The worst moment in making a baked cheesecake is the bain-marie. You’ve wrapped the tin in three layers of foil, lowered it into a roasting tray of boiling water, and an hour later you lift it out to find a soggy biscuit base because water crept in through the seam anyway.

Most springform tins leak at the bottom edge where the base clips into the ring. You can’t fix that completely, but a well-made tin helps a lot, and the one I’d go for is the Fat Daddio’s 9 x 3 inch round springform pan.

Fat Daddio’s make bakeware for professional kitchens, and this is plain anodised aluminium with no non-stick coating to flake off. Aluminium heats evenly, which is what you want for a custard-style bake like cheesecake that cracks if the edges race ahead of the middle. It’s rated for oven use up to 550°F, so well beyond anything you’ll bake at, and it comes with a lifetime warranty.

The 3 inch depth is the other reason I like it. A lot of springforms are shallow, so a New York style cheesecake ends up level with the rim. Here you’ve got room for a tall bake, or a deep sponge for a layered birthday cake.

Getting a leak-free bake

  1. Clip the base in and run your finger round the join. It should feel snug and even all the way round.
  2. Line the base with a circle of baking paper, letting it overhang the edge a little before you close the clip. That gives you an extra seal and makes sliding the cheesecake off much easier.
  3. If you’re using a water bath, still wrap the outside in a couple of layers of wide foil. Or skip the water altogether and put a tray of hot water on the shelf underneath instead. You still get the steam without the risk.
  4. Let the cheesecake cool in the tin before releasing the clip, then run a thin knife round the edge first.

Looking after it

Being uncoated aluminium, it’s hand wash only. The dishwasher will dull and discolour it. And because there’s no non-stick, you do need to grease and line it. That’s a fair trade for a tin that won’t start shedding coating in two years.

Size-wise, 9 inches is about 23cm, which covers most UK cheesecake recipes (they usually ask for a 20 to 23cm tin).