Cheesecake Without The Crack
Cheesecake cracks because cooling too quickly makes the surface contract faster than the interior. By the time you cut into it, that contraction has split the dense custard and ruined the photograph.
Three small changes prevent it. First, beat the cream cheese only until just smooth, not airy. Second, bake in a water bath at 325F to keep the temperature gentle and even. Third, turn off the oven when the center still has a quarter-sized wobble and let the cake cool inside the oven for two hours.
Once you have made one crack-free cheesecake, the technique becomes second nature. The same gentle approach also produces silkier flans, cleaner key lime pies, and any other custard-based dessert.