I got this from "Beachgirl" at the Atkins Friends website and I tried it out this weekend when Ruthxxx was visiting. My friends, this is the cheesecake to top all cheesecakes, whether the contenders are low carb or not.
With this recipe, it's important to treat the filling gently at all times. You do NOT beat in the eggs vigorously but very gently and slowly. Also, the water bath is vital to the silky texture of the finished product. You can make this with a ground nut crust or nut. I did and here's how I made the crust.
1 cup of mixed walnuts and almonds ground in blender until fine crumbs
1/4 cup soft butter
1 or 2 tbsp Splenda
Spray a 10" springform pan with Pam and press the nut & butter mixture on bottom and a wee bit up the sides. Bake at 350F for about 20 minutes. Watch so it doesn't get too dark. Remove from oven.
Lower oven temp to 300 F.
This recipe looks long and complicated but I assure you that it couldn't be simpler. Just make sure you follow the instructions for a wonderfully rich and silky cheesecake.
Beachgirl's Basic Cheesecake (there are variations which I'll share with you when I get around to trying them)
32 oz cream cheese (full fat)
3 tbsp sour cream
1 cup Splenda (I added a bit of Sucaryl but it's not in the recipe)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
4 eggs plus 1 egg yolk
With an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and Splenda at slow to medium speed, scraping sides of bowl often. Add all other ingredients except the eggs. Mix on low and when it has no lumps, add the eggs and yolk one at a time at slowest mixer speed. Do NOT overbeat. Over-mixing of eggs and over-cooking is a leading cause of cracked cheesecakes. It is NOT normal to have a cracked cheesecake. Always treat the batter gently.
Pour the mixture into the springform pan (with or without a nut crust). If you want to be able to remove it from the removeable bottom of the springform pan for serving purposes, line the bottom with baking parchment greased on both sides before adding crust or filling. Now, use aluminum foil to wrap the outside of the bottom and sides of the pan tightly. You are going to put this into a larger pan such as a roaster with water (I used warm) halfway up the sides of the springform pan. This is also very important and contributes to the silky texture of this cheesecake. This is called a water bath and is a gentler way of baking a cheesecake.
Place the entire thing in the 300 degree oven. Bake for 1 hour and then reduce the heat to 200 degrees for 1 more hour. Then turn the oven off and let it sit in the cooling oven until the oven is completely cool. It can even be left in the oven overnight at this point. Cracks can also occur when a cheesecake is cooled too quickly. Keep in mind that cracks don't affect flavor, just appearance. Refrigerate until cold.
It may be beneficial to run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake, separating it from the sides of the pan before releasing the sides of the springform pan.
Cut into 12 slices using a wet knife, and serve with whipped cream and a little drizzle of chocolate sauce or a sprinkling of chopped nuts, or even some artificially sweetened berries. The basic cheesecake without any crust, whipped cream or berries is 5 grams per slice allowing 12 servings per cake. This makes a delectable breakfast as well as a sinfully rich dessert or anytime snack. Just watch your total carb count for the day.
