Low-carb Sugar-free Cheesecake

  • We made this yesterday to replace my birthday cake. It was FABULOUS and tastes just like regular cheesecake, IMO. I can't find almond meal around here, so I just ground up some almonds in my Ninja and used them. I used Splenda for my sweetener. I used regular cream cheese b/c the fat free cream cheese had a lot more sugar and carbs in it. We didn't use a water bath or a pizza stone...we just put it in at 400 degrees and immediately turned it down to 200. It came out beautiful.

    Ingredients:
    * 3 packages (1 and 1/2 lbs) neufchatel cheese (room temperature)
    * 4 eggs (preferably room temperature)
    * 1 and 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 Tablespoon) vanilla
    * 1 and 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 Tablespoon) lemon juice
    * 1 and 1/3 cups sugar equivalent of artificial sweetener
    * 1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream

    * Crust:
    * 1 cup almond meal
    * 2 Tablespoon melted approved butter
    * 2 Tablespoon sugar equivalent in artificial sweetener

    Preparation:
    Heat oven to 375 F.

    Tip: If you have bricks or a pizza stone or unglazed ceramic tile*, put them on the lower rack of the oven. This will hold the heat in the oven. This is good for cheesecakes not baked in a water bath. (Well, actually, it's helpful for any kind of baking, as it keeps the heat in the oven more constant. I keep a pizza stone in the oven most of the time.)

    Combine ingredients for crust, and press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to brown.

    Raise oven heat to 400 F, or lower to 350 F if you're using a water bath (see below).

    Put cream cheese in mixing bowl, and beat until fluffy. Add other ingredients, scraping the bowl and beaters each time (this is very important), fully incorporating each ingredient. When all ingredients are combined, scrape one more time, beat one more minute, and pour mixture into pan over crust.

    Instructions for water bath: Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil, put it in a baking pan and pour boiling water around the sides. Bake at 350 F for 60 to 90 minutes, checking often. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 F, remove from oven.

    Instructions for non-water bath: For this method, you start the cake at a high temperature, and it slowly drops. If you have stoneware, bricks, etc, this allows it to happen at a slower rate, and I get better results in less time. Put the cheesecake on a sheet pan in case of drippage. After putting the cheesecake in the oven at 400 F, turn the oven down to 200 F. Bake for 60 to 90 minutes, checking often after an hour. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 F, remove from oven.

    Chill completely. Top with fruit, if desired, such as Sugar-Free Strawberry Topping.

    Makes 16 servings.

    Nutritional Information: Each serving has 2 grams effective carbohydrate plus 1 gram fiber, 6 grams protein, and 221 calories.
  • Also, I called this Phase 2 b/c of the strawberry topping they recommended. Personally, I like mine plain.
  • Sounds yummy! Happy Birthday!
  • mmmmmmmm...
    That sounds really yummy - thanks for sharing!
  • Quote: Sounds yummy! Happy Birthday!
    Thanks!!!
  • This does sound good. Technically, it's not SBD friendly if you're using full-fat cream cheese, though.

    I like to use neufchatel (lowfat) cream cheese in my baking. It has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese, and less than 1 gram of sugar per serving.

    And a belated Happy Birthday, Natasha!
  • Use reduced fat or light sour cream also, not full fat.
  • Quote: This does sound good. Technically, it's not SBD friendly if you're using full-fat cream cheese, though.

    I like to use neufchatel (lowfat) cream cheese in my baking. It has 1/3 less fat than regular cream cheese, and less than 1 gram of sugar per serving.

    And a belated Happy Birthday, Natasha!
    Thank you!!! I actually chose the regular cream cheese b/c the sugars in the fat-free cream cheese was 3g versus the 0.5g in the regular cream cheese. The neufchatel cheese had 2g of sugar. I did use reduced fat (or maybe even fat free...same amount of sugar in it as in reduced fat) sour cream, though. I've never tried the neufchatel cheese...how much of a taste difference is there???
  • I can't tell any difference in taste between full-fat and neufchatel cream cheese. That's why I use it instead of the fat-free cream cheese, which tastes like wallpaper paste, IMHO.
  • Quote: I can't tell any difference in taste between full-fat and neufchatel cream cheese. That's why I use it instead of the fat-free cream cheese, which tastes like wallpaper paste, IMHO.
    LOL...yeah, I am NOT down w/ the wallpaper paste. I will have to try it next time w/ the neufchatel cheese. Well crap...I guess my b-day "cake" wasn't as on plan as I thought. Rookie mistake. LOL
  • Updated orginal recipe w/ the proper ingredients.
  • I made a recipe just like this before, I converted a regular cheesecake recipe and used almond meal for the crust. Used reduced fat cream cheese and 1 package of FF cream cheese. It was SOOO GOOD.
  • I've actually got one in the oven right now...LOL
  • Soooooooooo...I like the cheesecake plain but my mother had mentioned last time that she would really like to have some strawberry topping. So tonight I found a recipe online and modified it to be SB friendly. It's super easy and really yummy!!!


    Ingredients

    * 1 pint strawberries, cleaned and stemmed
    * 1/3 cup sugar substitute (I used nearly 1/3 cup of Splenda and just topped it off w/ Xylitol)
    * 1 teaspoon vanilla

    Directions

    1. Cut strawberries into thirds. In a saucepan over medium high heat, combine 2/3 of the strawberries, sugar substitute and vanilla. Cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce thickens, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat. In a blender, puree about 1/3 of sauce, then mix back into remainder. Add in the remaining 1/3 strawberries that were not cooked. Store in refrigerator.