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Dessert Exchange Cooking

Replacing Heavy Cream in Cheesecake with Lactose Free Alternative

last month

I want to make a cheesecake for company, but one person is lactose intolerant. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup fo heavy cream. Has anyone tried using a lactose free alternative such as coconut cream? Any suggestions? Thanks.

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Comments (11)

Sherry8aNorthAL
last month
My grandson likes Philadelphia dairy free cream cheese. I tried it and it is very good. He also likes Violife and Daiya products. I know he told me a heavy ”cream”, but I cannot find the name. Coconut cream would be fine in a dessert, it is sometimes too sweet in savory dishes.

I think it was Silk dairy free heavy cream. He made parmesean alfredo with no dairy and it was fantastic.
fawnridge (Ricky)
last month
Yes, and it doesn't work. Have the one lactose intolerant guest just eat the crust. Cheesecake needs real cream, not processed fake stuff.
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I agree, the food issues are just getting crazy. No medical issues, no allergies, just "I feel better if I live on sprouted grains and air". It's getting to be extremely annoying. That said, I probably would just have a platter of fruit, make the stewed apples and crust and ice cream and let people choose. (shrug) Be sure you have filtered water, as I'm sure coffee and tea are out (although they are filled with antioxidants), but at least YOU get to have your own dessert. Those who can't find anything to suit themselves can make their "sneak" stop at the McDonald's drive-through on the way home. And yes, I know a couple of people who do this after they give me long lectures about the evils of meat, gluten, sugar and dairy. I do my best to please everyone in my family, and usually manage to feed everyone something. The only true health issues in my group are my daughter with diverticulitis who is also lactose intolerant, my mother who is allergic to lemons and my stepdaughter and an aunt who are celiac. Everyone else just has a personal choice so I make sure I hit the health issues so I don't sicken anyone and let everyone else pick out what they don't like. And, if I were going to put cream in my coffee, I'd also vote for the heavy cream, LOL, but if you don't have it on hand, I suppose she'll drink it black or bring her own. Annie
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Comments (29)
We liked Lou's cheesecake, too! I love NY cheesecake, too, this was a little different. Marilyn had two recipes that were also very good. EAST COAST CHEESECAKE (danain) 1 2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/3 cup butter, melted 5 (8 oz. pkgs.) cream cheese, room temperature 13/4 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 5 large eggs, room temperature 2 large egg yolks, room temperature 1/3 cup sour cream, room temperature 1 teaspoon vanilla Coat the inside of a spring form pan with shortening. Combine crumbs, ¼ cup sugar and butter in and press on sides and bottom of pan; refrigerate. Preheat oven to 500°. Beat together cream cheese, 1¾ cups sugar and flour with an electric mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time beating on low speed until incorporated, scraping bowl between additions. Mix in sour cream and vanilla. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Pan will be completely full. Make a water bath: Wrap foil around the outside of filled pan. Place pan in a larger baking dish and pour hot water in the baking dish to come half way up the sides of the spring form pan. Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes at 500° then reduce heat to 200° and continue to bake without opening oven door for 1 hour. Check cake. It should be very brown on top. Continue to bake until slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken, about another 35 minutes. Remove from oven and run a knife around top edge of cake to loosen. Cool cake completely in spring form pan on a rack at room temperature, about 3 hours. Refrigerate cake covered loosely with wax paper for at least 6 hours. Remove side of pan and bring to room temperature before serving. Will keep for approximately 2 weeks refrigerated. notes - For 1/2 recipe bake in a 7" spring form pan for 10 minutes at 500° then about 50 minutes at 200°. HOLLYWOOD TWO-TONE CHEESECAKE (danain) CRUST: 11/4 cup graham cracker crumbs 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup butter, melted PART 1: 1 pound cream cheese; softened 1/2 cup sugar 3 eggs; room temperature 3/4 teaspoon vanilla PART 2: 2 cups sour cream; room temperature 1/4 cup sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla Combine crust ingredients thoroughly. Grease 9-inch round pan with shortening (or use a spring form pan). Cover sides of pan with 1 cup having it come up 1-inch from the top of pan. Press remaining in bottom. Refrigerate while preparing part 1. Combine part 1 ingredients with electric mixer until smooth (beat 2 to 3 minutes). Spread into pan. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, place on rack; stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Raise oven temperature to 475°. About 2 minutes before 15 minutes standing time is up, prepare second part of filling. With a spoon mix part 2 ingredients until well blended. Pour over 1st part, starting from side to center, spread evenly and gently. Bake at 475° about 10 minutes. Let stand at room temperature on rack for 5 to 6 hours before releasing from pan. Loosen crumbs on sides of pan allowing them to drop on edge of cake. Remove cake carefully or serve from pan. Do not cut until the following day. Cover with waxed paper and store in coldest part of refrigerator for 12 hours or longer. Keeps 3 to 4 days. Cake is about 1¼-inch high. Tip: When baking cake, place a pan of hot water under cake on lower rack. This will prevent cake from cracking.
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Comments (23)
Topo, I've looked over the link, I think I would try your original recipe w/o the lemon, use the pomegranate liqueur for the flavoring, with the option of the Pomegranate Sauce, it would make a great presentation. I will try that way when I next make it. Totally agree w/you about sharing recipes, can you image if recipes weren't shared, porridge might still be the staple in our daily menus. I know for a fact that someone gave her that tart recipe; I just dont know who. In fact, while out w/friends one evening this topic came up and there was a women in the group knew exactly what I was talking about, she had the recipe but someone stole her personal cookbook with that recipe in it, maybe it was MY COUSIN!!! "You can check the torture newsgroups for techniques" LOL !! I have 3 recipes I want to work with; one w/a small amount of ricotta, another w/a small amount of amaretti cookies crushed in the batter, and the other escapes me right now. Each different, so I will try my hand at breaking down each recipe into 3rds as each recipe makes approx 40 tarts & I basically just want samples. Who knows may end up with something far better. Lucy
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LOOKING for: lactose free recipes
Q
Comments (3)
Suzie's right - you can find lots of dairy-free recipes in every cookbook. There's also many great books that address food allergies, which include dairy-free recipes, such as: 1. "The Complete Food Allergy Cookbook" by Marilyn Gioannini 2. "The Allergy Self-help Cookbook" by Marjorie Hurt Jones, R.N. 3. "Not Milk... NUT MILKS!" by Candia Lea Cole Have you checked your local library for cookbooks? That's a good place to start. There are also very good substitutes you should apprise yourself of. Having a lactose intolerant son and granddaughter, I've been there, done that.....and lived through it. A quick look in my recipe collection will find lots of dairy-free recipes I've found, or developed, over the years from lots of sources. We've used several brands of whey-based milk substitute products for over 25 years, which is a low-lactose product that works like milk. It was suggested by my son's doctor, and we've used it ever since because it's much cheaper than regular milk. Another thing to point out about lactose intolerance, most people can consume some foods containing lactose in small quantities. Their bodies still can convert small amounts - how much and how often is an individual thing. The general rule - the more fat there is in a dairy product, the less lactose there is. So you'll find most people can consume cookies, cake, or other baked good made with butter, because it's very low in lactose, as are other high fat products, like cream cheese, etc. These are things I discovered on my own doing a lot of research on the subject of lactose intolerance. Cultured dairy products (kefir, yogurt, quark, etc.) are also very low in lactose (especially if you make them at home and control the fermentation process). Neither my son or granddaughter have a problem using my homemade kefir. Kefir fermentation converts most of the lactose in ordinary milk into far more easily digested components. The remaining lactose content is so low that most otherwise lactose-intolerant people find that, through kefir, they can enjoy milk again. I use kefir as a substitute for buttermilk, cream cheese, and sour cream. -Grainlady Here is a link that might be useful: Lactose Percentages of Foods
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Sherry8aNorthAL
last month
Ricky, maybe before, but non dairy has improved and we HAVE made things successfully.
CA Kate z9
last month
My DIL is lactose intolerant, she just has her bottle of pills handy. She eats dairy-based foods all the time and seems to get on just fine. I'm not sure I would have changed the recipe for the one person... unless that the person has a more serious allergy than most.
fawnridge (Ricky)
last month
Sherry - I won't argue the advances in food creation, but I'm a quarter Sicilian and to make cheesecake without heavy cream is sacrilegious!
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last month
I'm curious. I had to look up how much 1/2 a cup is and it seems a very small amount. Is that really all the dairy there is in your cheese cake recipe?

