I have been having a hankering for a nice dessert and cheese cake seemed to fit the bill nicely. Much to my chagrin I have never made a cheesecake, at least not one that didn’t come from a box. I am not much of a dessert person to begin with so it’s pretty typical not to make desserts, though I used to make a mean cookie! I try not to have many sweets low carb or not, but every now and then it is a nice treat. We had a potluck dinner last week so I decided to try my hand at a chocolate cheesecake because like bacon, chocolate also makes everything better! I got my inspiration from Maya at Wholesome Yum and I love that it is no bake and only a few ingredients.
What you will need:
- 1 3/4 C Almond flour
- 3 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
- 3 TbspMonk Fruit Erythritol~ I like the Lakanto
- 1/3 C Butter melted
- 2 Tsp Vanilla Extract~ Divided
- 8oz Unsweetened Baking Chocolate
- 24oz Cream cheese~ Softened to room temp
- 1 1/4 C Powdered Monk Fruit or Powdered Swerve Sweetener
In a large bowl combine almond flour, cocoa powder and monk fruit erythritol. In a small bowl combine melted butter and 1 tsp vanilla. Add butter/vanilla mix to the almond flour mixture. Stir until well combined and uniform. It should be crumbly, but sticky enough to press together. Line the bottom of a 9-inch (23 cm) cake pan with parchment paper. Press the crust mix into the bottom of the pan. Chill while preparing the filling.
Melt the unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler on the stove, stirring occasionally. I do not own a microwave but you could melt it in the microwave as well. I find on the double boiler the chocolate does not get too hot. (The 2nd time I made the cheesecake I reduced the amount of chocolate and added a few pieces of cocoa butter bits.) Be careful not to overheat. Set aside to cool.
While the chocolate is melting use a hand mixer or a stand mixer(my preferred method) at medium-low speed to beat together the cream cheese, powdered sweetener until fluffy and uniform. Beat in the vanilla. If you forget to soften your cream cheese you can do put it in the microwave for about 30 secs or so, also could melt in the oven on warm.
Once the chocolate has cooled to warm but no longer hot, beat into the cream cheese mixture at medium-low speed. Transfer the filling to the crust and use a spatula to smooth it over, chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Once the cake is chilled run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn over onto a plate then flip onto another plate so it’s right side up. I plan on buying a silicone cake pan for ease of removing the cheesecakes. This is optional but makes for a very pretty finished product~ Melt a bit more chocolate in your double boiler and drizzle over the cheesecake for a really great decorative effect. You could even top with a little bit of raspberry, I did not have any on hand.
This is very dense and very filling, a small slice will really hit the spot. Enjoy!
Serving size 1/12 of cake Nutrition: Fat 23g, Protein 6g, Total Carbs 10g, Fiber 5g, Net carbs 5g(this may vary depending on the chocolate used.)
