Cooking cheesecake accurately requires a lot of skill and careful planning.

Cheesecake is one of the most popular and ubiquitous dessert items in America. It is also one of the trickiest desserts to perfect in home baking. Cheesecake requires precise and committed temperature control to achieve an attractive, uncracked surface. Even opening the oven door to check the cheesecake while it cooks compromises that goal. The best way to cool a cheesecake is gradually, allowing it to stay in the oven as it cools.

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Step 1

Follow the recipe to mix the cheesecake batter and pour it into a springform pan. Set the oven as instructed to preheat the oven.

Step 2

Put the cheesecake into the oven to bake as the recipe instructs.

Step 3

Refrain from opening the oven even once during baking. Once the cheesecake is in the oven, you can check through the viewing glass on the door, but do not open the door. Even a brief open-door peek can change the air temperature enough to cause a crack in the cake's surface.

Step 4

Turn the oven off when the cooking time ends. Do not remove the cheesecake from the oven. Do not even open the door.

Step 5

Wait a couple of hours until the majority of the oven's heat dissipates. The door might feel a touch warm, but there should no longer be a marked difference between the outside air and the temperature in the oven.

Step 6

Open the oven door a crack to the point at which it props itself open, leaving a two or three inch opening that allows outside air to come into contact with the cheesecake.

Step 7

Leave the cheesecake to finish cooling in the oven overnight.

Step 8

Place the cheesecake in the refrigerator the next morning to keep it cold until serving.

Shaped bread dough usually needs a final proofing. Image Credit: Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images

When you make a loaf of bread, time and yeast do most of the work for you. After kneading the dough, most recipes require you to let it rise at least once. For some breads, you need to let it rise twice. During the first rise, the dough ferments and develops flavor and volume. During the second rise, called proofing, the dough continues to ferment after you shape it into a loaf.

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Texture and Taste

If you let the dough rise for too long, the taste and texture of the finished bread suffers. Because the dough is fermenting during both rises, if the process goes on for too long, the finished loaf of bread can have a sour, unpleasant taste. The finished loaf usually also has a dense texture and isn't sufficiently chewy. Over-proofed loaves of bread have a gummy or crumbly texture.

Collapsing Bread

Bread doughs that rise for too long also tend to be smaller than properly proofed loaves. A common symptom is to have the bread rise in the oven, only to collapse. Letting the dough rise for too long makes the structure of the bread weak, so it can't support itself. Over-proofed breads tended to be 20 percent smaller than breads that weren't allowed to rise for too long, advises "Cook's Illustrated."

Prevention

You can keep bread dough from over-rising or over-proofing. Follow the recipe's recommended rising time. If the recipe calls for letting the dough rise for 60 to 90 minutes, check on it after 60 minutes. Press into the dough with two fingers. If the area you pressed stays depressed, the dough has risen enough. If the area fills back in, you need to let the dough rise a bit more. You can also mark on the rising container where double the original volume of the dough is, so that you have visual marker for when the dough is the right size. Set a kitchen timer to remind you to check the dough at the appropriate time.

Rescuing Overproofed Dough

If you've let your dough rise for too long, all is not lost. You can save the dough. After the second rise, punch the dough down to deflate it. Shape the dough back into a loaf and cover to keep it from drying out. Let the dough rise again for the time suggested in the recipe. Check on the dough at the end of the rising time, then bake as directed.

Breadmaking can seem intimidating, especially if you're new to baking. But thanks to this easy peanut butter bread recipe, you can make homemade bread in a pinch! It's also flourless and yeast-free, so it's perfect if you eat a gluten-free diet or have limited ingredients on hand.

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Things You\’ll Need

• 1 cup room-temperature peanut butter

• 4 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or white sugar

• 3 eggs

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

• Pinch of salt

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or apple cider vinegar

Tip

If you're allergic to peanuts, or if you don't like peanut butter, you can use another nut or seed butter instead.

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a loaf pan and set aside.

In a large bowl, add all the ingredients except the lemon juice.

Step 2

Mix with an electric beater until smooth and combined.

Step 3

Add the lemon juice and stir well.

Step 4

Transfer the batter to the greased loaf pan.

Step 5

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Let cool slightly, then slice. Enjoy with butter, maple syrup, jam—or more peanut butter!

Tie dye is one of the hottest trends in fashion right now, so let's take this colorful look from the runway to the kitchen — with tie dye cupcakes. Not only is the cupcake itself a multicolored swirl of deliciousness, but so is the frosting. In fact, every cupcake has a different mix of tie dye colors and patterns. This could be the grooviest cupcake you'll ever bite into.

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Things You\’ll Need

• White cake cupcakes

• White cupcake liners

• Gel food coloring or icing dye

• Popsicle sticks for mixing

• Toothpicks

• Buttercream icing

• Piping bag

• 2D Piping tip

Step 1: Mix the Batter

For the most vivid colors, you'll want a white cake that won't diminish the brightness of the dyes. You can use your own recipe if you have one, or use a boxed white cake mix like I did. Mix the batter according to directions.

Step 2: Divide the Batter

Divide the batter between four bowls, one for each color. I just eyeballed the amount in each bowl — it doesn't have to be exactly even.

