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If you need a big one in the sense of large diameter (12 inches or more) to serve many people, you should check out Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible. At the end she has a chapter on wedding cakes, including a cheesecake, and it includes the quantities and directions for larger sizes.

You could probably spend 5-10 minutes with it at the Barnes and Noble, etc. and get the info you need. But the book is definitely worth purchasing if you bake frequently.

3 pounds cream cheese
12 ounces sugar
9 ounces sour cream
6 ounces egg yolk
4 each eggs
2 ounces cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 each vanilla bean, optional
1 pound graham cracker crumbs
8 ounces butter

1. melt butter, add to graham cracker crumbs. form crust in molds/springform
2. place cream cheese in mixer, add sour cream sugar.
3. combine eggs, yolks, and cornstarch. add to cheese mixture.
4. add vanilla and/or other flavorings.
5. blend until smooth.
6. evenly fill molds.
7. bake at 300 until done.

This is a recipe I used while I was a pastry chef at an Italian place. You can make it marbled, add raspberry jam for a swirl, flavor it with a small amount of your favorite liqueur, make it in an individual size, or up to a 10-inch monster. It's incredibly reliable, and doesn't require a water bath.

I generally start checking an 8-10 in around 45 minutes. The main thing to look for is when you gently jiggle the pan, the cheesecake will have turned from liquid to somewhat of a semi-soft (it will still jiggle a little, but not look like a liquid in the center). The cornstarch is to help reduce cracking, so that helps firm up the cake as well. It will begin to slightly pull away from the sides. If you check it with a knife, you'll get a few crumbs on the knife, but they'll be soft. As the cheesecake cools, it will continue to "tighten up" and become more solid while it cools. If you can, let it completely cool before you take it out of the oven. When I made it for the restaurant, i made individual portions in solicone molds, and they took around 30 minutes. I would love to be more specific, but our oven was really sad, and about 50 degrees off on the under side, so all the cooking times would be really long and unreliable.

How about the recipe for White Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory?

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 C. chocolate cookie crumbs
or 20 crumbled Oreo cookies (filling removed)
1/3 C. margarine, melted

Cheesecake:
1/2 C. raspberry preserves
1/4 C. water
4 8-oz. pkgs. cream cheese
1 1/4 C. granulated sugar
1/2 C. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
5 eggs
4 oz.s white chocolate, chopped into chunks Optional Garnish
2 oz.s shaved white chocolate
whipped cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 475 degrees. Place a large pan or oven-safe skillet filled with about 1/2-inch of water into the oven while it preheats. This will be your water bath. Combine the raspberry preserves with 1/4 C. water in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 1 1/2 minutes on high in your microwave. Stir until smooth. Strain to remove the raspberry seeds (toss 'em out), then let the strained preserves sit to cool, then put the bowl in the refrigerator until later. Measure 1 1/2 C. chocolate cookie crumbs (or crush 20 Oreo cookie wafers -- with the filling scraped out -- in a resealable plastic bag) into a medium bowl. Mix in 1/3 C. melted margarine. Press the crumb into a 9-inch spring form pan that has been lined on the bottom and side with parchment paper. Use the bottom of a drinking glass to press the crumb mixture flat into the bottom of the pan and about 2/3 the way up the side. Wrap a large piece of foil around the bottom of the pan to keep the cheesecake in the water bath. Put the crust in your freezer until the filling is done. Use an electric mixer to combine the cream cheese with the sugar, sour cream, and vanilla. Mix for a couple minutes or until the ingredients are smooth and creamy. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Whisk the eggs in a medium bowl and then add them to the cream cheese mixture. Blend the mixture just enough to integrate the eggs. Remove the crust from the freezer and sprinkle 4 oz. of white chocolate chunks onto the bottom of the crust. Pour half of the cream cheese filling into the crust. Drizzle the raspberry preserves over the entire surface of the filling. Use a butter knife to swirl the raspberry into the cream cheese. Just a couple passes is fine, you don't want to blend the raspberry and cream cheese together too much. Pour the other half of the filling into the crust. Carefully place the cheesecake into the water bath in the oven. Bake for 12 minutes at 475 degrees, then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until the top of the cheesecake turns a light brown or tan color. Remove the cheesecake from the oven to cool. When the cheesecake is cool, use the foil from the bottom to cover the cheesecake and chill it in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours. Before serving, sprinkle the entire top surface of cheesecake with 2 oz. of shaved white chocolate. To serve, slice the cheesecake into 12 equal portions. Apply a pile of canned whipped cream to the top of each slice and serve. 12 Servings.

Hillary
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