Vanilla Bean Cheesecake

Submitted by KatiesMama

"My husband is in love with the vanilla bean cheesecake from TGI Fridays, so I was sent on a search to find a similar recipe. He says this is very good, and nearly the same as their recipe. One warning: He doesn't eat the crust, so I don't know if that is exactly the same as their recipe. This will take a lot of time to make, but is worth it."

 

• Ready In: 4hrs
• Ingredients: 14
• Yields: 1 9 in. cheesecake

ingredients

• 1 1⁄2 cups finely crushed graham crackers
• 1 1⁄4 cups sugar, divided
• 1⁄2 cup butter, melted
• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 egg yolk, beaten
• 3⁄4 teaspoon vanilla, divided
• 16 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch (or 3 T flour)
• 2 vanilla pod, beans removed, divided
• 2 cups whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons powdered sugar
• 4 ounces one-third less fat reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
• 4 ounces white chocolate baking squares, melted

directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a 9 in springform pan with foil and spray with non-stick spray.
2. Mix the graham crackers with 1/4 C sugar.
3. Add the egg yolk, 1/4 t. vanilla, and melted butter, in that order.
4. Press mixture into the pan, and bake for 8 minutes (or until edges are slightly brown).
5. Remove and let cool.
6. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
7. Combine cream cheese, sour cream, cornstarch, and 1 C sugar, mixing until sugar dissolves. Add butter, 1/2 t vanilla, and beans from one vanilla pod, blend until smooth. Spread on crust.
8. Bake 30-35 minutes, cool 1 hour.
9. In a cold mixing bowl, beat 1 C cream until soft peaks form. Add 2 T powdered sugar, and continue beating. Place in another bowl in fridge. Without washing first bowl, beat the 1/3 less fat cream cheese in it, until fluffy. Add the white chocolate, and beat until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream from fridge; place back in fridge.
10. In another cold bowl, beat 1 C whipping cream until soft peaks form. Add 1 T powdered sugar, and beans from one vanilla pod beating until stiff peaks form.
11. Spread mousse evenly on top (cream cheese/white chocolate mixture). Refrigerate for an hour, then spread whipped cream on top. Refrigerate several hours before serving.

Reviews

[litlangl2004]

This was AMAZING!! I followed the recipe exactly (my first attempt at a cheesecake) and it turned out so yummy. My only suggestion is it needs to be a bit sweeter. Any suggestions???

 

[Satyne]

This was divine. I skipped doing the mousse layer and just opted for the base, cake and chocolate/cheese layer and honestly, any more deliciousness and I might have exploded. This was a nice, easy recipe to follow and lovely results. Thanks for sharing.

 

[1mississippiqueen]

OMG! I LOVE TGIF's Vanilla Bean Cheesecake and this taste just like it! I followed the recipe (with the exception.... I used fat free sour cream and I didn't have the beans so I used a tsp of vanilla extract in place of) and it came out perfect! Awesome job coming up with this recipe Benny'sGirl!!!

 

[clz1425]

We are in LOVE with this cheesecake at TGIF and when I made it it was even better. Not a cheap cake to make but well worth the cost and time!!!

 

[StLouisCeliac]

This is an amazing recipe. Since I have to eat gluten-free, I can't eat Friday's Vanilla Bean Cheesecake anymore. I make this with GF cookies, graham crackers, or almond flour instead of regular graham crackers. It's AMAZING. My only issue was with the 1/2 cup (one whole stick) of butter for the crust. I don't know if it's because almond flour and/or GF cookies naturally have more oil in them, but the crust had waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much butter. I had to cook it for 3x as long as the recipe says to get the extra moisture out each time I made this.