Ina Garten Says This Is How Your Cheesecakes Should Actually Look

Ina Garten has plenty of advice for bakers, even down to her own preferred egg size that she uses in all her baking. If you want to bake like Ina Garten and wish she could answer your questions, you're in luck. On her Barefoot Contessa website, there's actually an entire section titled "Ask Ina" where fans and curious cooks can submit questions about cooking or entertaining.

One user, Amber from Sioux City, asked Garten about the appearance of their cheesecakes, which tend to come out with "a light brownness on the outer edge" and was wondering if cheesecakes made by professional bakers look similar.

Garten responded with a comforting answer: "That actually is how all cheesecakes look, and I think the lightly browned edges make the cheesecake look perfectly done." If you've been wondering the same thing, rest assured! Cheesecake can be finicky and hard to bake, but brown edges are nothing to worry about.

Now that you know what your cheesecakes are supposed to look like, you're on your way to becoming an expert. There are a few mistakes that could result in a less than ideal cheesecake, but thankfully, there are also tips and tricks to make sure your dessert comes out just right.

Worried about your cheesecake cracking? Sally's Baking Addiction has some ways to keep the top of your cheesecake picture-perfect, like keeping the oven closed during the baking process. The website says that once the cheesecake is done baking, you can open the oven door a bit, but to wait before taking the cheesecake out to avoid exposing it to large temperature changes. Catherine Ward, the prep kitchen manager at Taste of Home recommends baking a cheesecake in a water bath to make sure your cheesecake doesn't come out cracked or dry.

If baking cheesecake still sounds daunting, there are still ways to make the process even more straightforward. You can make a cheesecake with just five ingredients, or you can try your hand at a no-bake cheesecake. Ina Garten herself even has a recipe for cheesecake bars from Food Network that makes tackling this type of dessert all the easier.