cheese cake wont hold shape

emzolita

hi boardies.

I always make non-bake cheesecakes (with cream or with condensed milk) but no matter how long i leave it to set, when I take it out of the tin it's fine, but an hour later, will have started to "wilt" and hangs over the biscuit base etc.

besides adding something else like adding gelatine, what am i doing wrong, cause i've followed these steps to a tee.
1. whisking sugar & cream cheese.
2. adding cream or condensed milk slowly while whisking, also lemon juice or other flavour.
3. whisk until very thick cream.


any suggestions?

Cheers xx

Do you mean it melts when left out or melts even in the fridge? If it's only melting when left out, just keep it in the fridge.

You sound like you're not keen on gelatine, but it would help, or more specifically lemon jelly like you would use for jelly and ice cream.
Here's a picture: http://www.foodireland.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=570304&Category_Code=chiversjelly&Product_Count=1

Maybe you should try a baked cheesecake? That would be more likely to stand in a warm room.

shinikins

Are you using whipped cream or pouring cream? It makes a huge difference. Also, if you are using whipped cream you should really be folding it into the mixture rather than whipping it any further or you'll lose all the air that is in it.

A good mixture i would use for set cheesecake is actually cheese free, so not strictly a cheesecake, but its delicious and very light.

One pack of jelly, made up as per instructions and left aside to cool
Two cartons of fruit yoghurt
one small carton of cream, whipped

whip your cream, fold in the yoghurt, fold in the cooled jelly, pour on top of whatever biscuit base you like(i prefer half crushed gingernuts, half crushed chocolate digestives bound with a little melted butter) and bung into the fridge for a few hours. You can add fresh fruit to the mix or just lay on top when it has set. Very simple and fuss free and never lasts long in our house.

phormium

It would be difficult to get that mixture to 'set' as such, at most it could revert to the texture of the cream cheese which is fairly firm but once you whip the cheese you change that firmness and then thin it further with cream or condensed milk. At best it will revert to a very soft cheese consistency, problem would be even worse if you used low fat cream cheese as that is even softer.

Personally I would always use gelatine for non-baked cheesecake although jelly, if it suits the flavour you are making, is a good shortcut.

cormie

You could try psyllium husk powder. It will thicken it right up and is quite good for you too. You'll really only find it in health shops and the likes though.

Mr. Presentable

OP, you need a setting agent. Lemon jelly is a very good suggestion.

emzolita

thanks guys. im not against gelatine or anything, haha.

Ok, i'll use gelatine next time. If im using gelatine leaves should i dissolve them in hot water and add the hot or cold mixture to the cheese, or what do i do with it... this part confuses me.

Thanks ya's legends

phormium

I would normally use powdered gelatine for anything that did not have something hot I could add the soaked leaves to, in other words if I was making a custard based set dessert I would use the leaves because I could dissolve them in the hot custard but for the cheesecake there is no hot mixture to dissolve them in.

To use the powder, it comes in pre-measured sachets usually and I would sprinkle the granules slowly over few tablespoons cold water in a ramekin or such, allow it get all spongey and then sit bowl in saucepan with small amount of simmering water in it, allow to dissolve.

Some people add it to hot water, I find it works best this way but you can do that either, main thing is sprinkle it slowly over surface of water, whichever way you do it make sure it is all dissolved before using.

I would usually add the dissolved gelatine to the beaten cheese beating all the time while adding and then add the cream or whatever else you are using. Don't add the gelatine until you are ready to finish off the cheesecake, best not to have the mix sitting around starting to set before you add the rest of the ingredients.