Cheesecake Cracks When Baking: Why Is It?

Why does the cheesecake crack while baking? The unsightly appearance can have several causes. These include the wrong baking time and temperature, no time to cool down, egg whites that are too stiff, and opening the oven door too often. Yes, if you know the most common mistakes, your future cheesecake recipes will be perfect.

Cracked cheesecake: the causes at a glance

Cracks don’t stand in the way of enjoying a juicy cherry cheesecake. In order to make an impression with your work, a flawless look is of course an advantage. No problem if you avoid these mistakes.

• Incorrect cheesecake baking time and temperature: The pastry is ready when it is still slightly soft in the middle. The delicate treat made from shortcrust pastry and low-fat quark likes mild temperatures and works best in the lower third of the oven at 150 to 170 degrees and with a baking time of 60 to 75 minutes. It doesn’t matter whether it’s top/bottom heat or circulating air.
• Opening the oven door too often: Each time the door is opened, air and heat escape from the dough, which can lead to cracks.
• No time to cool down: Cheesecake resents sudden temperature changes. After baking, leave the pastry to cool for about thirty minutes with the oven door open.
• Egg whites that are too firm: If the egg whites are beaten too hard, they expand to the extreme and then burst in the oven. The result is cracks in the cake.

Tip: You can save a cake that has cracked despite all caution with whipped cream or icing, so you can easily conceal the blemishes.

Bake cheesecake properly: professional tips for a perfect result

Now you know how to bake a cheesecake without cracks. But you can do even more for an optimally successful treat:

• Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature when preparing the cheesecake. This is the only way to create a homogeneous mass that rises perfectly.
• Cover the pastry with aluminum foil about three-quarters of the way through the baking time. In this way, the surface remains evenly bright and does not become too dark.
• To achieve a particularly creamy taste experience, replace part of the quark with sour cream, mascarpone, or cream cheese. The latter is known to be the basis for the incomparable American cheesecake.