Cheesecake in a Silicone Mould

Our answer

Nigella has several baked cheesecakes and tends to prefer to cook them in a water bath as this is a very gentle form of cooking which means the cheesecake cooks evenly and has a very smooth texture. If you bake it in a regular springform pan then you need to wrap the base of the pan tightly in clingfilm (plastic wrap) and foil to make sure no water seeps in.

A regular silicone cake mould is usually sealed so should not let water in. However the difficulty with using a regular type of cake pan (silicone or metal) is that you will have difficulty unmoulding the cheececake after it has cooled. You can't upturn the cheesecake to get it out of the silicone mould and slicing the cheesecake in the mould will be tricky (as well as running the risk of damaging the mould). You would need to serve the cheesecake by scooping it out of the mould. Also a regular cake pan size may not be deep enough for the cheesecake.

Nigella has used a silicone springform pan for cheesecakes, though unfortunately these are difficult to find. The silicone springform would still need to be wrapped if you are using a water bath.