Cheesecake disaster?

[soupforbrains]

Help! I’ve made a cheesecake today as I need to take it to a garden party tomorrow.

I don’t follow a recipe but I’ve made the same one a hundred times. I use half and half Philadelphia and marscapone, zest of 2lemons and 2 limes, juice of 1 lemon and 2 limes. And then I add icing sugar until the taste is just the right balance of sweet and sharp.

BUT today the mix seems runnier than usual. I added a little more icing sugar to see if it would thicken up. (It didn’t)

I thought it might just be because the weather is so hot so I poured some into small ramekins and put it in the fridge. It’s been there for a few hours now and hasnt set. (Though it’s thicker than it was.)

im thinking that the lemons and limes I used must have been larger/juicier than normal so I’ve added too much juice.

how can I salvage this, I don’t want to start over as it’s such a waste. If I whip up some cream and then add that in will it help?

I cannot show up tomorrow with a citrus cream cheese soup!

Freezer

Sometimes it’s the opposite- not enough lemon juice and something to do with pectin in the lemons I believe? But a lemon jelly stirred through would also help. If no jelly available, try stirring through some more lemon juice and icing sugar…

do you always use full fat philli? You haven’t got the low fat one by mistake have you ? It won’t set if it’s low fat

Could you add whipped cream or whipped egg whites to make it more mouse like?

Sounds like either you used low fat cheese (in which case not sure it can be rescued) or didn’t whip it long enough for the citrus juice to fully thicken it (in which case can you scrape it if the base and re whip?).

It’s definitely not the too little lemon juice.

and yes it was definitely full fat Philly and marscapone I’m aware of that pitfall.

I don’t have eggs but I do have some double cream. I also just found another pack of Philadelphia in the fridge.

which do you think would help most?

im thinking the double cream? If so should I whip up the cream first and then fold and mix in the cheesecake mixture or and the cream to the mix and whip simultaneously?

I found that over mixing soft cheese (I was making frosting for a carrot cake for an evening wedding do!) makes it soften. i tried putting in extra icing sugar, but that didn't work. I just had to keep it as cold as possible for as long as possible. I have no other suggestion - sorry

Oh and just to note I haven’t put it into the base yet because it was so runny i was concerned about the setting and so did the trial minis in the fridge to test it.

@Iloveanicegardenyes. I think this is especially true with marscapone.

I would add some extra thick cream whipped.

I asked ChatGPT and this was the response:

Yes — whipping cream can absolutely help salvage your cheesecake!
You're spot on in diagnosing the issue: too much citrus juice (especially from extra juicy limes and lemons) can thin out the mixture, and the heat doesn’t help either. Since your cheesecake isn't baked and relies on chilling to set, you need to balance that excess liquid with added structure.
Here's what you can do:
✅ Whip some double cream (heavy cream) until it forms soft to medium peaks, then fold it into your cheesecake mixture.

• Amount: Start with about 150–200ml of double cream, whip it, and gently fold it in. If it still seems loose, you can add more in 50ml increments.
• This will add body and stabilize the filling without changing the flavor too much.
• Whipping cream adds air and fat, which help it set firmer once chilled.

Other tips:

• Don’t overmix when folding the whipped cream in, or you’ll knock the air out.
• Once combined, spoon it back into your base (or ramekins) and chill overnight — the full chilling time will help it set.

Bonus (Optional): If you want to reinforce it even more:

• Gelatin option: If it still seems too loose, you can "rescue" it by blooming 1 tsp of powdered gelatin in 2 tbsp cold water, gently dissolving it over heat, letting it cool slightly, and whisking it into a portion of the mixture before folding everything together.

But in most cases, whipped cream alone should do the trick — especially if it's already somewhat thickened in the fridge. Let me know how it feels after folding in the cream!

I’m wondering if it’s simply the heat today? But cream cheese can get runnier the more you beat it, so could it be that you kept beating, thinking it would firm up?

The main thing is it will taste delicious, You could try thickening with either whipped cream, beaten egg white (if raw egg is ok fir your guests) or gelatine, or maybe layer in glasses with some extra crushed biscuits and make out it was intentional.

I would change tack, scoop the mix into some nice glasses or leave in the ramekins. I would put a couple of raspberries on top of each one, and last minute sprinkle the biscuits (you were going to use as a base) on the top. Or some flaked almonds. Call it lemon mousse or syllabub!

Ive whipped up the cream and folded it it. It’s definitely better and I’m hoping now it will set in the fridge overnight.

I can’t do the individual mousse like serving siggestion because the garden party has around 30-40 guests in attendance.

if it hasn’t set in the morning I’ll have to just cave and start from scratch. Thank you all!

Gelatine is a good idea but it will mean it’s no longer suitable for vegetarians.

I would probably use cornflour. Mix to a completely smooth slurry with milk or cream before beating through.

@ TheDowagerLadyUrsula -

I agree that gelatine would be a good fix. I don’t think cornflour would work because you have to cook it in order to make it thicken - if you beat through uncooked cornflour, it would taste terrible.

Deconstructed cheesecake Eton Mess?

@TheDowagerLadyUrsulayes. I did briefly consider gelatin as I have some sheets in the cupboard which I found when I was rummaging for inspiration on what might help. But I decided against it because of exactly what you said. We don’t have any vegans coming tomorrow but we do have some vegetarians and it’s simpler if it’s suitable for all.

I’ll let you all know how it comes out but the mix felt and looked a lot better after I’d added the cream. So fingers crossed it will set nicely now that it can have 10 hours or so in the fridge. (I am considering moving it the the 0degree drawer in the fridge but I’m not sure I borderline freezing will screw the texture up (even more).

@TyneTeasthat might be a last resort option! I have a trifle bowl somewhere!

Won’t be saveable. It will crystallise in the freezer and be sloppy when it thaws. Chuck and buy a nice shop bought one and take it out the box lol.

Is it possible you used low fat cream cheese by mistake? It doesn’t set as well as full fat. If you’ve over mixed this also would cause it to not set, ditto if your ingredients to begin with are too warm. They don’t mix properly.

Gelatin?

@zaicandyif you read the full thread ive already confirmed that I always use full fat. And have double checked and it was definitely full fat in this case. I didn’t over mix because it was apparent it was runny early on and I’m aware that marscapone especially thins more with mixing.

additionally it does appear to have been salvagable with the use of whipped cream. And I’m not freezing it so no, it won’t crystallise.

This. Frozen cheesecake.

Well that’s good you’ve double checked…did you beat by hand or use an electric whisk? It can be over whipped within milliseconds if electric whisk is used. In this case though I think the ingredients were probs too warm to begin with.