My second thought is can you do a different dessert? It seems a pity, if the recipe is good, to fiddle with it.

And my third thought is to make the cheese cake and also second dessert such as a fruit pie or some kind of cake.
plllog
last month
last modified: last month
Do check with the person in question. To the best of my knowledge, heavy cream has little to no lactose, and many LI people can eat it. That's why there's no lactose-free cream on the market. The problem may be the cheese! Hard dry cheeses, like parm, may be low in lactose, but soft milky cheeses, like ricotta, can be chock full of it. In a similar circumstance, I made ricotta from lactose free milk to make a treat for my friend. Cream cheese, like cream itself, has a much lower amount, but the totallity might be okay or no-go for your guest.

Most people with sensitivities are fine saying no thank-you to things they can't have and just appreciate a warning. OTOH, why make such problems for yourself? Make a different dessert! Or if the cheesecake is the request of the guest of honor, don't wreck it with alternate ingredients! Make or buy something special that's dairy free, like macarons or mini pavlovas — or even oreos if they fit your guests’ tastes— to serve with the cheesecake, and your LI guest can easily say no thank-you to the cheesecake and have a couple more cookies.
Sherry8aNorthAL
last month
MY grandson is 5 out of 5 allergic to any dairy. Just a touch and it is an epipen and a trip to the emergency room.

We have learned how to cook without dairy, and yes, it is very good. Do not knock it, if you do not know what you are talking about.

I AM NOT talking lactose intollerent. I MEAN ALLERGIC!! He iust NOT sensitive, he is allergic. It can kill him allergic.

If I suggest something, it is dairy free and very good. So good, you cannot tell them apart without a label.
plllog
last month
Sherry, I do believe that your recommended products are good, but in my experience, YMMV, replacing products that are fundamentally different structures usually requires some tweaking, and more often than not, a recipe tailored to those ingredients. Perhaps, I'm just too picky, and notice little flaws too much. It's been too long since I've used the dairy free cream cheese--they may have improved it a lot---but while it did work, the difference was definitely noticeable. Perhaps the particular usage makes a difference, too. I'm sorry you were upset! I'm sure your kids and grandson and very happy with the life affirming things you make for him.
colleenoz
last month
I have made a lot of cheesecakes with lactose free cream cheese and lactose free cream (the kind you set with gelatine, not the baked kind) and they have all been delicious. No one has ever commented that they taste ”funny” or ”different”.
plllog
last month
See! different recipe (for me). I make baked cheesecake and didn't even know about gelatine too set.

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