Grandma’s Cheesecake is a real delight, it is fresh, summery, no-bake, the classic recipe to prepare for celebrating a birthday or as a summer dessert.
It is one of the cakes I love as much as the pie because I enjoy inventing different decorations and coverings like the strawberry cheesecake.
This recipe is inspired by the famous and classic grandma’s cake, after all, who doesn’t know it? I’m crazy about it, so I thought to make it in cheesecake version.
The difference is in the fact that the custard is enriched with mascarpone and powdered sugar while the final decoration is made with classic pine nuts just like grandma’s cake. A wonderful cold cake, let’s discover the recipe 😻
See you soon, Susy
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Economical
- Rest time: 4 Hours
- Preparation time: 30 Minutes
- Portions: 8
- Cooking methods: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
- Energy 513.67 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 45.40 (g) of which sugars 27.15 (g)
- Proteins 9.19 (g)
- Fat 34.29 (g) of which saturated 19.31 (g)of which unsaturated 9.26 (g)
- Fibers 1.08 (g)
- Sodium 155.39 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 135 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Grandma’s Cheesecake Ingredients
- 7 oz Digestive biscuits
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup egg yolk
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 14 oz custard
- 9 oz mascarpone
- 2 tbsps gelatin sheets
- 1/2 cup vanilla powdered sugar
- 2 tbsps pine nuts
Tools
- Pan springform 9 inch
Preparation of Grandma’s Cheesecake
In a food processor, I crush the biscuits and transfer them to a bowl. Meanwhile, I melt the butter in the microwave or in a bain-marie and pour it into the bowl and mix everything.
Then I pour the mixture into the pan that I lined with parchment paper and level it well with the back of a spoon and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
I start by soaking the gelatin in cold water. Meanwhile, in a bowl, I put the mascarpone with the powdered sugar. I mix it well with a whisk to make it creamy. Then I add the custard and the well-squeezed gelatin dissolved in very little hot milk.
I stir the obtained mixture and pour it onto the biscuit base. I transfer the pan to the fridge for 4 hours because the cream needs to set well. After the time has passed, I remove it from the mold, place it on a nice plate, and sprinkle it with pine nuts. Well, our cheesecake is ready, all that remains is to taste it. Remember that it should always be served very cold
Susy’s Advice
The pan should have a springform release to avoid breaking the base when placing it on the serving plate and lined with parchment paper. The best biscuits for cheesecake are Digestive, personally, I prefer them because they have a taste that is not too sweet and a bit salty, but they can be replaced with any dry shortbread, even cocoa ones. The cream is based on cheese, like very creamy mascarpone, Philadelphia, ricotta for a delicate flavor, or yogurt to make it a little lighter. Finally, but no less important, is the topping that we will make because it will give the final touch to our cheesecake. So we can indulge ourselves with jams, dried fruits, fruit coulis, chocolate ganache, in short, space for imagination. If you don’t want to use gelatin, you can replace it with agar agar, a natural gelling agent.
Grandma’s cheesecake should be eaten within a couple of days and always stored in the refrigerator, but if there happens to be a piece left over, it never happens to me 😍, we can freeze it in the freezer for only one month!
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