chocolate crust in a springform). I have 3" deep by 8, 9, and 10" pans that I use for this, and I better them generously, and have never had a problem removing them. By the time they are cooled to room temp., they shrink some, and I can move them around some in the pan, to be sure they are loosened, then I stretch a layer of oiled plastic wrap over the pan, and turn it out onto a cookie sheet, then quickly flip it onto a serving platter. I sometimes put a layer of cookie crumbs on the bottom before flipping it onto the platter, but I rarely press them onto the sides.

Amy's method of freezing them may make it nearly foolproof removing the cakes, though I have only had one time when I had a problem taking one out (due to baking in an oven that I later found out was about 35° too low!). And, since most cheesecakes can be frozen, you could do them in advance, and leave in the pan for a week or so.

I knew I had seen these somewhere, while not looking for them! Pushpans, which are like the old cheesecake pans that had just a flat piece of metal dropped in the bottom, but these have a silicone ring around them. Not sure if they seal enough to not let in water, when cooking in a water bath, but maybe somebody has used them.

That's the first product I've ever seen with exactly one 5*, 4*, 3*, and 2* review.

I use Ina Garten's cheesecake recipe which doesn't call for a waterbath and is the best cheesecake I've ever made.

fitzie