Why was my Quiche dry?
I was experimenting with Quiche in the kitchen this weekend. I didn't follow any specific recipe as I had watched serval on YouTube and felt it couldn't be too difficult. I was also making an individual size so a regular recipe would only have been a guide anyway.
The mixture was 2 eggs, 3 tablespoons heavy cream, shiitake mushrooms, shallots and Pancetta. I cooked just until the middle stopped wobbling like when I make crème brulee. When I cut into it, it seemed really dry and certainly not custardy. I used a butter and shortening crust.
Any suggestions on how to make the quiche have a more custard like texture?
Best Answer
Honestly, it looks like it's just too high a percentage of egg... and maybe not enough cheese. I don't know that it can't work with that much egg but most of the recipes I've found just now use much more dairy to egg and have other ingredients to make them creamy.
For comparison purposes, you're using less than a quarter cup of liquid to two eggs or 1.5 tbsp/egg.
For example, this one on Food & Wine, uses 3 eggs and 1 cup half and half. It also has a cup of cheese and lots of other ingredients. The egg is clearly just a binder to hold things together. So, that's over 5 tbsp half and half per egg.
This one on allrecipes has 4 eggs and 1-1/2 cups of milk... and lots of cheese. That's 6 tbsp milk per egg.
This one from food.com is closer to yours in ratio, with 5 eggs and only 3/4 cup milk but that's still over a quarter cup more liquid (12 tbsp instead of 7.5 tbsp per five eggs)... and it has you add two cups of other stuff, first suggestion being cheese.
I've found other recipes that use 6 eggs to 3/4 cup cream, too... which, again, is closer but still about 1/4 cup short.
I recommend adding more wet to your mixture to cut the egg.
Also, if you were baking at the traditional 350 F (175 C), you might lower your temperature a bit. Smaller things often do better with a slightly lower oven. This gives you more room for error. I bake mini-cupcakes at 325 F instead of 350 F for this very reason.
So, try raising your cream to 4-5 tbsp (or maybe try a more watery dairy like half and half), add some cheese (cheese is creamy, remember?), lower the temp to 325 F (160 C) and try again.
Sorry, that's a lot of different things to try... but since I don't know your oven temperature, that part is more of a guess.
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How do you keep quiche moist?
Precook Any Toppings/Add-ins: To lower the risk of getting a soggy crust, make sure any add-ins have been browned or saut\xe9ed before adding into your egg mixture. Meats and vegetables retain a lot of water and will release it all into your quiche once baked. Saut\xe9ing helps to remove excess moisture.What is the secret to a good quiche?
The number one trick to a good quiche is the perfectly fluffy egg filling. If you set aside add-ins and cheese (which we'll get to later), quiche is basically just egg and milk. Figuring out your proportions couldn't be simpler \u2013 for each egg you use, you need half a cup of milk.How do you know if quiche is overcooked?
The knife test: Test for doneness with a thin-bladed knife. Insert knife about 1 inch from the center of a one-dish quiche; midway between center and edge of cups. If knife is clean when pulled out, the quiche is done. If any quiche clings to the blade, bake a few minutes longer and test again.Should quiche be covered while baking?
How Long Should I Bake Quiche? At 375F, it requires 25 minutes of baking time uncovered. At that point, you'll want to check things out because you don't want the crust to get too brown. If it's looking a bit well-done, cover it with aluminum foil and continue cooking for 10 more minutes.Why is my crustless quiche watery?
More answers regarding why was my Quiche dry?
Answer 2
I cooked just until the middle stopped wobbling like when I make crème brulee.
I agree with Catija's assessment that you probably need a higher dairy:egg ratio. Most of the quiche recipes in Julia Child's The Way to Cook call for three large eggs plus enough milk or cream to make 1 1/2 cups of custard, and I've found that to be pretty reliable.
However, I also think that you overcooked your quiche. If you cook a quiche (or a custard, or a cheesecake) until it stops wobbling in the center, it's bound to be overcooked by the time it's cool enough to eat. It's a harder to tell with small individual portions since they cool faster, but I'd still take them out while they've got a bit of jiggle left.
If you still have trouble getting the texture you want after increasing the dairy, try blending some cornstarch into the custard mixture. I'd start with 1 teaspoon and increase it a little bit if you like where that's going.
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