help converting Italian Cheese Cake--my favorite

livesimply · 05-08-2008, 04:22 AM

Here's my FAVORITE cheese cake recipe--any help best way to convert it to LC is appreciated!!

ITALIAN CHEESE CAKE
Cream together:
1 1/2 lb. ricotta
1 lb. cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. + 2 Tbs. sugar
Add:
6 eggs (one at a time)
6 Tbs. flour
1 pt. sour cream
1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon rind

Grease and flour 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Turn oven off and keep cake in oven for 2-3 hours until cool. Remove from pan and refrigerate. Serve plain or with your favorite topping.

Without a doubt this is the best cheesecake I ever ate--old Italian recipe, VERY rich. Make sure to use whole milk cheeses and sour cream. It's so expensive to make I would love anyone's advice on the best substitutions for sugar and flour before I attempt this. Thanks in advance!

Soobee · 05-08-2008, 04:40 AM

I would use 1 cup worth of sucralose sweetener(Sweetzfree for me) and 1/2 cup of erythritol (which I would grind to get more like 1 cup of powdered) for the sugar replacement. For the flour I could use Kevin's cookie and cake flour mix. Everything else looks ok for low carb.

rexsreine · 05-08-2008, 10:55 AM

I'm wondering if Kevin's mix might be too heavy due to the almond flour. Maybe half Kevin's mix and half resistant wheat starch?

Ginny

livesimply · 05-08-2008, 11:29 AM

I have the liquid sucralose and the erythritol, but not the other stuff. Just trying to simplify the ingredient list because I don't bake a whole lot. Any other suggestions for the flour substitution?

CarolynF · 05-08-2008, 11:55 AM

I just got out some cornstarch and made a pudding with it..7 carbs per Tbs...and it thickens twice as much as flour does. So, you could add 3 Tbs. of cornstarch. This would give you 21 extra carbs for the whole thing.

This looks like a wonderful recipe. I will try it the next time I have company..

livesimply · 05-08-2008, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CarolynF

I just got out some cornstarch and made a pudding with it..7 carbs per Tbs...and it thickens twice as much as flour does. So, you could add 3 Tbs. of cornstarch. This would give you 21 extra carbs for the whole thing.
Thanks--that might be doable for me. I just bought some stuff from Netrition and really can't order again right now.

This looks like a wonderful recipe. I will try it the next time I have company..

It really is delicious--I was a cheesecake nut in my former life, and this was always my favorite.

SSin-Deb · 05-08-2008, 09:51 PM

Hi livesimply ~ This looks delicious. Can you tell me what the texture is like? Is it dense and heavy (my favorite!!)? I would love to try this. *Ü*

livesimply · 05-09-2008, 02:32 AM

Yes, it is definitely dense and heavy, and very creamy at the same time. If you don't have a 10-inch springform pan, be prepared to have extra to bake in another dish. In fact, I still might have had a little extra even with the 10-inch pan. You will not be disappointed!

Cocapelle · 05-09-2008, 02:20 PM

If someone tries this, I would be interested in knowing the tweaks. I married an Italian, who loves the pastries!

SSin-Deb · 05-09-2008, 08:55 PM

Thank you livesimply ~ I always make George Stella's NY Ricotta Cheesecake (it's our favorite), but I'm going to try yours. *Ü*

hauermich · 05-19-2008, 01:00 PM

how about protein powder? Either vanilla or unflavored

Michele

livesimply · 05-19-2008, 05:34 PM

hauermich, where did you find the logo for your avatar? I love it!!!

Bluqq · 05-19-2008, 05:54 PM

I make italian cheesecake each week
Ive been playing with the recipe for years now
I use 10 splenda packets and no flour and extra cream cheese to firm it up (and 2 less eggs)

I have found that the splenda is to taste
you need to play with it
I tried using more sweetner but found it too bitter

hauermich · 05-21-2008, 03:53 AM

Debbie....funny...I do not remember where I got the picture of the dragonfly. I wish I had found it year ago....I have a dragonfly tattoo last year and it is not nearly as pretty as the avatar.

