Beachgirl's Cheesecakes

[JazzyV]

Just made this last night to bring into work. If you don't like nutmeg, add cinnamon or whatever your favorite spice is.
And hey, I actually did a carb count for this one, too! Enjoy!

Beachgirl's Blueberry Cheesecake

• 32 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon Fresh lemon juice
• 4 Eggs, plus 1 Egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons Sour cream
• 1 1/2 cups blueberries (see note)
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese 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. When eggs are incorporated, stir in the blueberries by hand. Do not mix (with an electric mixer) any more. Over-mixing the eggs is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes. (The leading cause of cracking is over-cooking, so don’t believe any one who tells you it is normal for a cheesecake to be cracked; it isn’t.) Always treat the batter gently.

Pour the mixture into the springform 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 an even larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly.

It may be beneficial to run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, separating it from the sides of the pan. If your goal is to serve the cheesecake on a different dish without the bottom of the spring form pan, then the pan can be lined with parchment paper before the batter is poured in. Make sure to grease both sides of the paper. This will make for easy removal of the cheesecake later. It works best if the cheesecake has been refrigerated fully before trying to remove it from the bottom pan.

NOTE: If using frozen blueberries (which I did and they work fine), pat them dry with paper towels to remove the excess moisture.

Makes 12 servings @ approximately 7 carbs each.

[JazzyV]

Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake

• 32 ounces Cream cheese (4 8-ounce packages)
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• ¾ cup SF peanut butter (smooth or chunky, your choice)
• 4 Eggs, plus 1 Egg yolk
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 3 Squares Semi-Sweet Chocolate (baking bar), melted in double boiler

Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature. With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and splenda at slow to medium speed, scraping sides often. Add the vanilla and cream. When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating very slowly.

When eggs are incorporated separate out one cup of batter then add the peanut butter into the rest of the batter. When peanut butter is blended in, don’t mix any more. Over-mixing the batter is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes. (The leading cause of cracking is over-cooking, so don’t believe any one who tells you it is normal for a cheesecake to be cracked; it isn’t.) Always treat the batter gently. To the one cup of separated batter, add the three squares of melted chocolate and blend.

Add half of the chocolate batter to the bottom of a well-greased springform pan. Gently add the peanut butter batter, and then cover with remaining chocolate batter and spread to cover the top (no peanut butter batter should show through). The idea is to create a “peanut butter cup” look to the cheesecake with the chocolate batter at the top and bottom.

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 springform pan in an even larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly, so don’t rush this process. Let it set up for several hours in the fridge, preferably overnight.

Garnish with Russell Stovers SF Peanut Butter cups cut into quarters and placed on top so that each slice gets one.

It looks like about 127g of carbs for the whole recipe.

[JazzyV]

Originally posted by Beachgirl:

Here are the cheesecake tips I posted earlier...
**************************************
Okay, as I am a "self proclaimed cheesecake expert", having made numerous cheesecakes of various flavors and having mastered the art of the "restaurant quality cheesecake", otherwise known as the "crackless cheesecake", I offer these tips...

1. Treat the batter gently. Making sure all the ingredients are at room temp. helps them blend easier. Mix it as little as possible and at a medium speed. The less air you whip in, the less tendancy it will have to rise.

2. Bake your cheesecake in a water bath. This requires you to have a pan large enough to hold your springform pan and with sides high enough to cover half-way up the springform pan with water. A large roasting pan should do it. That's what I use.

3. Reduce the heat and lengthen the cooking time. I bake all my cheesecakes at 300 degrees for the first hour, then reduce the heat to 200 and bake for one more hour. The cheesecake will not rise, but instead bakes more like a custard and comes out very creamy and dense. Mmmmm...

4. Exercise patience. While the cheesecake is baking, DO NOT OPEN THE OVEN DOOR. And leave the cheesecake in the oven to cool, also with the door closed. It's okay if it stays in there overnight. A great cheesecake is like a work of art...it takes time.

5. To keep the top from browning, place a sheet of foil on your top oven rack, just beneath the heat element. This will shield your cheesecake from the direct heat and keep the top pale and pretty. Especially important if you're doing a marbled cheesecake, you want those swirls to show through!

6. Refridgerate the cheesecake at least 12 hours before unmolding from the springform pan so that it's good and set. Run a dull knife around the sides and then release the pan.

Ask whatever you want beyond this...it took me a lot of trial and error and many ugly cheesecakes to figure all this out.

Now people request my cheesecakes as gifts and for birthdays...so I must be doing something right!

