Cheesecake/Springform question.

[lyri]

Okay, so I'm a total newbie at cheesecake. I plan on baking two cheesecakes in one day and I only have one springform pan. Can I just chill the first one half way (maybe 2 or 3 hours) and transfer to a plate to continue chilling while I bake the other one? And should I put in a little round of parchment paper at the bottom or something to ease that transfer?

[roxlet]

In my experience, it is very difficult to remove the metal bottom of a springform from a cheese cake. Certainly parchment will ease that somewhat, but it is not a simple thing to do. Are you using cracker crusts? Those can be very delicate as well. Also, bear in mind that to bake a cheesecake, cool completely on the counter, and then chill will take quite a few hours. I would not recommend trying to remove the bottom before the cheesecake is throughly chilled. If you go ahead with this plan, I would suggest baking one cheesecake in the morning, and the second in the evening. Otherwise, you could wind up with the thing in pieces.

[lyri]

Yes I planned on doing one in the morning and one in the evening anyway.

The alternative is to bake them on two different days, but I would still need to reuse the pan.

[lyri]

Oh and, to clarify, I've baked cheesecake before, just never in a springform pan. I baked a cheesecake in a CareBears pan once, with the cracker crust sitting on top, and was able to invert it unto a serving cardboard so that the cracker crust was on the bottom and had no cracking or anything. The thing is, this is not only a different recipe, but also a much more traditional technique that I am using this time, so I don't trust my previous good luck to just follow me again.

[wyogal]

I flip the bottom upside down, then proceed as usual. There is a bit of a lip to the bottom which can make it hard to get the cheesecake off, with it flipped upside down, there is no lip. I just use an offset metal spatula and run it underneath the crust and slide it onto the serving plate.

[chowser]

Yes, you can just bring one to room temperature, remove from pan and chill (you don't have to chill a few hours before removing the sides but let it cool completely before refrigerating). Use cardboard (either cut into the right size or buy them precut--so easy) and cover w/ aluminum foil. Use that instead of the base so all you're doing is reusing the side.

[roxlet]

That's a very interesting idea, chowser! I guess I haven't had to think about alternatives since I have a couple of springform pans for the times I want to make a couple of cheesecakes.