Why Did My Cheesecake Crack? (Easy Solutions and Prevention Tips)

Every baker who has created a cheesecake has experienced a cheesecake crack. Cheesecakes crack all the time, whether it’s a minor crack in the middle or the whole cake has split.

There are many reasons why your cheesecake may have cracked, as well as some simple preventative measures. Hopefully, this explanation, coupled with some future advice, can help avoid your cheesecakes from splitting in the future!

Mix It Just Right

The first main cause of cracking in cheesecakes is overmixing the batter. After thoroughly combining the cream cheese and sugar to make the cheese light and fluffy, do not vigorously combine the other ingredients.

Add the eggs to the batter and stir just enough to incorporate them before turning off the mixer. Stir in the flour and the other ingredients until everything is thoroughly combined. The batter does not need to be beaten quickly or for more than one minute!

If you overmix your cheesecake by running the mixer at high speeds, you will incorporate too much air into the batter. When the cheesecake bakes, the trapped air in the cheesecake expands and causes the cheesecake to puff up as it cooks. When you remove the cheesecake from the oven, it will collapse and break.

Cheesecake does not like air! So, in the first stage of the recipe, beat the cream cheese until it is frothy and soft, then slow down the mixer–you may even combine the remainder of the ingredients by hand to assist avoid cracking.

Release the Cake From the Pan

After your cheesecake has cooked and been taken from the oven, run a knife or tiny offset spatula over the edge of the cake pan to prevent it from clinging to the edges. The cake will compress and peel away from the edges of the pan as it cools.

If the cake becomes stuck to the pan, it will break along the edges as the center sinks and the sides remain attached. You don’t want to remove the cheesecake from the pan while it’s still hot, or you’ll have even more problems.

However, rapidly running a knife or spatula over the cheesecake can avoid any sticking and cracking around the cake’s edges.

Cooked to Perfection

Overbaking a cheesecake may sometimes cause it to break owing to the cake being too dry. When baking the cheesecake, take it from the oven when the middle is still somewhat jiggly.

Follow the time instructions on the recipe, and check the cheesecake many times in the final few minutes of baking to ensure the middle is still beautiful and soft.

The center will continue to cook after it is taken from the oven, so there is no need to be concerned about food safety- it is absolutely fine to eat with a little jiggle!

When the cake is overcooked, the moisture is baked out and it becomes extremely dry. Even before the cake comes out of the oven, this might produce splits. So, if you glance in the oven and notice cracks developing, the cheesecake has been overcooked!

Remove it as soon as possible to prevent the fractures from spreading.

Be Sure to Water Bath!

If you’ve ever wondered why cheesecake recipes typically call for baking the cake in a water bath, here’s why: cracking! Cheesecake pans are immersed in water for two purposes.

The primary reason to always bake a cheesecake in a water bath is to provide moisture to the oven while the cheesecake bakes.

Cheesecakes, as you know, crack as they dry out. A water bath brings steam to the oven, providing the cake a moist atmosphere to bake in rather than a dry one, which helps prevent the cake from becoming too dry while it bakes.

The second reason you should always use a water bath is because it allows the cheesecake to cook more slowly. Direct oven heat may cause a cheesecake to puff up fast, then collapse, break, and have a rubbery feel.

When the cake is baked in a water bath, the cheesecake heats slowly due to the insulation provided by the water. This improves the cheesecake’s overall texture and prevents it from rising and breaking.

Water baths are not a step to skip!

Temperature Changes

Cheesecakes may sometimes break when subjected to a significant temperature shift, such as traveling from the oven to the refrigerator.

This might cause the cheesecake to sink and break around the borders of the cake once again. If you put a hot cheesecake straight into the fridge, it will break!

You may even assist a cheesecake cool slowly by keeping it in the oven after it has been cooked, turning off the oven, and opening the door to let out the heat. The cheesecake will gently come to room temperature and cool down.

What To Do After the Cheesecake Cracks?

Sometimes it’s too late to rescue your cheesecake from breaking since the cracks have already appeared! What happens next? You may try a few things to salvage your crumbling cheesecake.

Which method you choose will depend on the depth of the cracks as well as how you want to serve the cheesecake, but look at them all!

1. Small fissures If your cheesecake just has a few little surface cracks, you may be able to repair them and make them vanish. Allow the cheesecake to cool fully before immersing a tiny offset spatula in a cup of boiling hot water. Once the spatula’s blade is heated, carefully rub it over the fissures in the cheesecake, melting and fusing it back together. The cracks will have disappeared, and the surface of your cheesecake will be smooth once again!
2. Cracks of moderate size Consider adding a topping to your cheesecake if it has any medium-sized cracks in the middle. Fruit toppings or even chocolate ganache can hide the flaws and make your cheesecake more scrumptious. If your cheesecake has medium-sized cracks around the perimeter, put a buttercream or whipped cream boarder around the whole cake to hide the flaws and add decoration.
3. Deep fissures If your cheesecake has deep cracks, gently press the cake together, pressing the sides to force it back together into a complete cake. You may also consider cutting the cake and serving it in separate pieces. Place the pre-cut slices on plates and individually adorn them to seem purposeful. No one will ever know your cheesecake has a large crack since they will only see gorgeous pieces that have already been served for them!

A broken cheesecake does not always imply that the dessert is damaged. While the texture of a cracked cheesecake may be drier than normal, and the appearance may not be precisely what you expected, it will still taste delicious!

Whatever you do, don’t toss out the broken cheesecake–at least give it a go!

Preventing Cheesecake From Cracking

Now that you’ve learned why cheesecakes crack and what to do to help rescue your cheesecake after it’s cracked, here’s a quick summary to help you avoid cracking in the future.

1. Never, ever over-mix your batter. Overwhipping the eggs will introduce air and produce cracks. Hand mixing a cheesecake is a wonderful technique to prevent overmixing.
2. Cream cheese should be at room temperature. This allows the components to integrate smoothly and prevents over-mixing.
3. Bake in a water bath at all times. This will provide a moist atmosphere for the cheesecake to cook in, preventing it from drying out and breaking.
4. As your cheesecake bakes, keep an eye on the cooking time.
   When the middle of the cheesecake jiggles slightly when touched but has not become totally brown, it is done.
5. To avoid the cake from clinging to the sides and breaking around the edges as it cools and compresses, grease the pan generously.
6. After removing the cheesecake from the oven, run a spatula or knife over the edge to release it and avoid breaking as it cools and pulls away from the edges of the pan.
7. Never chill the cheesecake too soon; instead, let it to come to room temperature before placing it in the refrigerator.

You are now a cheesecake connoisseur! The odds of your cheesecake breaking again are small now that you understand the causes of those annoying cracks. And if the cheesecake does break, you know how to repair it!

So go ahead and make your next cheesecake with confidence; it will be excellent.