My dear, dear “Grammy Green” was the “Cheesecake Queen” and I thank my lucky stars daily that she let me hang out in the kitchen with her all the time! She was patient enough to teach me all her cooking and baking secrets. While my Grammy Green would have made a graham wafer crust, I now use an almond flour crust since being diagnosed as “gluten intolerant”.
I found a wonderful almond crust recipe from Erica over at Comfy Belly . Please note that I tweaked Erica’s recipe by adding a tbsp of cinnamon and not adding the optional cocoa powder.
Almond Flour Crust by Erica of Comfy Belly
- 1 1/2 cups of almond flour (finely ground and blanched)
- 4 tablespoons of butter
- 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract (optional)
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1 tbsp of cinnamon ( my personal tweak)
- optional- 1/2 tsp of cocoa powder
You’ll want to preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the crust for ~ 10 minutes in a spring form pan.
almond flour crust ready for oven
While the crust is cooling in the spring form pan, turn your oven down to 325 degrees and let’s get started on the Grammy G’s basic cheesecake recipe.
On a side note, I just had to share my “very happy orange” measuring spoon set that I got from my BFF, Mrs E. Aren’t these awesome?! I love the fact that they are so bright that they don’t get lost in the baking drawer. Genius I tell ya!
Happy Measuring Spoons
Okay, here are the “stars” in the Grammy G’s basic cheesecake recipe:
- 3 – 8oz packages of Philadelphia Cream Cheese , softened
- 3/4 cup of sugar
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 3 eggs at room temperature
I pull out my Kitchen Aid Mixer to whip this up. When I was in university, I burned out more than one set of electric beaters because I didn’t own a Kitchen Aid Mixer! So, don’t say you haven’t been warned!!
What 3 pkgs of cream cheese looks like
First, I beat the softened cream cheese, then add the sugar, sour cream or yogurt and vanilla. TIP: Do NOT over beat or you’ll add extra air and your cheesecake will drop in the middle when it cools! I scrape down the sides and then add the eggs one at a time so it is silky smooth by the time I’m done. I’ll place this mixture into a spring form pan where I’ve already got a crust made and cooled. I bake my cheesecake at 325 degrees for ~45 minutes or until the center is almost set.
TIPS to “preventing embarrassing crack issues”: I’ve only had my cheesecake “crack” a handful of times so I’ll share what I do. I’ve found baking it at a lower temp (325 vs 350 degrees), having a bit of a jiggly center (the cheesecake will continue to bake after it is removed from the oven), placing the cheesecake on a wire rack and covering with a bowl will let it cool down slowly (the large temperature difference can be a culprit) will prevent cracking. Some folks will “steam” it by placing a pan of water in the oven whilst baking to prevent cracking. I’ve never tried it so if you have any expertise here feel free to chime in ( or if you have any other “just say no to crack” tips please share those too).
I let it cool as described above for ~ 10 minutes and then run a knife or spatula between the cheesecake and the pan to separate the cheesecake from the pan (an also prevent further cracking). Once the cheesecake has completely cooled, I’ll place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours prior to serving. That is the fabulous thing about cheesecakes is you can bake them ahead of time when entertaining (I usually do mine the day before) and pull it out of the fridge right before serving with the topping.
What I love about this basic recipe is the infinite ways that you can alter it to wow your taste buds! If you believe chocolate is a food group like me, you can melt dark chocolate (Dagoba is my favorite) with an 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream and “swirl” it into the above mixture after it is in the spring form pan. It looks like one of those fancy restaurant cheesecakes and is absolutely heaven in your mouth! Not a fan of dark chocolate? Add Kahlua or the liqueur of your choice, melted white chocolate and heaving whipping cream to the base mix and you’ll become known as a Cheesecake King or Queen yourself! Not a fan of chocolate at all? Add 1/4 cup of any fresh citrus juice (lemon, orange or lime) to the basic cheesecake recipe for a “fresh and light” tasting cheesecake. Or how about pumpkin cheesecake by adding a can of pureed pumpkin and pumpkin spice? See what I mean, the sky is the limit!
Topping options: They are endless but some of my personal favorites are fresh fruit, chocolate ganache or fresh whipping cream spiked with a little Amaretto. But today, I’m going to make a cherry topping using the recipe off my favorite canned fruit, Oregon.
Cherry Topping
- 1 can of Oregon Red N Tart cherries, drained, reserve juice
- 1/2-3/4 cup sugar (adjust to your “tart or sweet” taste buds).
- 2 tbsps cornstarch ( I use Argo because it is Gluten Free).
- 1/2 tsp almond extract (optional)
Heat the reserved juice, sugar and cornstarch over medium heat until it has thicken to your liking. Remove from heat and add cherries.
Ok, now here is the hard part…..waiting 8-24 hours to dig in. 
But it is so worth it…..yum!
"Tasty" cheesecake with cherry topping
