If you’ve ever baked a cheesecake in a water bath or bain-marie, chances are water has seeped into the cake at least once. It’s a defeating feeling, but there is a chance the cheesecake can still be saved if water seeps into it.
What Is a Water Bath?
A water bath, also known as a bain-marie, is simply a pan with water in which another pan, dish, or pot is set. It helps to cook a custard, like cheesecake, slowly and evenly, resulting in a creamy texture and minimizing cracks. Sometimes water from the larger pan seeps into the cake.
Do you need to use a bain-marie for cheesecake? Mostly, yes.
Can You Make Cheesecake Without A Water Bath?READ MORE:
How Did Water Get Into My Cheesecake!?!
You’ve used standard length (12-inch) aluminum foil rather than extra-wide (18-inch) to wrap your pan. Always go with 18-inch foil.
There was a small puncture or tear in the foil.
Water slopped in between the foil and the springform pan when you were putting the roasting dish in the oven or pouring water into the roaster.
Wrap it well using 3 layers of extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil. I use a 9-inch springform pan, and a standard 12-inch roll of foil isn’t wide enough to go up all sides of the pan.
Sara Bir, one of our recipe developers at Simply Recipes, has a great trick. Skip the foil and use the oven-safe plastic bags used to brine turkeys. The good news is you can wash and reuse the bag and keep it as your cheesecake pan bag.
What to Do if Water Gets in My Cheesecake?
Not all things go as planned. You think you wrapped that cheesecake as well as humanly possible in foil, but the foil was breached somewhere along the way and water entered your cake.
You can usually tell within the first 20 minutes of baking the cake if the foil didn’t hold and water entered your cheesecake.
Very thin, usually large, watery bubbles will appear on the surface of the cake or you can see little sputtering places on the edges. (Not all bubbles are signs of water. Some small bubbles rising to the surface are air bubbles and those are just fine.)
How to Save It Before the Cake Has Finished Baking
If you know you have water in your cheesecake, all is not necessarily lost. If this happens to you, you can try to save it if you catch it before it has finished baking.
Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Use oven proof mitts to grab the edges of the spring form pan and lift it out of the pan of water.
Carefully peel back the foil and put the cake back in the oven on the middle rack.
If you have a lower rack, put the roasting pan full of water below the cheesecake on the lower rack.
Finish baking the cheesecake for the time designated in the recipe.
I don’t want to give you false hopes. This doesn’t always save a wet cheesecake. However, if only a little water made its way into the cake, this can help it dry out, and no one will be the wiser.
How to Save It Once the Cake Has Finished Baking
Sometimes you just have to improvise. Chances are the actual cake is fine, and it’s just the crust that’s wet and unappealing. After you’ve already let the cake cool and chill for the time designated by the recipe try some of these ideas:
Plate the cake as individual slices and leave the crust behind.
If you have your heart set on serving a whole cake, cover up the mistake!
Remove the ring from a springform pan but leave the base attached.
Flip the cake over onto its top onto a serving platter so you have the crust side up.
Use a long, sharp, hot knife to slice the crust off of the cake. Discard the crust.
Top the cake with whipped cream, chocolate ganache, or fresh fruit.
DO NOT WORRY! You are going to reinvent this dessert!
Let the cake cool according to the recipe instructions.
Slice, cut, scoop just the cake portion (not the crust) into a smaller dish—preferably something with sides like a bowl or ramekin. Cover and put in the fridge.
Crush some graham crackers like you're making another crust only with larger pieces.
Combine the graham crackers, sugar, and butter together in a skillet over medium heat and toast it until fragrant and golden. Let cool. Cover and store on the counter.
Just before serving, top the bowls of cheesecake with the toasted butter graham cracker crumbles, sliced strawberries, blueberries, or whatever tender fruit you have around. A little whipped cream never hurt anyone and Viola! You created an entirely new cheesecake-inspired dessert! You've got this.