Michele

Criosa · 05-21-2008, 01:38 PM

I use 1 tbsp. Not/Sugar to substitute 1/4 cup of flour in my cheesecake recipe. It works very well.

Thanks for the recipe. I get a certain amount of raw milk every week, and when I get too backed up with it, I make a ricotta type cheese with it. I was thinking of using it in a cheesecake.

CreekWatcher · 05-22-2008, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by livesimply

Yes, it is definitely dense and heavy, and very creamy at the same time. If you don't have a 10-inch springform pan, be prepared to have extra to bake in another dish. In fact, I still might have had a little extra even with the 10-inch pan. You will not be disappointed!

Dense and heavy is defintitely my favorite kind; I would even describe it as almost chaulky, but your description sounds intriguing.

Mallory · 05-22-2008, 09:15 AM

I was thinking of taking this recipe and experimenting with it but I dont want to make a whole cheesecake in case its not up to standard (I do this alot with recipes that Im tweaking) so what pan would you use if you were going to half this?? Whats half a 10" springform pan?? A 5" deep pan of some sort???

livesimply · 05-22-2008, 11:28 AM

well, I made the cheesecake today. here's how I tweaked it after reading lots of suggestions:

ITALIAN CHEESE CAKE
Cream together:
1 1/2 lb. ricotta
1 lb. cream cheese
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. powdered erythritol + 1 cup. equiv. liquid sucralose + 1 1/2 Tbs. not/Sugar
Add:
6 eggs (one at a time)
1 pt. sour cream
1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla
1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. lemon rind

Grease and flour 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Turn oven off and keep cake in oven for 2-3 hours until cool. Remove from pan and refrigerate.

I tasted the batter and it seemed okay in sweetness. Then again, I LOVE plain cream cheese and don't like things overly sweet. I put it all in one 10" springform pan; as it cooked it rose about 2" higher than the pan but straight up, then shrunk straight down as it cooled--never overflowed over the sides of the pan. It is finishing cooling in my oven, but I can see it has started to pull away from the sides of the pan which is great. The top got evenly browned but not overbrowned. We'll have this after dinner and I'll let you know the taste results.

Thanks everyone for the tips! After reading suggestions on my other forum I may have still used too much sweetener--we'll see.....

SSin-Deb · 05-22-2008, 11:52 AM

Hi Debbie ~ I'm sure interested in how it turns out for you! *Ü*

livesimply · 05-22-2008, 02:33 PM

I goofed and used lemon extract instead of lemon juice--

Nutrition facts: 290 cal.; 25g fat; 11g protein; 4g net carbs; 355mg sodium
**I did not count the carbs in the sweeteners or notSugar, just the net carbs--no way to do it in the program I use.

Soobee · 05-22-2008, 02:42 PM

Mallory, I'm not an expert, but I think you would need a bigger pan to get half of a 10 inch springform pan. My mathematical husband says a 7 inch pan would be just slightly less than half of a 10 inch pan.

theislandgirl · 05-22-2008, 08:04 PM

No problem on not counting carbs on the liquid sucralose (zero carbs), the powdered Erythritol (almost zero carbs, about .2 cals per gram by weight) and the not/Sugar (pure soluble fiber, zero net carbs).

Sounds absolutely delicious.

Mallory · 05-23-2008, 06:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Soobee

Mallory, I'm not an expert, but I think you would need a bigger pan to get half of a 10 inch springform pan. My mathematical husband says a 7 inch pan would be just slightly less than half of a 10 inch pan.

Thanks Soobee! I went and did some research as well and found a really great article that talks about the volumes etc and how to substitute pans so if I make this, Ill know where to start.

As for the sweetner, I always make all my recipes up first and then start adding the sweetner half of the recommended, as everyones tastes can be so different. You have to do a bit of batter tasting along the way, but it saves you from making a mistake with a whole delicious cake or whatever!
So how was the cheesecake???

livesimply · 05-23-2008, 06:33 AM

sorry--forgot to post results!!

The cheesecake turned out well, though not dense enough for me or DH. Either I remember it differently or ?... It was very creamy and the sweetness was fine; however it was too lemony for my tastebuds with the lemon extract instead of lemon juice.

