Why are my cheesecakes splitting in the middle while baking?
Joyce from Sunset, Texas
If you over mix the cheesecake mixture the top will split.
If you bake the cheese cake over a 9x13 pan of water in the oven and then when it is done baking loosen the sides and let it cool in your oven, it wont split in the middle.
Try putting the cake pan in a water bath while cooking it. Be sure to line your pan on the outside with foil first.
Contrary to popular belief cheesecakes are not suppose to split. There are several reasons that cause cheesecakes to split.
1. overmixing
2. over baking
Over mixing and over cooking is the most likely cause of the cracking
Cheesecakes have an enormous amount of moisture in them and if they are baked too quickly or at too high a temperature they will crack as the cake begins to set and the moisture is still trying to escape. Baking in a water bath is the best way to bake them. You will get a perfectly flat, uncracked cake with no browned edges. Wrap your pan in three layers of heavy duty foil. After filling, place it in a large roasting pan and fill the roasting pan with boiling water.
The best cheesecakes by professionals are not supposed to crack and split. In my opinion, I'd rather have one that does crack and split (just to know that the filling is baked all the way through). Just add a sour cream, sugar and vanilla flavoring topping, spread it on and bake an additional 10 minutes after the baked cheesecake has been left on the countertop to cool off for half an hour.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I made an Oreo cheesecake yesterday. I waited for it to cool before putting it in the fridge, then I went in to get some milk and found it had started to split open right across the centre. Can you please help?
By Lynne
You may have over baked or baked it to fast or cooled to fast. Invest in a oven thermometer. My oven is 20 degrees hotter than what I set it to. When I cool a cheesecake I put a dish towel over it as it cools. I don't want it to cool to fast. I run a knife around the edge to loosen it from the edge of the pan while it cools.
Also make sure that it is in something air tight (raped in plastic or in a container) in the fridge. It has moister that will be sucked out if not protected. If you want to hid it make the first slice down the crack. An other thing you can do is put some ganache on the top to cover the crack.
Someone once advised me to put a pan of water on a rack below the cheesecake during baking, and that would prevent the cheesecake from cracking. I haven't baked a cheesecake since I heard that, so I can't vouch for the idea personally, but the lady who told me that swore it works.
