If your favorite cheesecake recipe gets rave reviews for its creamy texture and heavenly taste, but unsightly cracks ruin its presentation, rethink your techniques. Using the right techniques during each stage of the process -- both in and out of the oven -- increases your chances of baking a perfect cheesecake from scratch.
Why It Happens
A cheesecake can crack while it’s still inside the oven, but the surface might also split after you’ve set it out to cool. The culinary culprit could be too much air in the batter, which creates bubbles that rise to the surface during baking, or it could be overcooked egg proteins, which points to an error in baking time or temperature. Exposing a cheesecake to rapidly fluctuating temperatures might also cause your cheesecake to crack.
How to Prevent It
For better results, avoid over-mixing the batter and pour it into a well-greased spring-form pan. Set the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit; baking your cheesecake slowly at a lower temperature prevents the batter from drying out too quickly. Baking expert Sarah Phillips also stresses the importance of adding humidity to the oven if you want to prevent cracking. Wrap the bottom portion of the spring-form pan with aluminum foil and set them in a shallow water bath, or simply place a pan filled with water on the bottom rack of the oven to create steam. Avoid opening the oven needlessly during the first half of the baking time, and allow the cheesecake to cool gradually in a location that’s free of drafts.
Ways to Camouflage It
Don’t sweat a cracked cheesecake; dress it up. Try spooning chocolate, caramel or strawberry sauce over the top to conceal the cracks. Arranging whole fresh berries, sliced fruits or chopped nuts on the surface not only hides the evidence, but also creates a stunning dessert. If you’re more in the mood for a plain, unadulterated dessert, spread a traditional sweetened sour cream topping over a cracked cheesecake to give it a smooth appearance.
Make It Healthier
Cheesecake is high in calories and fat, but you can work on perfecting your recipe without packing on the pounds. The average recipe calls for 24 oz. of cream cheese, which means that a whole cheesecake could contain 2,400 calories and 240 g of fat. Cookbook author Marlene Koch recommends replacing a portion of the cream cheese in your favorite recipe with reduced-fat cream cheese or cottage cheese. Experiment with different proportions to create a low-fat cheesecake with a satisfying texture, and consider replacing some of the sugar in your recipe with sucralose for an even lower calorie dessert.
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