I have extensive cheesecake experience so you KNOW I have to put in my three cents! Those of you who have followed my blog for a while know of my quest for a cheesecake free of cracks! For some of you, cracks are no problem so long as it’s yummy! But sometimes (especially if you’re having guests) presentation is more important. If you’d like to lessen the likelihood of cracks, here are some tips:

• Sue doesn’t use additional Greek yogurt or sour cream in her cheesecake recipe, likely to reduce the amount of fat. Understandable! But cheesecakes need that extra nudge of moisture. Try added about 3 oz. nonfat unflavored Greek yogurt to the batter before baking.
• Try placing an oven-safe pot of HOT water into the oven when you put your cheesecake mixture in there. The cheesecake doesn’t need to sit IN the water, you can put the water on the same or another rack. The steam helps it cook gently.
• I also have always cooked cheesecakes at 325 for 35 minutes, turned the oven off, and left it open a crack to finish cooking as the oven cools down. Why? Because Alton Brown told me to!
• Lastly, if you have a springform pan those make cheesecake extraction a snap! Just make sure to line the bottom with parchment paper so you can easily get it off the pan.