Problem with moisture

[BakingSquirrel]

Hi,

Was hoping i could get some advice. I have been recently using a healthy cheesecake recipe with some success and was asked if i could make it without the crust/base. I thought this would be no bother but every time i bake it the moisture which leaks out during the cooling is causing problem. I guess when i was cooking this with a crust it was simply being absorbed into the base and as it was eaten quickly i never noticed. Has anyone else come across this or can suggest how i can fix this. The recipe i have been using is below:

• 400g extra-light cream cheese (we used Extra Light Philadelphia)
• 250g 0% fat Greek yogurt (we like Total)
• 200g fat-free fromage frais
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 4 tbsp clear honey, plus 1 tbsp extra
• to drizzle
• 75g golden caster sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 large free-range eggs, beaten

 

[ChesterV]

As long as you don't have a crust, and let it cool in the pan, you will have moisture.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Hi,

Was hoping i could get some advice. I have been recently using a healthy cheesecake recipe with some success and was asked if i could make it without the crust/base. I thought this would be no bother but every time i bake it the moisture which leaks out during the cooling is causing problem. I guess when i was cooking this with a crust it was simply being absorbed into the base and as it was eaten quickly i never noticed. Has anyone else come across this or can suggest how i can fix this. The recipe i have been using is below:

• 400g extra-light cream cheese (we used Extra Light Philadelphia)
• 250g 0% fat Greek yogurt (we like Total)
• 200g fat-free fromage frais
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 4 tbsp clear honey, plus 1 tbsp extra
• to drizzle
• 75g golden caster sugar
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 2 large free-range eggs, beaten

Cheesecake is a custard. The release of moisture you observed is referred to as weeping. It's a pretty common occurrence with custards.

The main cause of a weeping custard is temperature. Starting with ingredients too cold; baking at too high an oven temperature; baking the filling beyond the ideal internal temperature of 150–155°F (66–68°C).

Start with ingredients at 70–75°F (21–24°C).

Monitor the cheesecake temperature and remove the cheesecake from oven at 150–155°F (66–68°C).

Oven temperature is a bit trickier. Its not a matter of just reducing the temperature setting on the stove. It's important to control how the heat penetrates custard. If you are not baking in a bain marie, I'd recommend you try it. At sea level water boils at 212° (100 Celsius). Once water boils it evaporates. So the science behind the bain marie is if the oven is set at 350° (180 Celsius) the pan will be surrounded by 212° (100 Celsius) water, insulating the cake pan from the full blast of the oven heat. This allows for gentle baking and more even rise of internal baking temperature since things bake from the outside toward the center. With a bain marie the outer edges will not reach 150–155°F (66–68°C) too far ahead of the center.

The inclusion of yogurt could also be contributing to the weeping. You might try reducing the amount of yogurt and increasing the cheeses proportionately.

If all these suggestions fail then you could try converting the recipe to no bake. Replace the egg and cornflour with gelatin. In a small saucepan, sprinkle 7 grams of unflavored gelatin over 50 ml water or fresh juice. Let stand 2-3 minutes to soften. Heat and stir until the granules dissolve. Cool slightly, then beat into filling as the last ingredient. If you use gelatin sheets, I believe three silver sheets equals 7 grams of granular gelatin. Dissolve gelatin sheets in the same manner as the granules. You may have to play around with the amount of gelatin.