Help!!!
I baked a cheesecake for a customer last night and by accident used the wrong measuring scoop for the sugar. I ended up adding 1/4 cup extra of sugar than normal.
It seemed to take longer to bake than usual, the center took longer to set.
That made the top of the cheesecake brown, which normally doesn't happen since I don't leave it in that long.
I refrigerated the cake overnight and have now pulled it out to put the topping on, but it seems to be really, really firm. A lot more firm than usual.
I think I have overbaked it, and would like to know how that will affect the cake. Will it be hard and somewhat chewy, rather than soft and smooth??

I'm supposed to deliver this cake tonight since I'll be seeing the customer, however, she doesn't need it until tomorrow, so I can re-bake it if I need to and give it to her tomorrow.

Any suggestions?????

Thanks

Usually it is just the top that would be stiffer, but I don't believe the inside would suffer any.......................bump!

I've been doing cheesecakes for a long time now & I have to tell you that overbaked ones do not taste good...they are very tough & chewy. And since you said it was alot more firm than usual I would say it is probably overbaked. If you can, I would rebake it.

Okay, just to clarify, don't rebake that cheesecake...I meant bake another one

I guess since you are going to put topping on it that you could take a knife & put it through the center & take a little of the middle out & see how it is.

How long did you bake it for exactly? Because cheesecake is different than cakes are ...you can bake them a little longer than usual & most of the time they are fine. But if it is really overbaked it won't taste good.

Thank you both for your replies.

I don't know how long exactly I overbaked it, probably about 15 minutes longer, but it is brown on top, which says a lot, because mine usually aren't.

I'm very meticulous about every cake that leaves my hands, so I think I'll take your advice ge978, and re-bake it (I know, bake a new one! )
Also, I'm one of those who find it hard to charge a good price, so since I did for this cake, I want to at least make sure they get a good cake!

I don't mind doing it over, it's just the cost that troubles me a bit, you know, cream cheese and eggs. . .

At least I know hubby and dd's will be happy, they'll get cheesecake for dessert tonight!!!!!!

Thanks again to both of you.

It really depends on the recipe you used. If you used a recipe that has the sour cream in the batter itself instead of as a topping, it is pretty safe to say that your cake isn't all that dry. If the top of your cake is just a pretty caramel color I wouldn't worry. If the sides have just slightly pulled away from the pan no worry. When you go to unring it taste what left on the ring you might be able to tell that way. My recipe calls for a pint of sour cream and 2lbs of cream cheese and a little over a cup of sugar. If you are still worried then better safe than sorry and bake another. Then satisfy your curiosity and see how it turned out and make a note of it somewhere. One thing I do now before I bake is put all my measured ingredients out on large cookie sheet and as I use them they are set aside. It helps -- most of the time.

purplepetunia: will you post & let us know how the overbaked cheesecake came out....I'm curious now. If it was just 15 minutes more, it shouldn't be too bad, but I understand about wanting to make sure that they get a good one. I don't think you would have been happy to send that one out.

hmmmm....now I'm hungry for cheesecake

I also bake a LOT of cheesecakes and 15 minutes extra probably didn't kill it. It could be the extra sugar that caused the top to brown. Well, maybe you should bake an extra anyway and you can eat the brown one- that would be my excuse to eat cheesecake!

Amber

the extra sugar won't hurt the cheesecake, but it could be part of the reason it browned more - sugar caramelizes.

Browning doesn't mean it is overbaked - some recipes call for it to be browned, even very very dark.

Thank you all so much for your advice. I certainly do appreciate it.

I agree that the extra sugar probably did carmelize and make it brown.
However, as I said, I'm very meticulous about my cakes, and if it isn't perfect, I'll lose sleep over it!!! (DH says so will he because I'll keep him up!)
Anyhow, I couldn't really tell how it was by tasting what was left on the sides of the pan, so I wasn't comfortable giving it to the customer. I know I'd worry all night if it was good or not. Also, this was for one of my regular customers, and she was taking it to a family barbecue tomorrow. If it wasn't my best, it could cause me to lose potential customers.

I left it out of the fridge for a bit to see if it would soften up and it did some. After I decided to go ahead and bake another, DH and the kids dug into the first one. They loved it, but that's because they never get cheesecake!!! (You know the saying, "The shoemaker's children haven't got any shoes"?)
But I sat down with a piece and analyzed it carefully. Here's what I found:
1. The extra sugar didn't make any difference in the taste at all, as jmt1714 said.
2. It was firmer in texture than usual and it wasn't as creamy, sort of dry.

I'm soooooo relieved that I didn't sell it!!! I baked a new one this evening and it came out perfect!! So I will deliver that tomorrow.

I'm glad this happened, because I certainly did learn a lot. Also, I figured that the loss wasn't that much because I didn't use the whipped cream and the fruit topping yet and also the box and board.
And the fact that my family ate half of it at one sitting and thoroughly enjoyed it. . .priceless!!

Thank you all so much!!!

PurplePetunia