How do I fix and prevent a baked custard from weeping?
I made a rhubarb custard pie that turned out nicely; the custard was flavored with orange zest and 2 tablespoons of orange juice and 1 teaspoon of orange flower water.
I wanted a baked custard made of the filling without the crust.
I doubled the recipe and baked it in a souffle dish, using a water bath under the souffle dish. I baked it at 325F. It took almost 2 hours for the knife inserted in the center to come clean.
The custard was a good texture when removed from the oven and cooled, but when I scooped some out, clear sugar fluid accumulated where I scooped.
The fluid tasted only of sugar, not the rhubarb or the orange flavors.
I tilted the souffle dish. Overnight approximately 2/3 cup of fluid accumulated in the space where I had scooped .
My question :
Why did this happen?
What could I do to avoid it happening in the future?
Best Answer
Why did this happen?
One possibility is that the outside of the custard became overcooked while you were waiting for the middle to set. As eggs cook longer they tighten up more and more, squeezing out liquids that were previously captured by the protein matrix. The cooking process continues for a while even after you remove the custard from the oven, so the overcooking might have happened later than you'd think.
What could I do to avoid it happening in the future?
If the overcooking hypothesis is correct, then any of the following could help:
Reduce the cooking time. Most custard recipes that I can think of call for cooking times around an hour, depending on the size of the dish.
Use smaller baking dishes. With a smaller dish, you won't have to wait as long for the center to set.
Use a shallower baking dish. Same as above -- cooking the custard in a thinner layer should help the whole thing set more quickly.
Remove from oven before it's completely done. With some recipes, like cheesecake, you need to remove the item from the oven before it seems to be done. This prevents overcooking at the edges and cracking in the middle. The same idea could work for your custard.
Modify the matrix. Many custards contain ingredients like starch or gelatin, which can fortify the protein matrix that gives the custard body.
Pictures about "How do I fix and prevent a baked custard from weeping?"
Quick Answer about "How do I fix and prevent a baked custard from weeping?"
In the early stage of cooking, the water is held rather "loosely" by the corn starch granules, and when the mixture cools, the water simply runs out. To stop weeping, just be sure to bring the corn starch mixture to almost a full boil over medium heat and, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.How do I stop my custard from weeping?
If you are really concerned, you could add a teaspoon of flour to the ingredients to help firm up the custard's texture. Personally, if it tastes good, I'd accept the small amount of "weeping" and eat the custard.Why does my custard pie weep?
However if the proteins are overcooked, either by using a temperature that is too high or just cooking for too long, then the proteins will come together so tightly that they will start to squeeze out water and this causes the weeping in an egg custard (or the scientific term for this is syneresis).Why did my custard turn to liquid?
Why Is My Custard Watery? If your custard looks more like a soup than the image on the box, you've likely added too much milk. If you're cooking it from scratch, it might be because you didn't cook the eggs properly.What happens if you over bake custard?
When custards such as cr\xe8me anglaise are heated, they turn thick and creamy as milk and egg proteins unfurl and bond with each other. However, if they are overheated, too many bonds form and the proteins clump.How to correct watery custard using Birds custard powder| 2 methods using boiled hot water
More answers regarding how do I fix and prevent a baked custard from weeping?
Answer 2
Your custard was clearly overbaked, that's why it weeps liquid.
Caleb's advice is good. Beside this, you can
- Add more sugar. It reduces curdling, because the sugar molecules get in the way of the proteins trying to bind to each other.
- Don't rely on a "knife comes clean". Use a thermometer. You want a final temperature of about 83 Celsius. If you are using a large dish, allow time for carryover.
- bake at a much lower temperature. 325 is too high even for a regular amount of custard, a double batch is much worse. Try 280 Fahrenheit. It will take more than 2 hours even for a single batch, but it's worth it.
Answer 3
I'D SAY GO FOR MORE STARCH AND LOWER COOKING TEMPERATURE. My experience was a corn casserole. I used cornmeal as my starch (however, I may not have used sufficient). I used a dome oven, and I realise my temperature may have been too high, since, although the exterior of the casserole was nicely coloured, next day the casserole wept a bit. Maybe it was the coldness of the fridge. I'm trying a pumpkin casserole next, and will be sure to pay attention to my own advice, too!
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Laura James, Ksenia Chernaya, Ksenia Chernaya, Ksenia Chernaya