[JazzyV]

White Chocolate Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake

• 24 ounces Cream cheese (3 8-ounce packages)
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
• 4 Eggs, plus 1 Egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons Sour cream
• 1 Can (15 oz.) of Prepared Pumpkin
• 3 Squares White Chocolate (baking bar), melted in double boiler

Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature. With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar at slow to medium speed, scraping sides often. Add all other ingredients except eggs and pumpkin. When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating very slowly. When eggs are incorporated separate out one cup of batter then fold pumpkin into the rest of the batter. When pumpkin is blended, do not mix any more. Over-mixing the eggs is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes. (The leading cause of cracking is over-cooking, so don’t believe any one who tells you it is normal for a cheesecake to be cracked; it isn’t.) Always treat the batter gently. To the one cup of separated batter, add the three squares of melted white chocolate and blend.

Add half of the pumpkin batter to a well greased springform pan. Add spoonfuls of the white chocolate batter, and then cover with remaining pumpkin batter. Swirl through with spatula to create marbling effect.

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 springform pan in an even larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly, so don’t rush this process. Let it set up for several hours in the fridge, preferably overnight.

Garnish with curls of white chocolate.

If you don't want to add the chocolate, just keep all the batter together and make the entire cake pumpkin, it will work fine that way too.

[JazzyV]

Beachgirl's Basic Cheesecake

• 32 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup splenda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons sour cream

With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese 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. 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, so don’t believe any one who tells you it is normal for a cheesecake to be cracked; it isn’t.) Always treat the batter gently.

Pour the mixture into the springform 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 an even larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly.

It may be beneficial to run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, separating it from the sides of the pan. If your goal is to serve the cheesecake on a different dish without the bottom of the spring form pan, then the pan can be lined with parchment paper before the batter is poured in. Make sure to grease both sides of the paper. This will make for easy removal of the cheesecake later. It works best if the cheesecake has been refrigerated fully before trying to remove it from the bottom pan.

Per Serving (based on 12 servings per cheesecake): 308 Calories; 29g Fat; 8g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 165mg Cholesterol; 244mg Sodium.

[JazzyV]

Beachgirl's Mocha Marble Cheesecake

• 32 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup Splenda
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee -- dissolve in water
• 2 tablespoons water
• 4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons sour cream
• 3 semisweet chocolate squares -- melted

Bring all cold ingredients to room temperature. With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and sugar at slow to medium speed, scraping sides often. Add all other ingredients except eggs, chocolate and coffee . When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating very slowly. When eggs are incorporated separate out one cup of batter then add the coffee into the rest of the batter. When coffee is blended in, don’t mix any more. Over-mixing the batter is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes. (The leading cause of cracking is over-cooking, so don’t believe any one who tells you it is normal for a cheesecake to be cracked; it isn’t.) Always treat the batter gently.

To the one cup of separated batter, add the three squares of melted chocolate and blend.

Add half of the coffee batter to a well-greased springform pan. Add spoonfuls of the chocolate batter, and then cover with remaining coffee batter. Swirl through with spatula to create marbling effect. 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 springform pan in an even larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake. Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly, so don’t rush this process. Let it set up for several hours in the fridge, preferably overnight. Garnish with curls of chocolate and chocolate covered coffee beans.

Per Serving (based on 12 servings per cheesecake): 341 Calories; 31g Fat; 8g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 165mg Cholesterol; 245mg Sodium.


Beachgirl's Cranberry Orange Walnut Cheesecake

• 32 ounces cream cheese
• 1 cup davinci sf syrup, either orange or satsuma mandarin orange flavor
• 1 cup chopped cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional if you don't like nuts)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon orange zest
• 4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
• 3 tablespoons sour cream

With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese, sour cream and syrup at slow to medium speed, scraping sides often. When completely mixed (with no lumps), add the eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating very slowly. When eggs are incorporated, gently fold in the cranberries, zest and walnuts. Over-mixing the eggs is a contributing cause of cracked cheesecakes. (The leading cause of cracking is over-cooking, so don’t believe any one who tells you it is normal for a cheesecake to be cracked; it isn’t.) Always treat the batter gently.

Pour the mixture into the springform 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 an even larger pan and fill the larger pan halfway with water. This is called a water bath. It is a gentler way to cook the cheesecake.

Place the entire water bath containing the cheesecake in a 300-degree preheated oven. Cook for 1 hour and reduce heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in until the oven is completely cool. The cheesecake can even be left overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake cools too quickly.

