I made this today for my family and followed all of the directions... after everything, the cake was very very very wet on the inside... not a cheesecake at all in the middle... more like cheesecake soup... What did I do wrong or what did you type wrong?

Hi Jessica,

It sounds like you're describing a cheesecake that wasn't cooked long enough. Cooking times are just a guideline for you to check to see if what you're cooking is done. If it's not done at that time, you have to cook it for a longer time until it's done.

There are many reasons why it can take a longer time for things to cook. Some people don't start with a preheated oven, for example, while others do. You should normally preheat an oven for 15 minutes (or if you have a digital oven, then the temperature comes up to what it is set at). Or use an oven thermometer. An oven thermometer is also a good idea in case your oven is not actually baking at the temperature you have set on the dial, in which case it will also take a much longer time for something to bake.

In this recipe, the cheesecake was to be left in the oven for two hours after baking with the door closed. Large ovens can retain the heat (are better insulated) than small or inexpensive ovens, and would continue to bake even after the heat was turned off. It's possible that the oven you used to bake the cake wasn't well insulated and cooled off too quickly, which would also affect the end result.

I usually don't turn off the oven on a cheesecake until it's set to within a 2 or 3 inch circle in the center (the center will look wet while the outer portion looks dull).

Hope this helps,

-- CM