By Lindy Van Schalkwyk, last updated on December 29, 2021
This Sara Lee French Cheesecake recipe shows off an incredibly crunchy oatmeal crumb, vanilla cheesecake filling, and a crumb topping.
To make this copycat French cheesecake by Sara Lee is easier than you may think! It has a delicious and rich flavor and the oatmeal crumb is a refreshing change from the usual graham cracker crumbs that most cheesecakes these days have. And, you can even adjust the texture!
What Is A Sara Lee Cheesecake?
The Sara Lee Company is a food manufacturer that produces pre-made desserts and treats. These include Bavarians, pies, crumbles, cakes, brownies, pudding, ice creams, and of course, delicious cheesecakes! They even have vegan products!
Today, we will be remaking their extremely famous French-style classic cheesecake! This cheesecake is made with a delicious oatmeal biscuit crust, an uber creamy and rich vanilla cheesecake filling, and is finally topped with some cookie crumbs.
What You Will Need For This Sara Lee French Cheesecake Recipe
Ingredients For The Oatmeal Crust
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 ¼ cup fine granulated sugar, divided
- 1/3 cup salted butter, melted
Ingredients For The Cheesecake Filling
- 32 ounces full fat cream cheese softened
- 1 ½ cups fine granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
Equipment
- Food processor, optional
- Mixing bowls
- 9-inch springform cake pan
Step by Step Instructions For Making This Cheesecake Recipe
Step 1: Make the Oatmeal Crust
Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C).
First, start by making the oatmeal crust. For a finely-textured crust, add the rolled oats to a food processor and blend it until you have the desired texture. Then add in the fine sugar and mix it well. Lastly, add the melted butter and blend.
If you want a textured crust, you can simply combine all of the crust ingredients together in a large bowl and mix them well.
Remove about ¼ cup of crumb. Using the rest, press them into a springform cake pan, creating small edges of about ½ an inch high.
Then, bake the crust in the preheated oven for roughly 10 minutes. Once baked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool inside of the pan. Set it aside until you need it later.
Step 2: Make the Cheesecake Filling
Place the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese until it has a light and very fluffy texture. Then, you can add your fine sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
Once fully incorporated, add in the eggs one at a time. It is extremely important that you beat the mixture well (you can use a low speed) after adding each egg.
Step 3: Assemble the Cheesecake and Bake
Pour the Sara Lee cheesecake into the springform pan on the pre-baked crust. Make sure that the top is completely smooth. Top with the remaining ¼ cup of oatmeal crumbs that you kept aside.
Then, lower the oven temperature to 325°F (160°C). Bake this Sara Lee French cheesecake recipe for 55-60 minutes.
Once fully baked, allow the cheesecake to cool completely before allowing it to set inside of the fridge.
Step 4: Serve the Cheesecake
Once the cheesecake has been set, you can remove it from the springform pan. Use a thin and very sharp knife to slice between the cheesecake and springform pan sides. Then, unclamp the pans’ sides and remove them completely.
We wouldn’t recommend removing the base of the pan from the cheesecake. This will prevent the cake from falling apart in case the crust has a crack.
How To Prevent The Cheesecake From Cracking
There are a few tricks that you can follow to prevent the cheesecakes’ top from cracking. It is a very common problem and has to do with sudden temperature changes. Anytime you instantly and drastically change the temperature of the cheesecake, the molecular bonds separate and create a crack in the cake.
To prevent this, you have to apply proper cooling techniques.
Once the cheesecake has fully baked, turn off the oven and allow the cheesecake to cool inside it for an hour. Then, remove it from the cooling oven and place it on a wire rack at room temperature. You can allow it to cool further for another hour.
Only after the cheesecake has almost completely cooled should you put it in the fridge to set. It should be set in the fridge for at least an hour before your serve it. But, overnight would be best to ensure the cheesecake has been properly set.
If you do store the cheesecake overnight, make sure to tightly wrap the cheesecake with saran or plastic wrap. This will prevent it from drying out in the fridge.
