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Grandma’s Dream Cheesecake


  • Author: Briana Thomas
  • Total Time: 1 hour 46 minutes
  • Yield: 12-14 servings

Description

Grandma’s Dream Cheesecake has been a staple in my mom’s family for years at special gatherings. Beaten egg whites give it a uniquely fluffy texture, and the simple crust and crumb topping are very like the original graham cracker version. Now we can enjoy this delicious cheesecake in a healthier way! This is one of my favorite desserts to serve to guests or take to a party. THM S, low carb

Make the day before serving and refrigerate overnight for best results. Be sure to leave your ingredients out overnight to warm up to room temperature before making the cheesecake.


Ingredients

CRUST:

 

FILLING:

  • 6 eggs (room temperature)
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar

 

 

  • 16 ounces full fat sour cream (room temperature)

Instructions

CRUST: Mix the crust ingredients together with a fork (a meat fork works great) or hand mixer. Set aside 1/3 cup of the crust mixture for topping the cheesecake later. Press the remainder into the bottom of a greased 10” springform pan. (I use an olive oil spray to grease pans.) I don’t bother to press the crust up the sides. Prebake the crust at 350*F for 6 minutes or until lightly browning around the edges. Remove the crust from the oven.

Turn the oven down to 325*. Fill a pan wider than your springform pan (like a pizza pan with sides) with about an inch of water. Place it in the oven on the middle rack to start heating for a water bath. (See photo to get an idea of the finished result.)

FILLING: Separate the eggs. This is easier to do when the eggs are cold, so you may want to separate them, then bring them to room temperature.

Beat the room temperature egg whites and cream of tartar to stiff peaks in a stand mixer with a whisk attachment. Do not overbeat as this will make the egg whites too stiff to easily fold into the cheesecake later. Transfer the egg whites with a spatula gently into another bowl so you can use the mixing bowl again.

In a stand mixer with paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese until smooth. (Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl between each step.) Add the sweeteners, oat fiber, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth. Add the egg yolks in three batches and beat until emulsified (smooth) between each addition before adding more. Add the sour cream last and beat for 2 minutes to make the mixture smooth and airy.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and add half the egg whites to the cream cheese mixture. Fold in gently by hand with a spatula. Add the rest of the egg whites and fold just until mixed and homogeneous.

Pour the cheesecake mixture over the hot crust and spread out smooth with an offset frosting spreader. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the top.

Wrap the springform pan in a piece of wide tinfoil or 2 pieces of regular tinfoil overlapped and folded together so water can’t get in. Carefully place the springform pan in the center of the pan of hot water in the oven.

Bake at 325*F for 1 hour + 10 minutes. I don’t like overbaked cheesecakes, so I baked mine until it was lightly browning on top and still wobbled – but not a loose wobble. Turn the oven off, then let the cheesecake cool in the oven with the oven door cracked open for 10 minutes. (The cheesecake will puff up dramatically while baking, then fall as it cools. This is normal.) Let the cheesecake cool completely on the counter, then cover and refrigerate overnight before serving. Cheesecake actually gets better with age: day 2 is perfection. See this blog post for a list of topping ideas. My favorite? Some sugar free whipped cream or Reddi-wip and sugar free caramel sauce.

Notes

My mom has had success making my grandma’s original recipe in a 9” x 13” pan, and I’m sure that would work for this recipe as well. You may need to make more crust mixture, and if there’s too much cheesecake batter just pour a small amount into another small baking dish. Skip the water bath unless you want to get fancy and just bake until the cheesecake is set. I would check at 30 minutes and then check at 5 minute intervals until done.

Sweetener: Feel free to use your favorite low glycemic sweetener to taste in place of the THM Super Sweet Blend and xylitol. Many people like more sweetener than I do, so adjust to taste to make sure you get a result you like. I used xylitol along with my typical THM Super Sweet Blend because I wanted a less concentrated sweetener to give me that extra edge of sweetness. You could use THM Gentle Sweet (to taste, since these sweeteners vary in strengths) in place of both of them and probably get great results.

Oat fiber: This versatile low carb flour can usually only be found online. Not all brands are created equal, but I like LifeSource oat fiber. Use gluten free oat fiber for a gluten free option. Oat fiber and oat flour are different and are not interchangeable. You could probably leave the oat fiber out of this recipe if you must. The cheesecake may not set up as firmly.

If your water bath leaks, it’s not the end of the world. Mine did…. The crust was actually ok, just a little softer than it would have been otherwise.

Allergy info: gluten free (use gluten free oat fiber)

You can find an older version of this recipe on page 352 of Necessary Food. The new recipe here on the website has an almond flour crust and topping that are more like the original graham cracker crust. Try the cookbook crust if you need a nut free option! (That one may not be as great for crumbs on top, so I’d just use it all in the crust.) The only other major change here on the website is a change in sweeteners and an increase in vanilla. Recipe most recently updated December 2021.

  • Prep Time: 30 mins
  • Cook Time: 76 mins
  • Category: Dessert
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: THM S, low carb, sugar free, gluten free

Keywords: thm, trim healthy mama, low carb cheesecake recipe, thm cheesecake recipe, vanilla bean cheesecake, sugar free cheesecake, low carb graham cracker crust