Ketofied Cheesecake for a Crowd

by | Jul 13, 2018 | Baking, Berries, Dessert, Gluten-free, Keto, Low-carb, Recipes

Ketofied Cheesecake for a Crowd
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My hubby Jose loves cheesecake. It’s always been one of his favorite desserts, so I’ve collected quite a few good recipes and become pretty adept at cheesecake making. But recently he decided to try the Keto thing, so no sugar, no grains; low-carb is it. Fortunately, cheesecake is not so difficult to “ketofy” being that it’s basically cream cheese and eggs with a sweetener and flavorings, and a crust, of course. So for Father’s Day I searched for a recipe and found one that was pretty good. He actually really enjoyed it! Simply replacing the sugar with Swerve and replacing the graham cracker crust with an almond flour crust made the carb count per serving (1/16th of a cheesecake) somewhere around 6 grams. But I wanted more flavor, both in the crust and the filling. Also, we were bringing dessert to an Independence Day party and wanted to try it again, but in a format that was easier to serve to a crowd. I adapted it to bake in a 9×13 sheet cake pan, added hazelnuts to the crust, and more lemon to the filling. I also wanted to add a punch of patriotic color with berries on top, so I added a little sour cream/cheese topping and raspberries and blueberries in festive stripes. It was a hit! I will definitely make this again, and probably will change out the topping to reflect the seasons. Next, I think I’ll work on a ketofied version of my favorite lemon curd topping… or maybe a chocolate version?

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Ketofied Cheesecake for a Crowd

  • Author: Stacey McNeill
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Description

A versatile recipe that can be made in a springform pan or sheet pan, and captures the classic cheesecake flavor and texture while minimizing those pesky carbs.

Ingredients

Crust

  • 2 cups Almond flour
  • 1 cup whole, toasted hazelnuts
  • 3 tbsp Sweetener I used granular Swerve
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1/3 cup Butter, melted

CHEESECAKE FILLING

  • 32 oz Cream Cheese, at room temperature 4 8-ounce packages
  • 1 cup Powdered sweetener I used confectioners Swerve
  • 3 large Eggs
  • 2 tbsp Lemon Juice
  • 2 tsp Lemon zest
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

TOPPING (optional)

  • 4 tbsp Cream cheese
  • 2 tbsp Sour cream
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 2 tbsp Sweetener I used Swerve confectioners
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla
  • 126 Berries (optional) I used a comination of rasperries and blueberries

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 pan and line with parchment paper. If you want to remove cheesecake from the pan, line with parchment paper that overlaps the sides in both directions. Alternatively, grease a 9″ springform pan if you want a traditional round cheesecake.
  2. To make the crust, place almond flour and hazelnuts in a food processor (easiest method) and process until mixed and nuts are finely ground. Add sweetener and vanilla and process again.
  3. Pour melted butter onto mixture and process again just for a short time until well combined. The crust dough will be slightly crumbly.
  4. Press crust crumbs into bottom of the prepared pan.
  5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until barely golden. Let cool at least 15 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese, sweetener, and lemon zest until smooth. It’s important to start with room temperature cream cheese here. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Then add lemon juice and vanilla.
  7. Pour filling into the crust-lined pan. Smooth the top with a spatula.
  8. Bake for bout 25-35 minutes for the 9 by 13 pan. If baking in a traditional 9-inch round springform pan, bake for 45-55 minutes. Always set your time on the lower end, and check to see how it looks. Bake until center is almost set, but still soft.
  9. Remove cheesecake from the oven. If baking in a springform pan, you may want to run a knife round the edge of the pan if it looks like the sides of the cake have not pulled away. Cool in the pan to room temperature. Then refrigerate for at least 6 hours until completely set. Do not try to remove the cake from the pan before it is completely chilled.
  10. For topping, mix cream cheese, sour cream, sweetener and lemon juice until well blended. Spread over top of cheesecake with a cake knife or spatula. This will be just a very thin layer to allow the berries to adhere to the cheesecake.
  11. Arrange berries or other toppings over the cheesecake and chill until ready to serve!