>>21549800 (OP)
Don't use cheesecake recipes that only use 1 brick of cream cheese
Sour cream/yogurt is good
A little white chocolate is good
If you add pumpkin or chocolate or another liquid, sub out some of the heavy cream by weight. you need to balance the thickness and fat %.
the batter should be pretty runny, medium-thin ribbons is fine. If you're getting thick ribbons, you need more heavy cream. don't use milk.
Use a water bath. apparently you're supposed to make the water hot. I've always used cold and never noticed an issue. Use a kettle if you have one, or hottest tap water to fill a tray with your cheesecake tin in it.
The cheesecake pro tip: 350 for 30 minutes, 325 for 25 minutes, 150f for 10 minutes. Then turn off the oven, wait 10 minutes, crack the oven door open, wait another 10 minutes, then take out. it should be room temp-ish now. NOW it is ready for the fridge for 8+ hours. you want a slight wobble in the center by the time it's done cooking. The outer 2" shouldn't move when you jiggle the pan, just the center. It should be slightly puffy, but not like cotton cheesecake puffy. It will collapse in the fridge and if you don't do the temperatures right. It needs to cool down very slowly from 325 to room temp. Any large jump in temps will cause the structure to collapse and cracks on top form. My method gives you a very tall, smooth, uncracked cheesecake.
My recipe is on my phone and I've adjusted it over the years. I use a 4" tall 9"w cake tin, removable bottom. 15$ on amazon.
