I did a cheesecake yesterday for my future-stepsister's rehearsal dinner, and when I went to cut it the center was raw!! 
It looked like a perfect cheesecake... I have no idea what happened. The wierd thing is that the outside of the cheesecake was almost overdone. So the middle about 1"-2" in diameter) was completely raw, and then the outside 1"-2" was overdone. Anyone have any idea what happened???? 
The internal temp is supposed to be 169 if memory serves so you can use an instant read thermometer and be ok next time.
Underbaked cheesecake is not that big a problem though. It's so-oo good!! Lots of people like 'rare' cheesecake.
I'm not suggesting selling it that way, I'm just saying it's not really a disaster.
This might seem like a no-brainer to people who bake cheesecakes all the time, but did you have it sitting in a water bath? The moisture from the bath helps keep the temperature of the cheesecake even, which means the outer part won't get too done before the center is baked through.
Hope this helps. 
This might seem like a no-brainer to people who bake cheesecakes all the time, but did you have it sitting in a water bath? The moisture from the bath helps keep the temperature of the cheesecake even, which means the outer part won't get too done before the center is baked through.
Hope this helps.
Water baths can help do that, but they will totally change the texture of a cheesecake. If you want a dense cheesecake, you don't use a water bath. I have sold my 9 inch, 8 pound New York cheesecakes for over 20 years. I've never used a water bath. My cakes bake at 475 for 10 minutes, then I drop the temp to 275 for another 1 hour, 20 minutes, then check for doneness with an instant read thermometer. Sometimes I'll leave them in an extra 10-15 minutes. You can't tell if they're done by looking at them.
To help prevent cracking, after the cake is out of the oven for about 15 minutes, I gently open the springform pan, loosening the cake from the side. Cheesecakes shrink as they cool, and if the sides are stuck then they'll crack in the middle. Cheesecakes also need to cool slowly.
HTH
Jodie
And another thing I do to help guarantee that the center point of baked goods bakes better is that I tent a pice of foil over my stuff near the end of the bake when the stuff crusts enough on top. This increases the heat over the trouble spot. And I leave it on there after I take it out of the pan--does make a difference for me. Not solidly covered so that condensation becomes an issue --just tented over.
Thank you very much for all of the advice! I did not use a water bath, I used the recipe from this site "Ulitimate Cheesecake" by Newlywedws. It is super good, when it comes out right.
JodieF- What does the temperature need to be? Also, how do I let it cool slowly??
Anything else anyone has to add would be greatly appreciated!! I want to start making more of them, but not if they are going to come out raw...
The internal temp should be 150. If it gets above 160 degrees it is guaranteed to crack.
I leave my out on the counter for at least a hour or two before I put them in the fridge, so the temperature change into the fridge isn't so drastic.
When I talked about opening the side of the springform after 15 minutes to loosen the cake from the sides, I DO close the pan again while they finish cooling.
Sometimes, no matter what you do, cheesecakes still crack. When they're cold, I'll press the crack down and together and top the cake with ganache or fruit!
Alton Brown said the 169 degree thing on tv and I wrote it down.
Works for me.
I put foil around my cheesecake pan and then put it in a waterbath on 250 for 1 hr 45 min or 2 hrs, then I put them in the fridge for 12 hrs, and take them out of the pans and they are perfect. I love doing cheesecake. Added a pic for you.
This information is great! My mom's birthday is next week and I was planning on making her a cheesecake. I've never made one before and I didn't realize that you had to be so precise on the temperatures and cooling. Good thing I found this thread before next week
Water baths can help do that, but they will totally change the texture of a cheesecake. If you want a dense cheesecake, you don't use a water bath. I have sold my 9 inch, 8 pound New York cheesecakes for over 20 years. I've never used a water bath. My cakes bake at 475 for 10 minutes, then I drop the temp to 275 for another 1 hour.
I do the same thing, except at the end of the baking time I turn off the oven, open the oven door slightly and stick a wooden spoon in the door to prop it open just a little. I leave it like that for 1 hr, then take the cheesecake out and let it cool on a rack for 1 hr, then into the fridge. I run a knife around the inside of the pan before it goes into the fridge. My cheesecakes rarely ever crack and they're way good. In fact, I've got one cooling and one in the oven right now!
weddingcake1 YUMMY!!!! that looks awesome! 
I am so afraid of making cheesecake. Cause i've heard that it's so fussy. reading these... did not help LOL
you just have to believe in yourself that you can do it and don't let it intimidate you. I love doing cakes and cheesecake is probably my favorite. posting a pic of cheesecake that I did with white chocolate bows they were fun to make. love it, and enjoy what you do.
oh my god. it's so cute. i would be in cheesecake heaven!
my fear of making cheesecake stems from first about it being a little fussy and fragile and second cream cheese in my country is so expensive that i am afraid of wasting money AND ruining the cake. but it is my favorite! *sigh* i miss cheesecake...
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