It may be beneficial to run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, separating it from the sides of the pan. If your goal is to serve the cheesecake on a different dish without the bottom of the spring form pan, then the pan can be lined with parchment paper before the batter is poured in. Make sure to grease both sides of the paper. This will make for easy removal of the cheesecake later. It works best if the cheesecake has been refrigerated fully before trying to remove it from the bottom pan.

Enjoy!

[ketchum68]

I made the Pumpkin Cheesecake yesterday and it is wonderful! I omitted the white chocolate because I didn't have any and it was still good!

[gonnalose]

[COLOR=blue]I love her cheesecake receipes. We just finished off a peanut butter cup cheesecake. [/COLOR]

[dougieb]

Jazzy,

I made Beachgirl's Basic cheececake on Saturday. I did the water bath, I probably beat the batter too much getting eggs mixed in and it rose a little, but settled down during the 5-6 hours I let it cool in the oven. Then I chilled it in the fridge overnight.

I also used a whole Tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice, a big splash of Davinci SF vanilla syrup (in addition to the 1 tsp of vanilla extract) and I used a mixture of Splenda, and Sucaryl (cyclmates) sweeteners.

I also made a crust with ground hazelnuts (about 1 heaping cup - we call 'em filberts here in Oregon where we grow 'em), melted butter (a little less than 1/4 cup) and Splenda (about 6 packets). Very nice touch, if I do say so myself. Next time I'll use about 2 cups of ground filberts instead of 1 cup to make the crust thicker.

I served this with a raspberry sauce which was made from thawed frozen raspberries, 2-3 tsp. lemon juice and Splenda/Sucaryl sweetened to taste.

I prefer a good basic cheesecake topped with a fruit sauce of your choosing to a mixed-fruit cheesecake... but that's just a personal preference.

What a wonderfully rich, decadent cheesecake!

I served it to DW, DD, DS, BIL, MIL and Step-FIL and no one could believe it was sugar-free/lo-carb and was allowable on "my diet." I said, "What diet?" lol...

Doug

I have all of the ingredients, but alas, my spring-form pan is too wide to fit into any of the other pans I'd use for the water bath. I already looked in a few grocery stores--- no roasting pans large enough.

My question is: do I *have to* use a springform pan? If I use a 9x9 glass pan I could use another glass pan for the water bath. Will this work? I don't mind how the results look, as long as it tastes good.

Thanks!

[AngeloftheHeart]

*GULP* We don't have 32ouces cream cheese only 24
And no foil...*SIGH* is there any hope for a cheese cake?

[NorthernNisse]

Here is the basic recipe for a nut crust. This works well with any kind of nut....hazelnut, pecan etc. You can make it plain or chocolate, both are wonderful. My favorite with Beachgirl's basic cheesecake is the Chocolate Almond, so that is why I post it as the original recipe. Good eating everyone.

Chocolate Almond Crust

2 1/2 cups ground almonds
2 tablespoons Splenda
4 tablespoons melted butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Place nuts in bowl of a food processor; pulse until ground into a meal.
Add sugar substitute, butter and pulse to combine.
Transfer to a 9" springform pan. With your fingers, gently press nut mixture to form a crust on bottom of pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes; remove from oven and cool.

Josie

I made the basic cheesecake following Beachgirl's directions and tips and it was great. I topped it with a can of unsweetened cherry pie filling. The only problem is I ate almost half of it over a 3 day period! Warning! Only make it for times when you have others around to help eat it!
To SPIDER, I bought the 3 piece set of springform pans at WalMart ($9.99). I used the middle size and bought one of those disposable aluminum pans for making a turkey in for the water bath. Fit PERFECTLY!

[MarciaG]

I made the basic cheesecake recipe yesterday. Just following the directions (no tweaking) I don't remember ever making a cheesecake this easy before.

I used some raspberry sauce that I had left over, to pour over the top.

Yummy

Now I know why they say to freeze in individual servings

I'm sure I could have eaten the whole thing

I think I'm gonna do this again real soon, maybe the pumpkin one, DH loves those

thanks for moving the recipes over here and Thank You beachgirl for sharing your wonderful recipes.

[OU812]

I've tried Beachgirl's basic cheesecake recipe and it was great. I had some blueberries that I just spooned over it and had crushed almonds for the crust. I also had to make mine in an angel food cake pan, but all turned out yummy. I knew I should have gotten that spring form pan that my mom was trying to pawn off on me (darn).