When to Call it Quits
If your cake was pretty well saturated (which you won’t really know until you cut into it) then it’s a loss. I’m sorry. Part of life in the kitchen is making mistakes. You are not alone in glorious kitchen failures. (I once set an entire baking sheet of marshmallows on fire.)
The good news is you’ll know what to do next time!
If this happens to you, you can try to save it if you catch it before it has finished baking. Remove the roasting pan from the oven. Use oven proof mitts to grab the edges of the spring form pan and lift it out of the pan of water. Carefully peel back the foil and put the cake back in the oven on the middle rack.
There are a few ways to thicken cheesecake filling. One way is to use cornstarch, which is a common thickener in many desserts. You can mix a tablespoon or two of cornstarch into your cheesecake filling mixture before baking. Another option is to use a little bit of flour or arrowroot powder.
If your cheesecake filling goes soupy in texture, don't worry—you can fix it! Just add a little gelatin to the mix, and it will set up in the fridge just fine.
You can fix a runny cheesecake mixture the same as the others – with a setting agent – or freezing to make an ice cream mixture. Sometimes the cheesecake can be too thin if a chocolate has melted the mixture for example – and this is also solved this way.
baked crust (even one with less butter) means your filling will ooze into the crust and make it soggy. Try this instead: Most importantly, you should make sure to chill the crumb crust at least 10 minutes before filling it, but even longer is better.
You think you wrapped that cheesecake as well as humanly possible in foil, but the foil was breached somewhere along the way and water entered your cake. You can usually tell within the first 20 minutes of baking the cake if the foil didn't hold and water entered your cheesecake.
The cake should jiggle just a little in the center if it's done. If the whole cake ripples and jiggles you know it needs a little more time to bake. Quick tip: Your cheesecake will do its entire cooling process inside the springform pan. Don't attempt to remove it from the pan until it's been refrigerated overnight.
How long does a no-bake cheesecake take to set in the fridge? Generally at least 6 hours, but most recipes recommend an overnight rest. I think resting for up to 24 hours is fine.
A chilled cheesecake won't set firm if you don't make sure the cream cheese is at room temperature when you use it. For best results leave it out of the fridge overnight and don't over beat it.
You might worry a runny middle means raw cheesecake, but it's totally safe and normal. The center will firm up as it cools on a cooling rack, resulting in the smooth surface you want. Test Kitchen Tip: Cheesecakes made with sour cream should jiggle a little more and will have a larger soft spot in the center.
Simply brush on a few tablespoons of milk or cream to the top of your dry cake or, for a truly indulgent finish, follow recipes like one-bowl tres leches poke cake, baked and soaked in a combination of whole milk, evaporated milk, and sweetened condensed milk.
Try adding up to 1/2 cup of cornstarch into the runny frosting. Cornstarch helps to thicken the frosting without altering the flavor by absorbing excess moisture.
Setting cheesecake in the fridge is essential for a few reasons. First, it allows the flavors to meld, enhancing the overall taste. Second, the cool environment helps the cheesecake firm up, ensuring that it holds its shape when sliced.
Even if the recipe doesn't call for it, our Test Kitchen recommends using a water bath to bake cheesecake. Water baths help the cheesecakes bake gently and evenly, plus the steam from the hot water creates a nice humid environment for baking. Humidity while baking will help prevent dreaded cracks.
Once the cheesecake has cooled to room temperature, drape two paper towels in crisscross pattern or folded together (as pictured) over the rim of the pan, with their curved sides up. 2. Place an inverted plate larger than the cheesecake's rim to secure the paper towels from drooping onto the cake.
Cooling your cake in the refrigerator is a quicker method, but you can also cool your cake on the counter top or in the oven. You can transfer your cake to a wire rack, let it cool in the pan, or even cool it upside down.
In my opinion, it's one of the best desserts for making ahead because it doesn't dry out or go bad as quickly if you store it well. It's also something I typically make a day before I serve it anyway, since it takes several hours in the fridge to firm up.
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