Help with a soggy graham cracker crust please

[ChocoGrok]

I baked an epicurious.com "Lemon Curd Marbled Cheesecake" for a dinner party last night.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/1222199

I chose this recipe because of it's pretzel crust (the crust mix is spiked with a dose of salt before it's pressed into the pan)...yummy when paired with the sweet creamy cheesecake filling. My friends loved the filling, but the graham cracker crust was lacking crunch and hardness...doubly disappointing since I was thinking "pretzels" as I was eating the mushy crust.

I am wondering if anyone has experienced a mushy graham cracker crust? Did I not pre-bake long enough? Did the crust have too much butter? I scaled down proportionally for a smaller cake, but maybe the ratio between cracker/fat changes in the scale down?

Thanks

[chefpeon]

I chose this recipe because of it's pretzel crust (the crust mix is spiked with a dose of salt before it's pressed into the pan)

I gave the recipe a good read-through, and I didn't notice anything about the crust being a "pretzel crust". From what I can tell, it's just a plain graham cracker crust using unsalted butter, and the addition of 3/4 tsp. salt. I'm not exactly sure where you get "pretzel" out of that.

Regarding the proportion of butter to the other ingredients, I don't think 5 Tbsp. of butter will get you anywhere near "soggy". If you scaled it down, make sure you review your math to make sure you scaled all the ingredients down accurately. Maybe you scaled down your dry ingredients, but didn't scale down the butter? Just guessin'.

I can't exactly say for sure what made your crust "soggy". It might have been fine, but your expectations were for it to be crunchier than it was. Especially if you were thinking "pretzel".

Here's something to try.....next time you pre-bake your crust, brush the top with egg white. The

egg white forms a sort of moisture barrier, and will prevent the cheesecake batter from seeping into

the crust (although I don't think it really does that anyway).

One final thing.....even though the recipe doesn't specify to, you didn't bake your cheesecake in a waterbath did you? If you baked it in a springform pan in a waterbath, that would definitely explain sogginess....especially if you didn't wrap the bottom of the pan with foil to prevent leakage.

[srhcb]

Being rather "rolling impaired" I tend to use a lot of graham cracker crusts.

chefpeon's suggestions were all good. In addition, I offer the following thoughts:

Were your graham cracker crumbs soggy to begin with? An opened pack of crackers or box of crumbs will pick up moisture pretty quickly.

When they say "press" the crumbs into the pan, press hard. I use the bottom of a small glass to press the crumbs firmly in place.

I assume the "pretzel-like" crust refers to the added salt? It would be interesting to use pretzel salt?

Edited August 18, 2006 by srhcb (log)

[ChocoGrok]

Thanks for all the input chefpeon

I was thinking "pretzel" because it was mentioned in one of the reviews...that and the combination of sweet/salty in the recipe triggered the childhood memory of eating pretzels and ice cream. To be more precise, perhaps I was hoping for a "pretzel-icecream-like" effect...sorry for the confusion.

"Mushy" is probably a better descriptor than "soggy". The crust tasted like it hadn't solidified, almost like it hadn't been baked enough and you could still taste the crumbs coated with butter.

I checked the math: used 3 +1/3 Tbsp butter for a 2/3rds scale down...I checked for the 4+2/3Tbsp hunk which is supposed to be left in the butter quarter;

Didn't use a bain marie to bake this one;

Sealing the crust with egg white is a great idea...it's probably my best bet for a crunchier crust.

Edited August 18, 2006 by ChocoGrok (log)

[ChocoGrok]

Being rather "rolling impaired" I tend to use a lot of graham cracker crusts.

chefpeon's suggestions were all good.  In addition, I offer the following thoughts:

Were your graham cracker crumbs soggy to begin with?  An opened pack of crackers or box of crumbs will pick up moisture pretty quickly.

When they say "press" the crumbs into the pan, press hard.  I use the bottom of a small glass to press the crumbs firmly in place.

I assume the "pretzel-like" crust refers to the added salt?  It would be interesting to use pretzel salt?

←

Mmmm...I like the idea of having bursts of saltiness throughout the crust

Ah, there's the rub...press hard, I did not.

I did, however, use a fresh box of graham crackers...a product (or remainder, shall i say) of friends gone crazy with s'mores heavily-laden with toasted marshmallows.

[JeanneCake]

I haven't read the recipe yet, but I used to have problems with soggy oreo crumb crusts. If you use too much butter on the pan, that can also contribute to a soggy crust.

[SweetSide]

Going off tangent a little, I do have a recipe for a crust that uses all pretzels and another that uses pretzels and graham crackers. Both give you that salt kick that goes so well with creamy and sweet:

Pretzels only

1 1/2 c pretzels, crushed

1/4 c brown sugar

1/2 c melted butter

Blend of pretzels and graham

1/2 c pretzels, finely crushed

1/2 c graham crackers, finely crushed

1/4 c sugar

1/3 c butter, melted

Instructions for both are the standard melt, mix, and press.

And for my pans, I use the butter that I've measured for the crust (before melting) to lightly grease the pan, then melt the rest so it's not too moist.