| 1 | Here"s where it gets fun. |
| 2 | The more cream cheese you use, the denser the cheesecake will be (but not dry!) the more eggs you use, the fluffier it will be. |
| 3 | There"s a delicate balance here - 1 lb cheese and 3 eggs will give you a fluffy cheesecake, but if you use 2 lbs cheese, 3 eggs is an absolute must if you don"t want it to be flat. |
| 4 | More eggs than 3, and you"ll taste the eggs. |
| 5 | 1 lb cheese and 2 eggs is a nice balance, too, but going any lower than that you"ll just end up with something flat. |
| 6 | the powdered sugar works best for two reasons - number one, powdered sugar contains corn starch, which acts as a thickener, and number two, you don"t have to worry about the grittiness of undissolved sugar in your cake. |
| 7 | The yogurt or sour cream adds moistness and a little bit of tang to the cake. |
| 8 | It"s not necessary, but it adds oomph to either a bland cake or a citrus-flavored cake. |
| 9 | For liqueur, add no more than ?cup if you"re using the yogurt or sour cream, and make sure you"re using the three eggs. |
| 10 | If you eliminate the yogurt/sour cream, you can increase the liqueur to ?cup, and 2 eggs will work (but three is still better - two works best only if you"re not using the yogurt/sour cream >and< your liqueur is only ?cup). |
| 11 | A fruit or vegetable puree should be relatively dry - drain off the liquid in a sieve, or put it in a saucepan, mix in some cornstarch, and heat it until it"s thick. |
| 12 | You can use an entire cup of puree if you eliminate the yogurt/sour cream. |
| 13 | Either mix in the puree with the batter, or reserve a cup or so of batter, mix it with the puree, then swirl it into the cheesecake. |
| 14 | the vanilla is a must, in my opinion. |
| 15 | Lots of times, i"ll throw in an extra teaspoon for good measure. |
| 16 | Other extracts can enhance the flavor - banana extract in a strawberry cheesecake, coconut extract or almond extract in an amaretto cheesecake, etc. |
| 17 | another addition would be cocoa or chocolate. |
| 18 | Cocoa mixes in nicely without making the cheesecake gooey - 4-6 tbsp will do it. |
| 19 | Melted chocolate or white chocolate chips shouldn"t really exceed 6 oz, even 4 oz will usually do enough for the flavor. |
| 20 | If you"re doing the swirl thing, use only 2-3 oz melted chocolate for the batter that"s being swirled in. make sure the melted stuff is cooled before you mix it in. |
| 21 | (see also basic cheesecake crust and basic cheesecake method & toppings) |
| 22 | * the polka dot palace bbs 1-201-822-3627 |
