The Beginning

I was maybe 12 years old. It was a warm summer night and I attended a family function for a friend of mine. His uncle made cheesecakes for the event. I remember helping to bring them in from the fridge in the garage, right next to the partially covered 1965 Ford Mustang that was in some state of restoration. As my favorite car of all time, it got a lot of my attention, and is probably why I can remember the event so well. Up to this time I had only ever had "restaurant" cheesecake which most of us know is typically made in a factory somewhere, frozen, and then shipped around the world until it ends up in the freezer at whatever restaurant wants it. These "factory" cheesecakes are typically dry and dense with the cream cheese flavor masked by whatever toppings and fillings they cover them in. This was different. This was soft, creamy and sweet, and it practically melted in my mouth. The tangy bite of cream cheese was there in force, and it accented the flavors that were added. This was what cheesecake was supposed to be, and this was the moment that I realized that I could make it myself.

I went home and immediately started looking through the family cookbooks to find a cheesecake recipe. I don't actually remember my first cheesecake, but I do remember one that was pretty much a disaster. This was my first attempt at a New York style cheesecake. These are thick, and typically use much more cream cheese and eggs than a regular cheesecake. I mixed it, baked it, let it cool, then after taking the side of the spring form pan off I spent a lot of time covering the sides in a layer of semi-sweet chocolate mini-chips. That night we had my cheesecake for dessert, and as I pulled the first slice of it out, the middle of the whole cheesecake oozed out onto the plate! I had undercooked it! My mom dutifully ate the outer edge that was cooked, but I had failed, and I wouldn't try even a bite. To this day I don't think I have attempted another "New York" style cheesecake.

Those first few years had cheesecakes that turned brown, cracked, and were dry and chalky, but each mistake led to the honing of my knowledge and techniques until I could produce a perfectly cooked cheesecake every time. No cracks, no browning, and above all the perfect internal consistency. I also tried many recipes, eventually settling on 2 "base" recipes that I have used exclusively for many years now. I can modify these recipes in an infinite number of ways to create any flavor of cheesecake that your taste buds desire.

Cheesecakes became my "thing." I often gave them as presents for Christmas, birthdays, etc... I would often get calls from friends and relatives; "could you make a cheesecake for the 4th of July BBQ?" Everyone seemed to like my cheesecakes, even my dad. And my dad doesn't like cheesecake! He's not the only one either. I've had several people tell me that they don't like cheesecake, but they like mine!

It is fall of 2009. My wife is a part-time event planner, and has been drafted by a family friend to plan the grand opening gala of The Haven, a new coffee shop that was to open nearby. They had the meal all planned out, and for the dessert they wanted my cheesecake, perhaps due to prodding from my wife. There were to be 70+ people. I had never made that many cheesecakes in such a short period of time. Over the period of a week I pushed out 1 or 2 vanilla bean custard cheesecakes a day until I hit my goal of 7 total. The gala went well and everyone seemed to enjoy the dessert. No more than a bite or 2 was left on any plate. The Haven even got a couple of people asking to buy my cheesecakes.

In the spring of 2010 we had the opportunity to buy into The Haven as part owners, and we took it!

August 21, 2010. The papers were signed, and our new partnership now owned The Haven. We will re-brand it The Haven Cafe, and we will get the word out that there are new owners, new management, fast and friendly service, and a new menu item... cheesecake.

This blog will document my experiences in crafting cheesecake for The Haven Cafe. I will share the ups and downs, politics, laws, and so many other things that have to happen just to be able to sell a slice of cheesecake. I will share tips and tricks for creating your own cheesecakes (sorry, no recipes.)

I hope you enjoy the blog, and please post comments positive or negative and let me know what you like, don't like, want to see, and so on.

I'll leave you with a simple cheesecake tip. If you use a hand mixer, look for one with plastic or plastic coated beaters. These will minimize air that is brought into the batter and help fight cracking. (when I was using a hand mixer I couldn't find any, but that was many years ago. I know that Target specifically has a model that comes with plastic beaters.)