Recipe(tried): Avoiding cheesecake cracks

Cathy, maybe one or more of these tips will help you. I picked them up on TRL over time.

Start out with all your ingredients at room temperature. Beat the cream cheese or mascarpone cheese mixture slowly, so you don't incorporate too much air. Beat only as long as necessary to fully blend all the ingredients.

On the oven shelf under your cheesecake, place a pan full of very hot water - the moisture it adds to the oven will help reduce the chance of cracking.

Once the cheesecake has finished baking, quickly run a knife around the edge to release the sides from the pan. Don't take it out of the oven yet, tho - leave it in with the door propped open a crack (I use a wooden spoon)so that it cools slowly.

Try these tips with your favorite recipe, and see if they help. If it still cracks, let us know, and I'll post my favorite recipe. There's nothing really unique about it, it's just a standard cream cheese-sugar-egg-sour cream kind of cheesecake, but I've had a lot of success with it.