Step 3: Dye the Batter

Add a few drops of food dye to each bowl of batter. I chose blue, red, yellow and green. Choose gel-based dyes, which won't add more liquid content to the batter. You can find gel food coloring at the supermarket. I actually used dye for icing, which I found in the crafts store. Both will work fine. Mix the colors well with a popsicle stick.

To help scoop up any batter on the bottom of the bowl, a plastic spoon is also useful.

Step 4: Fill Cupcake Liners

Scoop a heaping teaspoonful of two colors of cake batter, and pour them side by side into a white cupcake liner.

Scoop a heaping teaspoonful of the third color of cake batter, and pour it crosswise on top of the first two colors.

Scoop a heaping teaspoonful of the fourth color, and pour that next to the third color. Don't worry about being too careful, or if the colors mix a little. The "messiness" makes the finished cupcake look more like tie dye.

Take a toothpick and run it around the batter to mix up the colors a little more.

Step 5: Bake the Cupcakes

Bake the cupcakes according to the directions on the box or your recipe. Notice how I changed up the color combinations on each of the cupcakes so they would look more varied — and psychedelic.

Here's why we use white cupcake liners. See how the colors of the cupcakes show through the sides when they're white!

Step 6: Make the Frosting

You can purchase a tub of frosting from the supermarket, but I like making my own buttercream frosting because it pipes so much better. I start by mixing one stick of unsalted butter with a half cup of vegetable shortening in a stand mixer. (You can use two sticks of butter and omit the shortening, but the shortening helps the frosting hold up in warmer temperatures.)

Slowly mix in four cups of confectioner's sugar in one-cup increments.

Add in a half teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then mix in water one tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches the desired consistency. Most people use cream instead of water, but I prefer water since the frosting will be left out at room temperature, and I don't like the idea of the cream going bad. Taste-wise, you won't miss it.

Step 7: Divide the Frosting

As you did with the batter, divide the frosting into four bowls.

Step 8: Dye the Frosting

Using the same four colors you used in the batter, dye the frosting and mix well with a popsicle stick.

Step 9: Prepare the Piping Bag

Place a piping tip at the end of the piping bag, cutting off the tip of the bag to allow the tip to extend past it. You can use any piping tip you wish. I used a 2D tip so the frosting would look like rosettes.

Spoon one color of frosting along one side of the bag.

Then spoon the other colors around the sides of the bag. This step gets very messy as you try to get the four colors evenly around the bag. Don't worry about the colors lining up perfectly. The less perfect it is, the more it will look like tie dye.

Tip

In the beginning, you might have just one color at the tip because that color settled into the bag before the others. Just squeeze all the excess color into a bowl until multiple colors come out of the tip. Then spoon that first color back into the bag.

Step 10: Frost the Cupcakes

Twist the open end of the piping bag shut, and place the piping tip over the center of the cupcake. Squeeze the bag with firm, even pressure in a counterclockwise direction. I like to think of it as drawing a lower case "e" on the cupcake.

As you squeeze the frosting, the contents of the piping bag will continually change, in turn giving each cupcake a different tie dye color scheme.

The messy mix of colors in the piping bag results in a dizzying combination of tie dye variations.

And when you cut into the cupcake, there is color galore from the frosting on down.

You've got to admit, these tie dye cupcakes are far out, man.

This Cast Iron Skillet Red Velvet Cookie is the ultimate dessert! It's dense, chewy, studded with molten white chocolate chips, and filled with plenty of classic cookie flavor. Serve it alongside a generous scoop of ice cream and a thick drizzle of chocolate sauce for something even more incredible.

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Things You\’ll Need

• 5 ounces (140 grams) unsalted butter, cubed

• 7 ounces (200 grams) light brown sugar

• 1.8 ounces (50 grams) granulated sugar

• 1 large egg

• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean extract

• 7 ounces (200 grams) all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon dutch processed cocoa powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 5.3 ounces (150 grams) white chocolate chips or chunks

• 1 teaspoon red food coloring

• Ice cream, for serving (optional)

• Chocolate sauce, for serving (optional)

Step 1: Combine Wet Ingredients

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Lightly grease a large cast iron skillet. Set aside.

Place the unsalted butter into a medium sized saucepan set over medium-low heat. Heat, stirring occasionally, until melted. Pour the melted butter into a large mixing bowl and add in the light brown sugar and granulated sugar. Whisk until well combined. Add in the egg and whisk until glossy. Add in the vanilla bean extract and whisk until incorporated. Set the bowl aside.

Step 2: Combine Dry Ingredients

In a separate medium sized mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, dutch processed cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

Step 3: Make Dough

Add half of the dry ingredients into the bowl with the butter and sugar mixture. Use a wooden spoon to mix until just combined (some dry flour pockets should remain).

Add in the remaining dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Whisk in the red food coloring. Fold in the white chocolate chips or chunks until evenly incorporated throughout the dough.

Use a rubber spatula to spread the dough into an even layer in the cast-iron skillet.

Step 4: Bake

Bake, 18 to 22 minutes, or until puffed and firm around the edges but still slightly soft in the center. Remove from the oven and transfer the cast iron skillet to a wire rack to let cool for 5 minutes.

Step 5: Serve & Enjoy

Serve the skillet cookie immediately, along with a generous scoop of ice cream and a drizzle of chocolate fudge, if desired. It is best eaten warm on the day of making.