Cheesecake crust, which means the base of the cheesecake is one of the main parts of any cheesecake recipe. If your crust is not perfectly done, then the entire cake might fail. The two main ingredients of the cheesecake crust, the digestive biscuit, and butter ratio should be perfect in it. Too much butter might cause problems in your cheesecake crust.
So what to do when there is Too Much Butter in Cheesecake Crust?
Well, too much butter would make your cheesecake crust hard and you should not press it hard into the pan while setting the crust. Also, reduce the refrigeration time, so that the butter doesn’t set firmly in your crust. However, it will not reduce the hardness completely as it’s not possible to reduce all the butter. But you can reduce a bit of it.
These are just the hint of our entire discussion. If you are interested in knowing the details, go through the entire article.
What happens when there is too much butter in the cheesecake crust?
The main problem you might face when they put too much butter in the cheesecake crust is extremely hard cheesecake crust. As a result, you end up with an imperfect crust.
That compact crust of the cheesecake would be difficult to cut with a knife evenly. Moreover, you will notice the cake is breaking in different places.
Other than that, you will notice a flaky crust. And when the crust is flaky, it is really hard to keep the cake properly shaped. Moreover, you won’t be able to have a perfectly sliced cake out of it. You would also notice your cheesecake is leaking liquid butter from it. However, be assured that the reason for flying crust is not an excessive amount of butter.
That is why, the most important thing while making a cheesecake, is the ratio of butter and biscuit in the crust. Now you must be thinking if there is any way of fixing this too much butter in cheesecake crust issue.
Well, is it not completely fixable. You can’t expect to have a perfectly made cheesecake out of a crust with the wrong butter ratio. But you can reduce the consequence of excessive butter in cheesecake.
How to Fix a Hard Cheesecake Crust?
As you already know, too much butter in cheesecake crust can cause a hard crust. The crust gets even firmer when you refrigerate it for setting. It is really difficult to take the extra butter out of the cheesecake. But you can reduce a bit of it with a paper towel soaking.
However, you can follow a few simple tips to fix the cheesecake so that you don’t end up wasting the whole cake.
Tip 1:
The first thing you can do is reduce the freezing time of your cheesecake crust to the usual time. Because butter also hardens when frozen, reducing the freezing time will result in softer crusts. And, do not serve the cheesecake immediately after taking it out of the refrigerator.
Let the cheesecake set for a while at room temperature, so that it feels less harder and you find it easy to cut.
Tip 2:
When you realize that the butter ratio is excess in your cheesecake crust, then there is no going back. In fact, unlike a perfectly made graham cracker crust, if you press the cheesecake cookie crust harder at that time, it gets even worse.
Since the crust is already hard, pressing it again will make it even harder. However, you can use a paper towel or kitchen towel to soak a bit of excess butter from the crust by gentle pressing.
To do so, just place a paper towel on the top of your cheesecake base and press it very gently with the tip of your fingers. The towel will automatically soak any excess butter. But make sure you don’t press too hard on the paper towel.
The best practice is to place parchment paper under the cheesecake base. In case of excess butter, the paper will soak excess butter a bit.
Bonus: If you’re new to baking and practicing cake decoration, you wouldn’t want to miss our detailed guide to cake decoration process with minimal waste.
Cheesecake Base Butter to Biscuit Ratio
The perfect ratio of ingredients in a cheesecake crust of butter and biscuit is 1:2. However, if you are using biscuits like shortbread, then you can reduce the butter content in it as shortbread already has butter.
Usually, digestive biscuits are used for a cheesecake crust. Each biscuit is weighted around 14-15 grams so the weight of the butter should be half of the biscuit weight. That means if you use 100 grams of biscuit in your crust, then the butter needs to be 50 grams.
To measure the ingredients, the best way is to use a digital scale. Measure the whole butter and then reduce the extra butter from the butter chunk. That way you won’t make any mistakes in measurement.
