Oh no!! What to do if the top of your baked cheesecake has cracked

There are several reasons why a baked cheesecake may crack. These include over mixing, oven temperature too high, oven door opened during cooking or the cheesecake was removed from the oven before cool.So here are my tips and what to do if your cheesecake has cracked.1. When mixing your ingredients, don’t overmix. If you overmix you beat all the air out of the mixture. Mix your ingredients until blended but that’s all.2. Always ensure you follow your recipe in relation to temperature. Don’t be tempted to turn your oven higher or lower. If you have a fan forced oven, make sure you set your oven at 20.c less than stated in the recipe. 3. Once you put your cheesecake mixture in the oven, don’t be tempted to open the door in less than an hour. The sudden change in temperature will cause cracking. Depending on the cooking time in your recipe you could have a peek after an hour, otherwise, wait until the cooking time is up.4. Unless otherwise stated in your recipe, once the cooking time is up for your recipe, turn the oven off and open the door slightly. Leave your cheesecake in the oven to cool. When it has cooled remove the cheesecake from the oven and set it on a wire rack until it is completely cool. Then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, if you take a hot cheesecake out of the oven, the sudden change in temperature will cause cracking. Secondly, cheesecakes continue to cook in the oven when you turn it off. This extra time will allow for setting.If the top of your cheesecake does crack, you can cover it with a sour cream topping as follows : - Combine 1 cup sour cream with 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and a drop of vanilla extract. Spread over the just baked cheesecake (while still hot) and return it to the oven for 10 minutes. Cool in the oven as instructed in recipe.For other hints and tips to make that perfect cheesecake everytime go to Cheesecake Hints and Tips