Why does pumpkin pie crack

There are several techniques that work on a variety of pies, cheesecake included, but first you need to understand why pies crack in the first place. Eggs are what thickens the filling in a custard pie. As they heat, they coagulate turning from a liquid to a gel and turn the liquidy pie filling into into a creamy, semi-solid filling of deliciousness.

Cracks in your pie are because the eggs overcooked and thickened so much that they create fissures. They generally start to show first around the edges, which is where the pie cooks first. If you see cracking around the edges, remove the pie immediately. One of two reasons. The first is that the eggs continue to cook from residual heat in the pie.

The second is that the pie cooled too fast and the filling puckers. Heat dries is out, pulls it apart and results in a cracked pie. Remove your pie right before the center stops jiggling. Overcooking is no joke. Cooling too fast. Custards in particular are finicky and need to cooler slowly. Forget the image of an apple pie in the window. Instead, leave your pie in the oven, turned off, with the door cracked. The temperature will reduce fairly quick as to not further cook your pie, but not create such a drastic difference as moving it from a hot oven to cold counter.

This one seems silly, but use a GOOD recipe for pumpkin pie. Check your oven temperature. While no oven maintains the perfect temperature all the time for the entire bake, you need it to at least be in the vicinity and be consistent. Purchase a separate oven thermometer to make sure you oven temp is within a 10 degrees swing of the cooking temperature.

Bake in the lower third of the oven. The bottom is where heat is coming from and also stays the most consistent with temperature. It gives you the best chance of having a perfectly browned bottom with a cooked custard filling.

See the slightly domed edges, and the slightly sunken center area within? Despite the center appearing soft, this pie is fully baked. The easiest and best way to ensure pumpkin pie success is to recognize when your pie is fully baked but not overbaked by sight; that's where experience comes in.

Remember, your pumpkin pie will continue to bake once it's out of the oven, so you have to take it out before it looks done. The fully baked pumpkin pie will look slightly domed and solid around the edges; and a bit sunken and soft in the center: not sloshing like liquid, but jiggling like Jell-O.

And I don't mean just a nickel-sized area in the very center; I mean a good 4" center ring of what looks like not-quite-baked filling. Trust me, at first you're going to have to force yourself, kicking and screaming, to take that pumpkin pie out of the oven when its center isn't set. Just do it; put it on the counter and walk away. Once it's fully cooled and that takes several hours at least , the edges will have settled and the center will look firm.

OK, it's time for dessert; your guests eagerly await your beautiful pumpkin pie. Bring it to the table amid oohs and ahs. Cut a slice; you'll see a wonderfully creamy interior.

Pass the plates. Take a bite: the filling is firm, but still moist as can be. Pumpkin pie perfection! OK, since I've told you my pumpkin pie secrets how about you revealing yours? Is there some special ingredient or technique that makes your pumpkin pie special? Please share in comments, below. PJ bakes and writes from her home on Cape Cod, where she enjoys beach-walking, her husband, three dogs, and really good food! Hi PJ, I look forward to implementing your tips on how to eliminate cracks in a pumpkin pie.

This year everyone loved my pumpkin pie without mentioning the cracks! The texture was very creamy and the taste was richer. I was wondering what makes certain pumpkin pies shine? This year's did. In past years they've been dull. Thanks again, Barbara Frankel. Hey there, Barbara! We're so glad to hear that your pumpkin pie was a hit this year! The shininess of a pie has to do with the sugar — the sugar in the filling attracts moisture and it migrates up, making the surface of the pie shiny.

Adding a tablespoon of flour in the filling can help keep more of the water in suspension down below the surface, resulting in a less shiny pumpkin pie. We hope this helps and happy baking! The advice to pull the pie before it looks completely set worked great for me! Most ovens tend to be hotter at the top, so you should try placing your pie toward the bottom of the oven on one of the lower racks for an evenly baked masterpiece. You should also keep that in mind for your other dishes throughout the day.

For instance, if you wanted to brown the top of a casserole before putting your pie in the oven, place the dish on the top rack to get a nice, crisp crust.

Of course, your oven might be completely different, meaning this tip would be reversed. Be sure to take a close look before you start preparing for the big day to get a better idea of where your pie and other dishes should be placed. Do you refrigerate pumpkin pie? There is dairy and egg in it, after all. If your family managed to not eat the entire pie, or perhaps you made more than just the one, you can usually count on being able to enjoy it a bit longer.

How long can pumpkin pie sit out, though? Where I used to work, as soon as pumpkin pies came out of the oven we placed an inverted pie tin on top of them so they would hold onto their heat a little longer; you could also cool your pie or cheesecake on the counter underneath an inverted mixing bowl. If the dessert's out of the oven and cracked, that means the horse is pretty much out of the barn, unfortunately—the best you can do is apply a little concealer.

Cracked cheesecakes? Try cutting it along the cracks before serving. Nobody has to know! Otherwise a topping— fruit , marshmallow-sour cream —can conceal your error. For pumpkin pie, consider the strategically arranged pastry leaf, using leftover pie dough and following the instructions here. Traditional butter-flour cakes will crack if they're baked at too high a temperature, too.

See above re: making sure your oven is running correctly, and make sure you're baking your cakes on a rack in the middle of the oven. You know how heat rises? You don't want your cakes up there. If you're making a layer cake, of course, you can deal with the problem by just slicing the top of the cake off; you didn't want that dome in the first place.

Otherwise, here's another instance in which frosting or ganache , or whipped cream heals all wounds. Apply it liberally and keep your mouth shut when the guests arrive.