Common Mistakes to Avoid While Making Cheesecakes
Incorrect Measurement of Ingredients:
For baking any kind of cake, the perfect measurement of ingredients is the most important step. If there is any mistake in the ratio, that would lead you to a complete failure in baking. And mismeasured ingredients can make your dough tacky which comes even before the baking.
So before starting to make the cake batter, make sure you have measured every ingredient carefully.
The best practice is to use a digital weight scale to refrain from making any mistakes.
Using Cold Ingredients:
While making a cheesecake, using cold ingredients is a big no. Cold ingredients require more mixing and as a result, there is more air bubble in your cheesecake. If there is more air in your cheesecake, it will rise bigger while baking and shrink from the middle after cooling.
To avoid an uneven-looking cake, always use ingredients at room temperature. If your ingredients are already cold, wait until they come to room temperature.
Avoiding Water Bath:
One of the most common problems with cheesecakes is, they are unevenly cooked. The main reason behind this problem is baking a cheesecake without a water bath. It may also increase the chance of burning the cheesecake.
If you don’t want such a situation, make sure you don’t skip the water bathing steps while baking a cheesecake.
How to Water Bath Cheesecake:
Here is the entire process of a cheesecake water bath-
- Prebake your cheesecake crust and let it cook until the heat is tolerable
- Take enough aluminum foil to cover underneath the pan of the cheesecake crust
- Place it in a big pan which is quarterly filled with water
- Gently press the foil so that there is no gap for the water to seep in
- Now pour boiling water on the larger pan until it fills half away of the cheesecake pot
- Now put the big pot inside the oven with the cheesecake inside it
- Bake the cheesecake until it’s done properly
Overbaking the Cake:
Overbaking your cheesecake would lead to you to dry and crumbly textured cheesecake. Sometimes it also causes cracks on your cheesecake which is really unpleasing.
To avoid such scenarios, you need to keep away from overbaking your cheesecake.
Keep away from overbaking your cheesecake, you can go for the jiggle method. Give your cheesecake pan a little jiggle and gently tap the pan all around with a wooden spoon. You will feel a jiggle from the center which indicates your cheesecake is done.
But if you notice the whole cheesecake giggles and ripples, that indicates undercooked cheesecake.
Improper Refrigeration Time:
It is very important to give your cheesecake a proper resting time in the refrigerator. Otherwise, there is a higher chance of having a messy and crumbly cake base which is not expected for cheesecakes.
You need to let your cheesecake set in the refrigerator overnight to get the best result. If that is not possible, then at least 4-6 hours of refrigeration time is a must. You can also go for the freezer if you don’t have much time for letting the cake rest.
Hey, if you want your cheesecake filling thicker, you may watch this video:
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
How to fix a soggy cheesecake crust?
To fix a soggy cheesecake crust, take a few graham crackers and crush them into bigger pieces. Combine the crumble with sugar and butter together. Combine them in a skillet on medium-low heat and roast until it gets golden brown. When you get the smell from the crust, take it off the heat and wait for it to cool down. Finally, before serving your cheesecake, top your serving bowl with a graham cracker crust.
Why is my cheesecake crust leaking butter?
Sometimes your cheesecake might leak butter from the bottom of the crust. This will happen if it’s not evenly cooked or there is any mismeasurement in the ingredients. However, to solve this problem, the water bath is the most effective way. It will not only help your cheesecake to cook evenly but also prevent the cake from leaking butter.
What to make with failed cheesecakes?
Instead of throwing your failed cheesecakes, you can use them as a pudding pie. Just blend the failed cheesecakes with a little bit of milk until it is smooth. Now you can add this cheesecake pudding to the pre-made cheesecake crust. And you can make delicious pudding-pie out of it.
Final Words
Hope this article was informative enough to help you with the too much butter in cheesecake crust issue. If you can follow the article properly, you would be able to reduce the amount of damage significantly.
That is it for now. Will see you soon with something more useful.
Till then, happy baking!
