Demi, I want to know that, too!

I did use 1/2 cup pineapple flavored DaVinci syrup in place of the 1/2 cup of sour cream, and it turned out OK. I still had to use a cup of Splenda in addition, and the flavor was barely there.

Also, is there a way to make it more "cakey"? I like the outside, but the inside, which is softer and gooier, I don't like. I would like it cake-like throughout. Should I bake it longer?

~~Amaara

I made the NY baked cheesecake, exactly as written for the filling, but used toasted pecans for the crust. I added homemade chocolate "flecks" from the "ice cream" cheesecake recipe into the batter at the end and topped it with a chocolate glaze from a recipe by Jennifer Eloff. I posted the recipe the glaze came from in Mischa's journal here: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthre...aze#post1651935

Here is a pic:



Oh, and for the first 10 minutes, I set my oven to 450 F, then 1 hour and 20 minutes at 200 F, checking with an oven thermometer to make sure the temperature was correct. I also placed a pan of water on the oven shelf below the one the cheesecake was on. No cracking!!! YAY! :)

Amaara, yes I'd think baking it longer would give you the consistency you prefer. I know the first time I made this cheesecake, my oven was way too hot and the final result was quite "cakey". Good, but not what was intended.

Jean, your cake looks wonderful! I'll have to try that the next time, and put the pan of water in the oven.

I made a chocolate version of this cheesecake for Xmas dinner. I used the suggested 4 oz. of unsweetened melted chocolate. Not knowing how much extra sweetener to add, I added it to the melted chocolate until it was no longer bitter. I ended up adding 2 teaspoons of splenda and 6 teaspoons of white granular sugar twin. The cake turned out delicious, not too sweet and not an overpowering chocolate flavour. I topped each slice with a dollop of chocolate whip cream (1 cup of whipping cream blended with 2 tablespoons of cocoa and 2 packets of sugar twin) and some shavings from a sugar free dark chocolate bar. Will definitely make this again.

Karen,
I followed the recipe completely. The cake was beautiful. I brought it to a New Years Eve party, and everybody wanted to try it. Slowly, all the guests starting to put their plates down.... it was very salty.
I was wondering what went wrong. I followed the recipe to the "t". Could it be that the Sugar Twin that I bought in USA is different from the one in Canada? You mentioned it was cyclamate, this one has sacharin in the ingredient list.
Maybe I should try making it with just Splenda? Adding more sweetener? Not adding the "pinch of salt"?
Thanks for your help.

Hi diemde,
It looks like your oven is running too hot, or takes too long to cool down after the initial 500F baking. To prevent it from happening, get an oven thermometer and check the temperature.

Karen

Hi latingirl,
Other people have mentioned saltiness with this and other cheescakes and for the life of me, I can't figure out what the problem is because I've never experienced it. :confused: If you scroll down a bit in this thread, there is a discussion on the same thing.

If you can't get Canadian Sugar Twin, use 1-1 1/3 cups of Splenda instead

Karen

Thanks for the great recipe. This has now become my standard cheescake - the one all other are measured by!

It is almost identical to the recipe for the cheesecake at Pagliacci's Restaurant in Victoria (on Broad St.). That one used 2T lemon juice, one less egg and 1T flour, wh cream instead of sour cream and, of course, sugar. The flavour was a little tangier (maybe the extra lemon juice) but still was by no means a lemon flavoured cheesecake.

I do have a question for you about the crust. My crust was really just a layer of nuts in the bottom. It didn't hold together when I pressed it in the pan and after baking it had no real texture. After a day in the fridge the nuts started to soften (as I would expect in the presence of cheese) and it just seemed unnecessary (and this from a woman who loves nuts of all kinds!)

Is there any way to make a nut crust that has a "crusty" consistancy? Or did I just do something wrong?

I think the saltiness may come from the macadamia nuts. I used unsalted nuts when I made mine, and didn't have any problems with it being too salty.

That's pretty much what its like. :)

This is from my cookbook, The Low-Carb Gourmet which will be released this fall.

Basic Almond Crust
Makes a crust for 1 9-inch (22.5-cm) cheesecake or 1 8-inch (20 cm) pie pan

2 cups ground almonds
1 1/2 tsp. each Splenda and Canadian Sugar Twin or
2 Tbsp. Splenda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
1 large egg white

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottom of the cheesecake pan or pie pan with a circle of parchment paper. This will prevent the crust from sticking.

Combine the almond meal, sweetener, and salt. Add the butter and mix with your fingertips until well combined. Beat the egg white with a whisk until completely foamy and add to the almond mixture. Mix well to combine. Pat into the prepared pan and bake for 10-15 minutes until a light golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool.

• For a graham wafer-y taste, add 1/2 tsp. (5 mL) cinnamon to the dry indredients.
• For a chocolate crust add 2 Tbsp. (30 mL) cocoa to the dry ingredients
• For a crunchier crust, use 1 cup (240 mL) of sliced almonds in place of 1 cup (240 mL) of the almond meal.

Effective Carbohydrates Per crust: 17.9

Carbohydrates: 37 g, Fiber: 19.1 g, Protein: 42.8 g. Fat: 117.8 g, Calories: 1356
Per crust made with Splenda only, add 1.88 grams carbohydrate

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Thanks a lot, Karen. I will try it this weekend! This sounds like it would be great - much "crustier" crust!

AnnieMarin

Twin Sugars
 

There is PROBABLY an answer to this question earlier in this thread, but I don't have time to go through all 30 pages of it, so here goes: Why the two types of sugar substitute instead of just Splenda?

The answer is here...

Combining Sweeteners Question

Keep in mind that it's Canadian Sugar Twin, not the US Sugar Twin.

Karen

I am going to be having company over all week and decided to make this cheesecake again. I have been experimenting with the liquid splenda recently and was wondering if I could use some of the liquid splenda here to sweeten the cake (and save the splenda carbs), or if I need the granular one for bulk?

I suppose I would only need half a tsp to a tsp to sweeten the entire cake so it wouldnt be a ton of liquid.

Also I was thinking of a cinnamon coconut crust or something with those flavors. Should I add some real nuts too and mix them with the coconut, or would the coconut be enough?

There's a crust recipe a few posts up that I've used half coconut in, finely ground in a coffee grinder. A total coconut crust is a bit too mealy.

Using liquid Splenda is no problem as the sweeteners don't provide any bulk.

Karen