[Twokitty]

I made half of one cheesecake in a glass pie plate --delicious. But what do you folks do with a whole one? I just like a piece once in a while but this stuff is too good to leave alone.

[gonnalose]

Don't worry if you can't find a pan for the water bath. I have made the blue berry and the peanutbutter cup and didn't use the water bath and they came out perfect. The only one I had crack was the pumpkin one....i dont know if it was because I didn't do the water bath or if I over mixed it.

[JazzyV]

Twokitty, you can freeze cheesecake. I wrap each piece in plastic wrap and freeze it individually. Just takes a little while to thaw, and you can have it whenever you want. 1 cheesecake lasts me 4-6 months at the rate I eat it (about 2 pieces a month)!

[4furbabies]

Delicious! I made this last night exactly according to the directions & it turned out perfect! I just cut it up, ate one piece, saved out 4 pieces (one for me tomorrow, 3 for other people who should try it) & froze the rest. I'm going to make another one tonight to take into ceramics with me this week because we have several diabetics in my class. No one ever brings in legal treats for them. Now all I have to do is find a good fruit topping for it & I'm set.

[jayglow]

It all sounds too beautiful... I am now on a mission to get all the ingredients. The uk is a hard place to find these things. Thanks for bumping!

Jay

[MarciaG]

4furbabies:

I made the basic recipe and had blueberries on one slice, strawberries on a different slice, and even sprinkled one with cinnamon/splenda. Of course, I didnt' eat these all at one setting, however, I certainly could have. Yum Yum

[jayglow]

what's a spring form pan when it's at home?

Jay

Got a question, I haven't made one of these yet and want to, but am curious about using the springform and making it with a crust.

When you have added the crust to a springform do you just have it on the bottom and not the sides of the pan?
Or are you all using a different pan when adding a crust.

Also, if you didn't use the water bath, did you cook it the EXACT same way and temperature and time?

Any suggestions would be great!
Thanks everyone!

[dougieb]

I used a regular baking pan the first time and just put the crust on the bottom, not the sides. Also, I didn't bake the crust in advance... next time I'm going to try baking the crust for 5-10 minutes, letting it cool, then putting in the chesecake and baking it in the water bath.

Doug

[JazzyV]

[COLOR=red]I have added these recipes to the RECIPE ROOM!![/COLOR]

The first time I made the cheesecake it was perfect. THis time it had an eggy taste. Really gross. One bite would have it the next not. I threw the whole thing out. I was wondering if you can omit that extra yoke. Not sure why it calls for that. Also wondered if I didn't mix it well enough, but directions say NOT to overmix once you add the eggs.

[dougieb]

It sounds to me like you didn't quite mix it enough. There's a fine line between "not enough" and "to much" mixing. Cooking is an art and you get a feel for it after awhile. just mho.

Also, I use a whole tablespoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice when I make the basic cheesecake... which is 2 teaspoons more than BG's basic recipe.

Doug

[tigerlilyrose]

Jazzy, Thanks for putting all these cool recipes in the recipe room. I made the basic recipe last night. I did not have a roasting pan big enough to make a water bath. I added in a little lemon-lime flavored stevia. I baked it in a glass quiche pan without a water bath. Here are the results: It had a good texture for the most part, but was a little dry at the edges and had lots of cracks. I had sprayed the pan with Pam and it came out of the pan very easily. DD and I had to have a piece this morning after it had cooled in the oven all night and had not yet chilled. For the most part, I was very pleased with the taste, but DD thought it was not sweet enough. Any ideas about how to boost the sweet taste? I had tried to boost the sweetness with the stevia, but I didn't want to do so much that it tasted bitter. I know that mixing sweetners often works better than just increasing the splenda. Does anyone know where to get the Sucaryl Dougieb mentioned? I would love to make this again with a nut crust. My sister was always the cheesecake baker in the family, now I would like to add my own contributions.

[JazzyV]

Sweeteners with cyclamates are available in Canada, but not in the US, as far as I know. They used to be many years ago (I remember drinking diet soft drinks that used cyclamates when I was in high school).

[dougieb]

I just emailed a friend in Canada and he bought me some sucaryl (cyclamtes) and mailed it to me.

I was trading emails with someone else who found in online in Canada and bought it that way for less than I paid.

Hope this helps.

BTW, when I blend splenda and sucaryl most of the blend is still splenda. I think splenda has a more pure sweet taste myself.

Also, I wish I would have gotten some Canadian powdered Sugar Twin (which is also cyclamates) as the sucrayl I have is a liquid and cantend to thin out a recipe if you add too much.

Doug