Tiny hub, this, but an essential one for those people who have spent hours making their cheesecake only to see it crack and sink when it's taken out of the oven. Damn annoying and really quite soul destroying given the amount of time put into it.

So what's the secret? How do you make it perfect every time? Here it is, it's easy...

All the ingredients must be room temperature

If you're like me, a little crazy, you tend to keep your eggs in the fridge. I do this for good reason (they last longer), but I soon found out that you really must leave them out for about an hour before putting them into the cheesecake mixture.

Don't over mix

Another thing I got really quite wrong for years. Put away the electric mixer and use elbow grease only. Grab a spoon to start and then use a hand whisk and when everything is mixed, stop. Don't over-mix and don't start beating the mixture.

It needs to be neatly folded together and that's all. Leave alone. Stoppit.

The key to good baking - use a bain marie

This was the one tip that got me into cheesecake nirvana. Line your tin with foil to ensure it's watertight then fill a shallow baking tin with water, pop the cake tin into that and then put that into the over. The steam will stop the cake from cracking and sinking.

That's it! Easy huh?