Sara Lee Cheesecake Recipe – Tips And Tricks
- You don’t have to line the springform pan with any non-stick products. Because the crust contains mostly butter, it naturally acts as a lubricant and will prevent the crust from sticking to it. However, if you want to rather be safe than sorry, you can line it with non-stick cooking spray or non-stick baking paper.
- If you don’t have a springform cake pan, you can still use a regular cake pan. Have a look at this tutorial on how to remove the cheesecake from a regular cake pan.
- Instead of adding some crust crumbs on top of the cheesecake batter, you can also add some granola. Granola will still add a crunchy texture, but it will allow you to incorporate additional flavors too.
- Before cooling the cheesecake, check whether or not it has been baked. You can look at this informative tutorial on different methods you can use.
- To store this Sara Lee Cheesecake recipe, tightly wrap it in plastic or saran wrap. You can also store it in an airtight container.
Servings And Preparation Times
| Prep time | Baking time | Servings |
| 30 minutes | 60-70 minutes | 8-10 |
Final Thoughts
This cheesecake recipe is still pretty quick and incredibly easy. And, we absolutely love the oatmeal crust and crumb garnish – it adds a delicious texture and is a yummy alternative to classic graham cracker crusts. Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Sara Lee French Cheesecake Recipe
Equipment
- Food processor, optional
- Mixing bowls
- 9-inch springform cake pan
Ingredients
Ingredients For The Oatmeal Crust
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 ¼ cup fine granulated sugar divided
- 1/3 cup salted butter melted
Ingredients For The Cheesecake Filling
- 32 ounces full fat cream cheese softened
- 1 ½ cups fine granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
- Pinch of salt
- 4 large eggs room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360°F (180°C).
- First, start by making the oatmeal crust. For a finely-textured crust, add the rolled oats to a food processor and blend it until you have the desired texture. Then add in the fine sugar and mix it well. Lastly, add the melted butter and blend.
- If you want a textured crust, you can simply combine all of the crust ingredients together in a large bowl and mix them well.
- Remove about ¼ cup of crumb. Using the rest, press them into a springform cake pan, creating small edges of about ½ an inch high.
- Then, bake the crust in the preheated oven for roughly 10 minutes. Once baked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool inside of the pan. Set it aside until you need it later.
- Place the softened cream cheese in a large mixing bowl. Beat the cream cheese until it has a light and very fluffy texture. Then, you can add your fine sugar, vanilla extract, and salt.
- Once fully incorporated, add in the eggs one at a time. It is extremely important that you beat the mixture well (you can use a low speed) after adding each egg.
- Pour the Sara Lee cheesecake into the springform pan on the pre-baked crust. Make sure that the top is completely smooth. Top with the remaining ¼ cup of oatmeal crumbs that you kept aside.
- Then, lower the oven temperature to 325°F (160°C). Bake this Sara Lee French cheesecake recipe for 55-60 minutes.
- Once fully baked, allow the cheesecake to cool completely before allowing it to set inside of the fridge.
- Once the cheesecake has been set, you can remove it from the springform pan. Use a thin and very sharp knife to slice between the cheesecake and springform pan sides. Then, unclamp the pans’ sides and remove them completely.
- We wouldn’t recommend removing the base of the pan from the cheesecake. This will prevent the cake from falling apart in case the crust has a crack.
Notes
How To Prevent The Cheesecake From Cracking
There are a few tricks that you can follow to prevent the cheesecakes’ top from cracking. It is a very common problem and has to do with sudden temperature changes. Anytime you instantly and drastically change the temperature of the cheesecake, the molecular bonds separate and create a crack in the cake.
Lindy Van Schalkwyk is a culinary specialist with a background in Advanced Cooking, Advanced Pâtisserie, Media Communications and Nutrition. She has gained invaluable experience in the culinary industry having worked in some of the top restaurants in Africa in 2016 and 2017. Her expertise in nutrition has enabled her to develop recipes for special dietary needs. In 2018, Lindy began working in the Food Media industry, focusing on recipe development, recipe writing, food writing and food styling.