As many people seem to have made this very touchy recipe with good results, I'm sure the problem is just in the way it was written. I'm a pretty experienced cook and was very excited to learn of this water-bath method, certain it would produce an amazingly smooth cheesecake. But it would be very helpful for the submitter to offer hints as to how much water is needed to cook the cake adequately, and how much heat should be allowed to escape with the door slightly ajar. I followed this recipe exactly as written, along with the recommendation that I wrap the springform pan in foil. (As the latter was not even included in the original recipe, I suppose I was not as diligent as I should have been with this step--some water still managed to seep around.) As there are no hints given, I had to wait until the end of the 1 1/2 hour cooking time to know that I needed to make some adjustments. Please let us know what to watch for to make sure it turns out right!

Reviewed On: Mar. 17, 2012

Wow...I can't believe so many people loved these. These brownies were fudgy, but nothing else about them was brownie-like at all. They were incredibly bland, and the texture was spongy and uniform from top to bottom and from the outside in--not at all what I'm used to in a brownie. No thin cracked shell on top, which I guess doesn't matter if you like the icing. I prefer a brownie that can stand on its own, and this one is definitely not it.

Reviewed On: Nov. 20, 2011