A LC friend posted one I'll share here (I'm sure she won't mind):

Basic Cheesecake

2 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sweetner (Splenda) again, I would mix 2 sweeteners
4 eggs, room temperature
1 zest of lemon (1 tsp dried)
1 zest of orange (1 tsp dried)
2 tbs heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of springform pan. Mix ingredients. Cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar slowly, then add eggs, one at a time until smooth. Add remaining incredients and blend well. Pour cheesecake into a buttered springform pan wrapped with tinfoil 1" up sides. Set pan in larger pan and add 1" of hot water. Bake about 45 - 60 minutes, or until top is slightly golden. (edit: an alternate way to bake: the other way to do it is to ten-minutes at 350, then drop the temp to 275 until done (about a hour). Both make an excellent cheesecake.)

Carbs 5 g; Fat 26 g; Protein 5 g; Cals 275 cals

Because it has more cream cheese I think I will like it better.

theislandgirl · 05-24-2008, 01:02 AM

Actually, lemon juice helps the cheese to "set", not just adding flavour. The extract won't do that. You just might want to try it again with the lemon juice...

Yum.

livesimply · 05-24-2008, 04:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by theislandgirl

Actually, lemon juice helps the cheese to "set", not just adding flavour. The extract won't do that. You just might want to try it again with the lemon juice...

Yum.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! Maybe that's why it wasn't as dense as I remember it!

Will try in a while. Not sure if the artificial sweeteners are a trigger for me...

livesimply · 06-05-2008, 01:21 PM

just wanted to post a correction to my original recipe (found the cookbook it was in and compared it to my handwritten index card): it should have 1 Tbs. each vanilla and lemon juice, NOT 1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. I think that's why it didn't turn out as thick as I remembered.

Sorry for any confusion!

05-08-2008, 04:22 AM	#1
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	help converting Italian Cheese Cake--my favorite Here's my FAVORITE cheese cake recipe--any help best way to convert it to LC is appreciated!! ITALIAN CHEESE CAKE Cream together: 1 1/2 lb. ricotta 1 lb. cream cheese 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1 1/2 c. + 2 Tbs. sugar Add: 6 eggs (one at a time) 6 Tbs. flour 1 pt. sour cream 1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. lemon rind Grease and flour 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Turn oven off and keep cake in oven for 2-3 hours until cool. Remove from pan and refrigerate. Serve plain or with your favorite topping. Without a doubt this is the best cheesecake I ever ate--old Italian recipe, VERY rich. Make sure to use whole milk cheeses and sour cream. It's so expensive to make I would love anyone's advice on the best substitutions for sugar and flour before I attempt this. Thanks in advance! __________________ Debbie Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God. And remember the richest person is not the one who has the most, but the one who needs the least.

05-22-2008, 02:33 PM	#20
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	correction & nutrition info on cheesecake recipe I goofed and used lemon extract instead of lemon juice-- Nutrition facts: 290 cal.; 25g fat; 11g protein; 4g net carbs; 355mg sodium **I did not count the carbs in the sweeteners or notSugar, just the net carbs--no way to do it in the program I use.

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05-08-2008, 04:40 AM	#2
Soobee Senior LCF Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 710 Gallery: Soobee WOE: Atkins Start Date: September 2000	I would use 1 cup worth of sucralose sweetener(Sweetzfree for me) and 1/2 cup of erythritol (which I would grind to get more like 1 cup of powdered) for the sugar replacement. For the flour I could use Kevin's cookie and cake flour mix. Everything else looks ok for low carb.

05-08-2008, 10:55 AM	#3
rexsreine Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Scottsdale,AZ Posts: 724 Gallery: rexsreine WOE: low carb	I'm wondering if Kevin's mix might be too heavy due to the almond flour. Maybe half Kevin's mix and half resistant wheat starch? Ginny

05-08-2008, 11:29 AM	#4
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	I have the liquid sucralose and the erythritol, but not the other stuff. Just trying to simplify the ingredient list because I don't bake a whole lot. Any other suggestions for the flour substitution?

