I bake my cheesecake in a water bath - works every time! Make your crust, then tightly wrap 2 layers of heavy duty foil around the outside of the entire springform pan. Place in larger pan (I use my large lasagna pan). Pour cheesecake batter into the springform pan and then place entire thing on your oven rack. Pour hot water into the lasagna (or larger pan), making sure you don't get water splattered into the cheesecake pan. I pour just enough until the springform pan wants to float slightly. I bake at the normal 350 degrees that my recipe calls for, but the water helps keep the sides from baking too fast and the top from cracking. As soon as I remove the cheesecake from the oven, I take out of the water bath and then go around the sides with a knife to loosen it from the pan so it doesn't shrink and create a crack in the middle. P.S. Apologies if this recommendation was already posted - I haven't read all the posts on this question. Good luck!

A waterbath can help, but it will change the texture of a cheesecake. If you want a dense cheesecake, you can't use a waterbath.

Jodie