Mom's Cheesecake

"This recipe was great. Cracks in cheesecake come from overmixing the batter or getting too much air into it not from not having a water bath. Don't overmix or beat your batter and this cheesecake wo..." See moren't have any cracks (mine didn't)."

"Wow! i made this to take with me to some new friends house. I was really scared, it was not my first attempt at cheesecake, but my first attempt at high altitude. Most recipes just don't come out quit..." See moree right up here, but this one sure did. Smooth texture, followed recipe to the letter. I used the 13x9 pan of water on the lower shelf, no luck. It cracked everywhere, but it was still good. I was very apprehensive about submerging my cake into a water bath, but might try it next time. I also let it sit in the oven for 1 hour, on the counter for another hour and then outside (50's). It had already cracked inside the oven. It was so good, we decided this should be our wedding cake this summer! Can't go wrong here. We ate it plain with fresh strawberries. ****** UPDATE: I made this for my wedding, we had 40 people and I baked three of them at almost 14,000 ft. elevation (CO mountains) they turned a little dark, but didn't crack, they did sink a bit though (I used a stand mixer this time instead of a hand beater, I think this is what made the difference, do not over beat). I used an 8" and 2 -9" pans. EVERY single person raved at how fantastic this was and wanted to know my bakery. When I told them I made it (2 days ahead and held in the frig) they absolutely could not believe it. I practice twice (with a hand beater at lower altitude) before attempting my wedding cakes. We decorated with flowers, berries and offered a topping bar of choices."

"This is an excellent basic cheesecake. Ultra creamy. The first time i made this i topped it with a homemade blueberry syrup. Folks were fighting over the last slices. Make sure to follow the cooling i..." See morenstructions so it will set up properly. I baked in a springform and instead of a water bath i placed a water filled pan on the shelf below it - worked out great."