Whipped Vanilla Bean Cheescake

Almost as good as the Vanilla Bean cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory......almost! This cheesecake is easy to make and it is light, fluffy and oh so yummy!

Whipped Vanilla Cheesecake Filling:

1 cup (240 ml) whole milk, divided

2 1/2 teaspoons powdered gelatin

12 ounces (340 g) Philadelphia cream cheese

1 cup (7 oz/200 g) granulated sugar

1 cup (240 ml) heavy cream

1 cup (240 ml) sour cream

1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise with a paring knife and seeds scraped out

Make the cheesecake filling:

1. Place 1/2 cup of the milk in a small container. Sprinkle the gelatin over the milk and set aside to soften.

2. Place the remaining 1/2 cup milk, the sugar, and cream cheese in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the cream cheese melts and the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Add the milk and gelatin mixture and whisk until the gelatin is dissolved. Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium bowl. Cool the mixture to room temperature.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the whisk attachment, beat the cream, sour cream, and vanilla bean seeds at high speed until the mixture just begins to form soft peaks. Add the cooled cream cheese mixture at low speed. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the mixture is well blended and smooth. Scrape the filling into the prepared pan, over the crust, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until set.

Helpful Hints:

*The night before I was making this recipe I placed the 1 cup of sugar and the vanilla bean in an airtight container and let it sit over night. This will infuse the sugar with a nice vanilla flavor.

*I used the ready made mini graham cracker crusts by Keebler (you can easily fill about 18 mini crusts)

*I don’t have a fine mesh sieve so I skipped that step and it turned out fine.

* To cut calories/fat you can substitute half of the cream cheese for Neufchâtel cheese. Usually found right next to the cream cheese.

* I found this recipe online @: http://tishboyle.blogspot.com

I only used her Whipped Vanilla Bean Cheesecake filling recipe.

I used the Keebler pre made mini crusts and a different berry sauce. (see below for the sauce recipe I used)

I believe she also has a recipe for a graham cracker crust if you need it.