If it has cracks on the top it is over cooked.
To cook cheesecake in a water bath, place the cheesecake pan in a larger pan filled with hot water before baking. This helps the cheesecake bake evenly and prevents cracking.
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You should bake a cheesecake at a temperature of 325F.
For best results, a cheesecake is typically cooked for about 60-90 minutes at a low temperature of 300F.
You can tell if your cheesecake is done baking by gently shaking the pan - the center should jiggle slightly but the edges should be set. You can also insert a toothpick into the center - if it comes out clean, the cheesecake is done.
Foodnetwork.com has over 200 cheesecake recipes to choose from. You can also find recipes at Allrecipes.com ranging from plain cheesecake to tiramisu cheesecake.
One can find Italian cheesecake recipes from cook books, recipe sites or form recipe shows. One will find thousands of recipes like Italian cheesecake recipes from any one of these sources.
A cheesecake typically needs to be baked for about 60-90 minutes at a low temperature of 300F to 325F until the center is set but slightly jiggly.
There's so many places to learn a basic cheesecake recipe. If one don't own a cook book, one could visit All Recipes where they have all kinds of different cheesecake recipes rated by users.
Cheesecake cracks because it gets too dry in the oven. Try baking it in a "water bath" in the oven. This will produce steam and will cook it more evenly and should keep it from cracking.
If you are not a good cook, you should try buying boxed cheesecake. All you do is add milk, pour it in a graham cracker pie crust and chill it in the refrigerator until it's firm. If you want to try cooking, http://www.momswhothink.com has an easy cheesecake recipe you can try.
You can tell when cheesecake is done baking by gently shaking the pan - the center should jiggle slightly but the edges should be set. You can also insert a toothpick into the center - if it comes out clean, the cheesecake is done.