test particles
Math is your friend. Because I knew that my recipe for a deluxe 10-inch cheesecake would fill four mini cheesecake springform pans more than twice over (and halving 5 eggs is a total pain), I went and picked up a second set. I have a lot of great recipes for desserts that worked like a dream at sea level. The cheesecake recipe didn’t come out to the texture of my satisfaction the first time I baked it here at 8450 ft. Add to that my obsession with making personal desserts (individual servings) and we have two factors to juggle with. But I figured I’d just give it a go…
filled for baking
cooling the first set
The first set came out a tad short, but the second set was taller because I realized the first set wasn’t rising as much as the 10-inch cake would have. So I filled the second set to about a quarter inch of the top and they were fine and better proportioned. I also tested two 6-inch pans (not springform) and they turned out beautifully as well. Even jotted down the exact timing for each. It really is like chem lab.
Of course, a drawback of not working is that I have all of these desserts to get rid of instead of sending out a mass email at the office. I just needed one bite to know that the texture was as I prefer: rich, creamy, smooth, dense – classic. What to do with the rest? Well, our neighbors are excellent test particles. We took two over to Tom and Kellie tonight, dressed with some fruit. Tom gave it the thumbs up (he dove into it while we were chatting). I made Jeremy try one at home. I’ll take some over to Marcus and the kids tomorrow.
I might should find a restaurant supply store to buy small cake circles and boxes that most bakeries have for packaging just such a thing. I hate taking stuff over in my own dishes because it forces the recipient to clean the dish. Now that I think of it, this exercise was two-fold as I will probably make little baked goods for the holidays. I love sending a variety of little goods instead of a single cake… although the former takes far more time. I just can’t think of anyone whose face doesn’t light up more when presented with several diminutive treats.
