Birthday Cheesecake suggestions please!

[g8rchic]

My birthday and DH's birthday are both this week so I thought I would make us a cheesecake to celebrate. There are so many different recipes, can I have a couple of suggestions on your favorite one? TIA

[Aediekins]

Beachgirls!!! The BEST ever and EASY!!! No weird ingredients!!

[Charski]

This is our fave:

Cheesecake with Sour Cream Topping ala Char

Recipe By : Charski
Serving Size : 12


Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
24 ounces cream cheese -- softened
3 eggs -- room temp
3/4 cup Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pecans
2 tablespoons flax seeds -- ground
2 tablespoons splenda
4 tablespoons melted butter
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup Splenda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 350*. In food processor, process the pecans until finely ground. Add Splenda and ground flax seed and pulse til blended. With processor running, pour melted butter through feed tube and mix til well-combined. Pat evenly into bottom of 9" springform pan. Bake at 350* 10 minutes - move to rack to cool completely. Reduce oven heat to 325*.

Wipe out food processor. Add the cream cheese, cut into chunks (3 8 oz. pkgs) and process til smooth, scraping down the sides of the processor once or twice. Add Splenda and vanilla and process til combined. With processor running, add eggs one at a time, process just til well-blended. Pour into cooled crust. Tap sides of pan to cause any air bubbles to rise to the top.

Put pan into center rack of oven and bake 50 to 60 minutes, til set around edges but still soft in the center. Let sit in oven with door propped open with a wooden spoon 15 minutes.


For topping - combine sour cream, splenda, and vanilla. Spread carefully over baked cheesecake and return to oven, close door for 10 minutes. Remove cheesecake to rack and let cool completely, then refrigerate at least 6 hours before cutting.

Can be served with fruit such as raspberries, strawberry slices, blueberries etc. if desired - add carbs to total.

Description:
"4 grams effective carbs per slice"

[sligh]

Here's the basic Beachgirl cheesecake with a couple variations noted at the bottom. They are fabulous.

Cheesecake


32 ounces regular cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar free syrup (flavor of your choice)
1/3 cup Splenda (granulated, not packets)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
3 tablespoons regular sour cream
½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips (optional)


Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature (cream cheese can be heated in microwave a minute or so).

With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, syrup and Splenda at slow to medium speed, scraping sides often. Add all other ingredients except eggs.

When completely mixed with no lumps, add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating very slowly (I never have the mixer above 2). When eggs are incorporated, do not mix any more. Over-mixing the eggs is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes. (The leading cause of cracking is over-cooking.) Always treat the batter gently. If using chocolate chips, stir them in by hand.

Pour the mixture into an 8 or 9” spring form pan. Place the pan on a very large piece of aluminum foil and fold the foil up around the pan to create a watertight barrier around the cheesecake. Then place the barrier pan in a larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. Making the water bath is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven. Place a piece of foil on the rack above the cheesecake to prevent browning. Cook for 1 hour and then reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn the oven off, remove the cheesecake and water bath. Pour the water out and return the cheesecake to the dry water bath pan and return to the oven to cool. Leave cheesecake in the oven until it is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly.

Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, separating it from the sides of the pan. Fully refrigerate the cheesecake before trying to remove it from the bottom of the pan.

A couple favorite variations are to use Amaretto syrup and substitute almond extract for the vanilla extract or use English Toffee syrup and stir in 1 cup of chocolate chips.

[Zib]

Beachgirl's.

Here's a link to a 9-page thread on how great they are with lots of hints and variation ideas.

Beachgirl's Cheesecakes

[g8rchic]

Wow thanks so much guys!