Cook Your Next Cheesecake in the Air Fryer
Cheesecake is a type of dessert that requires you to be fully cooked long before you turn on the oven. It takes a lot of time, special tools and an incredible amount of cream cheese. Provided everything goes right, removing a sloshing tray of 350-degree water along with a three-pound cheesecake is rarely a pleasant sight. There’s enough tension to make you close your eyes and exclaim, “I wish there was a way to bake a cheesecake evenly without a bain-marie!” (At least if you’re into the dramatic.) And legend has it that if you really want it, a deep fryer will appear.
I usually limit my cheesecake adventures to the holiday season because of how many adjustments a dessert needs to make it really come out right. You can, of course, drop caution and accept a cracked cheesecake, a dry or fallen cheesecake, or tell people you made a Basque burnt cheesecake on purpose. (It should burn on top, I swear!) If you want your cheesecake to be silky smooth with no cracks, a slight tan on top, and toasty from edge to center, then you need to plan every little detail, from ingredients to chilling time. .
Ingredients, especially cream cheese, should be at room temperature so they blend easily and well. The cheesecake should probably be in a split form, mummified in aluminum foil to keep water from seeping in. Where does it come from, you ask? Of course, a giant pot with a two-inch flow of water! A water bath (or water bath) is used to ensure uniform cooking. This will keep the edges from overcooking and drying out before the center sets. Logically it makes sense, but that doesn’t stop it from being lame. Even if you have an easy way to pour a gallon of hot water into the oven without getting burned or making a mess, you still need to bake for about an hour, topping up the water bath every time too much evaporates.
When I read a recipe for cheesecake in a deep fryer in the New York Times (subscription to it is blocked, but this is the same recipe ), I did not believe it at first. It is claimed that without a water bath it is possible to make a non-cracking, evenly fried, not burnt cheesecake. Ha! Also, will all this fantastic magic happen in 30 minutes or less? Now I’ve heard it all. To put an end to this apparently blatant lie, I needed to try it for myself.
The recipe was incredibly simple, and otherwise nothing special: a typical New York cheesecake with cream cheese, eggs and condensed milk on a cracker crumb crust. Before lining with parchment paper, make sure the springform you choose is suitable for the fryer. I used a 6″ split pan that fits easily into my deep fryer, though I think I could get by with an 8″ pan if I had one. With the crumb crust compressed, I placed the mold in the machine’s basket and poured in the batter. If you have a version with a door, then you must first fill the pan and carefully insert it into the fryer. I clicked on the “baking” setting and let it run for 25 minutes at 350 F.
Since I have a basket model without a window, I had to act on faith. It could burn or overflow and I would never know. Once the time was up, I jerked open the car and shook my head. The damn thing was great. It puffed up and jiggled nicely when I shook it—not just in the center, like an oven-baked cheesecake that can settle due to uneven cooking; it was shaking almost all over the surface. (A much-requested move in the cheesecake world.) I refrigerate the cheesecake overnight to make sure it’s set, and remove the springform pan with extraordinary ease.
There has never been a simpler, quicker, and more perfect New York-style cheesecake. My first reaction was irritation; apparently I’ve worked too hard on cheesecakes in the past. Not only was the texture smooth and silky, but the whole process was just a fraction of the problems I have with doing things the classic way. With a water bath, I didn’t have to mess around at all, clean up, and the air grill didn’t heat up my entire apartment, like my oven after it baked something for an hour.
Since the Airfryer is a tabletop convection oven, the fan function ensures even heating and speeds up the cooking process. It worked great for cheesecake, and I’m looking forward to testing it with my traditional Thanksgiving pumpkin cheesecake. In fact, since it’s so easy, I’ll be experimenting with other cheesecake recipes to see how versatile the airfryer method is. Adding an air fryer to your baking toolbox is indispensable during the holidays, when the oven is crammed with numerous casseroles and roasts that cook at different temperatures. This will save time and space, so you may have another 15 minutes to enjoy your own party.
Classic New York cheesecake in a fryer
(Adapted from The New York Times)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 24 oz cream cheese, softened
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 14 ounces sweetened condensed milk
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- Squeezed lemon juice
Butter a 6″, 7″, or 8″ springform tin and line the bottom with a circle of parchment paper.
In a small bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs and melted butter. Stir and press until the mixture resembles wet sand and sticks together. Squeeze the mixture into the bottom of a springform pan.
In a stand mixer with paddle attachment. Mix cream cheese with one egg. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the second egg. Empty the bowl and stir again so that the cream cheese and eggs are combined. Add half of the condensed milk and stir until smooth. Empty the bowl and mix in the other half of the condensed milk. Mix vanilla and lemon juice until smooth. (By the way, you can’t reclean the bowl.)
Place the prepared springform pan into the air fryer basket. Pour the cheesecake batter over the crumb crust until it is ¼ inch from the top of the pan. (You may have a small amount left over if you are using a 6-inch pan.) Carefully slide the basket into the machine and set it to “bake” at 300°F for 25 minutes. The pie is ready when it wiggles and lightly browns on top, but it shouldn’t be watery.
Carefully remove the pan from the air fryer and let it cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Chill in the refrigerator for four hours or overnight before taking it out of the mold. Serve cold. This cheesecake can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week if well packaged, or in the freezer for up to two months. Defrost frozen cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.