Recipe: an almost traditional cheesecake

This past weekend was my Mother's birthday, and when I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she responded, just a regular, plain cheesecake.

Cheesecake lovers, through and through, I wouldn't say we've tried all the recipes, but we've certainly tried a lot! The all time favorite being the chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake (my birthday choice last year). I like to experiment, so I found something a little different to try.

Since I haven't shared a recipe here in a while, and my brother took these lovely shots of the cake, I thought I'd post it.

I love looking through old issues of Taste of Home, and this one came from December 1999.

I chose it because I wanted a recipe with three packages of cream cheese rather than two, and I was intrigued by the fact that you separate the eggs, beat the whites and then fold them in.

The result is a light and fluffy cheesecake that is all to easy to devour. This barely lasted a day before we were licking up the crumbs.

Cheesecake More Cheesecake Lydia

Ingredients
CRUST:
2-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 18 whole crackers)
1/3 cup sugar
7 tablespoons butter, melted
FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1-1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 eggs, separated
TOPPING:
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, whipped
Strawberries to garnish

Directions
In a small bowl, combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and cinnamon; stir in butter. Press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Bake at 350° for 5 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Reduce heat to 325°.

In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add egg yolks; beat on low just until combined. In a small bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form; fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour over crust.

Bake for 1 hour or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate until completely cooled. Combine the sour cream, sugar and vanilla; fold in whipped cream. Spread over cheesecake. Refrigerate overnight. Remove sides of pan.

Yield: 12 servings.

 
Photo by Anna Abate

35 comments

  1. YUM! That cheesecake looks delish, and SO pretty too :)

    Annie
    The Other Side of Gray

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  2. Watch out, Martha! That looks amazing.

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  3. I love Taste of Home magazines! This cheesecake looks amazing. Hope your mom enjoyed her special day :) Heather

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  4. yum this looks so delicious!! cheesecake is one of my favorites so thanks for sharing this recipe :)
    tiffany
    www.hydrangeasandhandbags.com

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  5. It's been far too long since I've had cheesecake... and this looks absolutely delectable! You made it so pretty, Lyddie~ and I bet it tasted amazing for the half day it lasted. ;)

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  6. I am guessing Chloe got some cheesecake too.
    This looks so good. I am soo lazy when it comes to baking real cakes, meaning other than the Betty Crocker mixes.

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  7. "chocolate chip cookie dough cheesecake" !? Now that sounds weird and SO DANG GOOD at the same time. I am going to look up a recipe for this and try it when I ever find myself time a(and a kitchen, I still live at home :() :D Wish your mom a belated happy birthday from me! xo Nikki

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  8. I love cheesecake and yours looks totally scrumptious. Yum! have a great day, darling.

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  9. Thanks for this sweet recipe
    xoxo
    www.welovefur.com

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  10. sounds delicious. happy bday to her!

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  11. YUMMMMMM!!!! OH my gosh that looks so divine!

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  12. I want this! I think Chloe does too, loll!

    Alyssa
    Fleur de Lyss

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  13. I am not good at baking cakes but this looks sooo good and I think I should try!!

    Your Emerald green dress is fabulous,I love this colour and recently bought a blouse in that colour.

    Annette
    Lady of Style

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  14. One can never go wrong with a good old fashion cheesecake
    A favorite around our house for sure
    Brett

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  15. I have totally been looking for an easy cheesecake recipe, this looks so yummy and easy to make! Thank you for sharing :)

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  16. Oh hello there beautiful cheesecake!! It looks so delectable and decadent. I'm sure your cheesecake was a hit on your Mom's bday! I would love to try this recipe one day - thanks for sharing :)

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  17. Mmmm that looks delicious. Do you deliver? Haha ;) And it's so pretty too!

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  18. And now I have the worse cheesecake craving :) I like my cheesecake pretty plain so this looks like perfection!

    elle [wonderfelle world]

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  19. The recipe sounds very intriguing! I would try to, but still lactose over here. Oh well. Maybe one day I'll get better!

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  20. Great recipe and the picture of your dog by the cake is so adorable!! You look great too!

    WWW.ROXTHEFOX.COM

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  21. mmmmm cheesecake is my favourite, total weakness for it <3 I must note this recipe down!

    xoxo Bree
    The Urban Umbrella
    http://www.theurbanumbrella.com

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  22. I love cheesecake and this one looks delicious.

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  23. happy birthday to your mom lyddia! the cheesecake you made looks SO GOOD! your brother took excellent pictures. glad everyone enjoyed themselves.
    http://www.averysweetblog.com/

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  24. OK...Lyddie, I love your dress, the color is smashing...but, the CHEESECAKE might be outshining your dress just a bit! I'm just kidding about the cheesecake, but it does look delicious.

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  25. Happy birthday to your mom! And that cake looks very pretty.


    zuleyb.blogspot.com

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  26. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  27. You look so cute! And that cheesecake looks delicious. You're absolutely right; we cheesecake lovers have tried so many different kinds of cheesecake! I've never met a cheesecake I didn't like. Thanks for sharing this recipe. I pinned it to my "I'll Make This Someday" board, haha.

    xo,
    -Nathy
    Earnestyle

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  28. Oooh, this cake looks delicious! You did a beautiful job, and I love the idea of having the crust come up all the way to the top the cake - I've never seen that before but it looks delicious. Thanks for sharing!
    xox,
    Cee

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  29. This looks heavenly. My weakness is plain cheesecake especially if it is done right! I noticed you went all the way up with your gram crust! did you make more to ensure you had enough for the full cake?

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  30. Oh my goodness- my mouth is watering..that looks DELISH!
    Valerie
    www.the-style-files.com

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  31. I should try this one out! looks yammy!

    P.S. I'm hosting an international 2 friendship bracelets giveaway on my blog here check it out

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  32. It looks so light and delicious and I'm intrigued by the separation of the eggs. Yum!

    xoxo,
    Chic 'n Cheap Living

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  33. How gorgeous!!! Love the cake stand, too.

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  34. Wow, you are like Martha Stewart but more fashionable!

    www.living-thesuite-life.blogspot.com

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