05-08-2008, 11:55 AM	#5
CarolynF Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Kansas Posts: 19,097 Gallery: CarolynF Stats: 195/144/139 WOE: Eat Fat, Get Thin/I Can Make You Thin Start Date: January 2001	I just got out some cornstarch and made a pudding with it..7 carbs per Tbs...and it thickens twice as much as flour does. So, you could add 3 Tbs. of cornstarch. This would give you 21 extra carbs for the whole thing. This looks like a wonderful recipe. I will try it the next time I have company..

05-08-2008, 09:51 PM	#7
SSin-Deb Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: WA State Posts: 544 Gallery: SSin-Deb Stats: starting weight 270 WOE: Somersizing Start Date: February, 2001	Hi livesimply ~ This looks delicious. Can you tell me what the texture is like? Is it dense and heavy (my favorite!!)? I would love to try this. Ü

05-09-2008, 02:32 AM	#8
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	Yes, it is definitely dense and heavy, and very creamy at the same time. If you don't have a 10-inch springform pan, be prepared to have extra to bake in another dish. In fact, I still might have had a little extra even with the 10-inch pan. You will not be disappointed!

05-09-2008, 02:20 PM	#9
Cocapelle Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Arizona Posts: 447 Gallery: Cocapelle WOE: Atkins	If someone tries this, I would be interested in knowing the tweaks. I married an Italian, who loves the pastries!

05-09-2008, 08:55 PM	#10
SSin-Deb Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: WA State Posts: 544 Gallery: SSin-Deb Stats: starting weight 270 WOE: Somersizing Start Date: February, 2001	Thank you livesimply ~ I always make George Stella's NY Ricotta Cheesecake (it's our favorite), but I'm going to try yours. Ü

05-19-2008, 01:00 PM	#11
hauermich Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 61 Gallery: hauermich	how about protein powder? Either vanilla or unflavored Michele

05-19-2008, 05:34 PM	#12
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	hauermich, where did you find the logo for your avatar? I love it!!!

05-19-2008, 05:54 PM	#13
Bluqq Way too much time on my hands! Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: New Yawk Posts: 10,307 Gallery: Bluqq Start Date: 11/24/05	I make italian cheesecake each week Ive been playing with the recipe for years now I use 10 splenda packets and no flour and extra cream cheese to firm it up (and 2 less eggs) I have found that the splenda is to taste you need to play with it I tried using more sweetner but found it too bitter

05-21-2008, 03:53 AM	#14
hauermich Senior LCF Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 61 Gallery: hauermich	Debbie....funny...I do not remember where I got the picture of the dragonfly. I wish I had found it year ago....I have a dragonfly tattoo last year and it is not nearly as pretty as the avatar. Michele

05-21-2008, 01:38 PM	#15
Criosa Senior LCF Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 506 Gallery: Criosa Stats: 240/192/150 - 5'10" WOE: Lower Carb/Organic when possilbe Start Date: original: 2/03 - restart: 3/07	I use 1 tbsp. Not/Sugar to substitute 1/4 cup of flour in my cheesecake recipe. It works very well. Thanks for the recipe. I get a certain amount of raw milk every week, and when I get too backed up with it, I make a ricotta type cheese with it. I was thinking of using it in a cheesecake.

05-22-2008, 09:15 AM	#17
Mallory Senior LCF Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Posts: 545 Gallery: Mallory	I was thinking of taking this recipe and experimenting with it but I dont want to make a whole cheesecake in case its not up to standard (I do this alot with recipes that Im tweaking) so what pan would you use if you were going to half this?? Whats half a 10" springform pan?? A 5" deep pan of some sort???

