Cheesecake Sweetened with Splenda

Photography by Angèle van Diessen

This Labor Day weekend, my parents, siblings, and an uncle came to visit.  While the men worked outside to remove a dead tree in our front yard (So appreciated!), my mother, sister and I spent time in the kitchen.  Almost everyone in my family loves cheesecake and I had help watching my 2 year old, so I thought I'd make a cheesecake for them to enjoy.  This cheesecake is the one I normally make - with one exception.  Since my mother and uncle are both diabetic, I replaced the sugar with an equal amount of Splenda. 

This is the first time I've used Splenda in my cheesecake and I'm quite pleased with the results.  I'll admit I've avoided using Splenda in my baking since an experience years ago when I used Splenda in my chocolate chip cookies and the texture turned out way off.  My cheesecake doesn't rely on sugar for anything but sweetness, so I was pretty confident the substitute would work and it did!  If you concentrate on it, the sweetness takes a little longer to register on the tongue than when sugar is used, but the actual flavor was barely affected.  My family loved it and I count this one as a success!

(Interesting note: I just learned from my uncle that the Splenda in the individual packets is much sweeter than the granulated Splenda in the box that's used for baking.  Each packet is equivalent to 2 tsp. of sugar, while the granulated Splenda measures cup for cup with sugar.)

My new Etsy shop, Receptivity, is now open! www.etsy.com/shop/Receptivity  I'll be adding more listings, so check back often!  : )