05-22-2008, 11:28 AM	#18
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	well, I made the cheesecake today. here's how I tweaked it after reading lots of suggestions: ITALIAN CHEESE CAKE Cream together: 1 1/2 lb. ricotta 1 lb. cream cheese 1 1/2 tsp. salt 1/2 c. powdered erythritol + 1 cup. equiv. liquid sucralose + 1 1/2 Tbs. not/Sugar Add: 6 eggs (one at a time) 1 pt. sour cream 1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice 1 tsp. lemon rind Grease and flour 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour. Turn oven off and keep cake in oven for 2-3 hours until cool. Remove from pan and refrigerate. I tasted the batter and it seemed okay in sweetness. Then again, I LOVE plain cream cheese and don't like things overly sweet. I put it all in one 10" springform pan; as it cooked it rose about 2" higher than the pan but straight up, then shrunk straight down as it cooled--never overflowed over the sides of the pan. It is finishing cooling in my oven, but I can see it has started to pull away from the sides of the pan which is great. The top got evenly browned but not overbrowned. We'll have this after dinner and I'll let you know the taste results. Thanks everyone for the tips! After reading suggestions on my other forum I may have still used too much sweetener--we'll see.....

05-22-2008, 11:52 AM	#19
SSin-Deb Senior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: WA State Posts: 544 Gallery: SSin-Deb Stats: starting weight 270 WOE: Somersizing Start Date: February, 2001	Hi Debbie ~ I'm sure interested in how it turns out for you! Ü

05-22-2008, 02:42 PM	#21
Soobee Senior LCF Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 710 Gallery: Soobee WOE: Atkins Start Date: September 2000	Mallory, I'm not an expert, but I think you would need a bigger pan to get half of a 10 inch springform pan. My mathematical husband says a 7 inch pan would be just slightly less than half of a 10 inch pan.

05-22-2008, 08:04 PM	#22
theislandgirl MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada Posts: 1,161 Gallery: theislandgirl Stats: 100/97.1/69 wgt as %s WOE: Atkins/PP Start Date: 2008-06-10 LC/BMRv3	No problem on not counting carbs on the liquid sucralose (zero carbs), the powdered Erythritol (almost zero carbs, about .2 cals per gram by weight) and the not/Sugar (pure soluble fiber, zero net carbs). Sounds absolutely delicious.

05-23-2008, 06:33 AM	#24
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	sorry--forgot to post results!! The cheesecake turned out well, though not dense enough for me or DH. Either I remember it differently or ?... It was very creamy and the sweetness was fine; however it was too lemony for my tastebuds with the lemon extract instead of lemon juice. A LC friend posted one I'll share here (I'm sure she won't mind): Basic Cheesecake 2 lbs. cream cheese, room temperature 1 1/2 cups sweetner (Splenda) again, I would mix 2 sweeteners 4 eggs, room temperature 1 zest of lemon (1 tsp dried) 1 zest of orange (1 tsp dried) 2 tbs heavy cream 1 tsp vanilla Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter bottom of springform pan. Mix ingredients. Cream cheese until smooth. Add sugar slowly, then add eggs, one at a time until smooth. Add remaining incredients and blend well. Pour cheesecake into a buttered springform pan wrapped with tinfoil 1" up sides. Set pan in larger pan and add 1" of hot water. Bake about 45 - 60 minutes, or until top is slightly golden. (edit: an alternate way to bake: the other way to do it is to ten-minutes at 350, then drop the temp to 275 until done (about a hour). Both make an excellent cheesecake.) Carbs 5 g; Fat 26 g; Protein 5 g; Cals 275 cals Because it has more cream cheese I think I will like it better.

05-24-2008, 01:02 AM	#25
theislandgirl MAJOR LCF POSTER! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada Posts: 1,161 Gallery: theislandgirl Stats: 100/97.1/69 wgt as %s WOE: Atkins/PP Start Date: 2008-06-10 LC/BMRv3	Actually, lemon juice helps the cheese to "set", not just adding flavour. The extract won't do that. You just might want to try it again with the lemon juice... Yum.

06-05-2008, 01:21 PM	#27
livesimply Junior LCF Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Coast Posts: 29 Gallery: livesimply Stats: 160/140/115 WOE: Atkins Start Date: March 2008	just wanted to post a correction to my original recipe (found the cookbook it was in and compared it to my handwritten index card): it should have 1 Tbs. each vanilla and lemon juice, NOT 1 1/2 Tbs. vanilla and 1 1/2 tsp. lemon juice. I think that's why it didn't turn out as thick as I remembered. Sorry for any confusion!