Keto friendly cheesecake

This is one of my favorite cheesecake recipe and le hubster really enjoyed it too when he was off keto, so I thought I'd try out a keto friendly version. It came out wonderfully. It's also crustless, but if you insist on a crust, the only keto friendly version I know can be found here (with a different cheesecake recipe).

The ingredients:
24 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup splenda (use less if you don't like really sweet cheesecakes)
3 tbs coconut flour
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp orange extract
3 large eggs
1 large egg yolk

Prepare a water bath for your cheesecake by filling a pan (that's bigger than your cheesecake pan) with water about a third to half way and place in oven of 275°F.

In a standing mixer, beat together cream cheese, splenda, coconut flour, lemon zest and orange extract until smooth. Add eggs and yolk, one at a time, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated. Scrape bowl down between additions to ensure everything is mixed. Pour filling into pan.

Place your cheesecake into the now hot water bath and let it bake for 1-2 hours. It should look beautiful like this:

Le hubster really really really loved it. :D

Oreo Cheesecake

The crust was made with 24 oreo cookies minus the creme fillings and 6 oreos with its creme fillings and 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter, then placed in the freezer until the filling was made.

The recipe for the filling is exactly from my fav cheesecake recipe minus the zest and orange extract and plus the vanilla extract. Also, I used the oreo creme fillings as sugar substitute and then added more sugar granules to fulfill the 1 cup + 1 tbs sugar. Also, folded in about 6-8 broken up oreos after the filling was well incorporated.

It baked in a waterbath and a preheated oven of 550°F for 10 minutes and then reduced it to 250 for roughly 50-60 minutes or until done.

It ended up being really rich and decadent, but deliciously tasty.

New York Cheesecake

I have been making cheesecakes a lot these days but none of them are what I really want... which is a big slice of hearty new york cheesecake. And I think I found just the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. However, since I don't have a very tall cheesecake pan, I ended up reducing the amount for a 9 inch pie pan.

Crumb crust:

8 graham crackers or approx 5 oz

5 tbs butter, melted

a pinch of kosher salt

Blend the crackers and salt in a food processor until the crackers are fine/ granulated. Then mix in the melted butter. Press onto bottom and sides of pie pan. Then set aside in the freezer.

Cheesecake filling:
24 oz cream cheese
1 cup + 1 tbs granulated sugar
3 tbs all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1/2 tsp orange extract
3 large eggs
1.5 large egg yolks
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Preheat oven to 550°F. In a standing mixer, beat together cream cheese, sugar, flour, zest and orange extract until smooth. Add vanilla, then eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating on low speed until each ingredient is incorporated. Scrape bowl down between additions to ensure everything is mixed. Pour filling into crust (pan will be completely full.)

Bake in the middle of the oven for 12 minutes or until puffed. Please watch your cake because some ovens will top-brown very quickly and if yours does too fast, turn the oven down as soon as you catch it. Sadly, I didn't catch mine.... (I checked at 10 minutes, which was still white and then again at 15 minutes, which was too late).

Then, reduce the temperature to 200°F and continue baking until cake is mostly firm (center will still be slightly wobbly when pan is gently shaken), about 50-60 minutes more.

Since my cheesecake looked pretty bad on top with no room to spare for a topping to cover the awful cracks and dark tan, I trimmed the top so it was even and then flipped it into another pan:

I ended up making a blueberry compote (step 8) to top my upside down cheesecake. Too bad I forgot to take a picture of it since it was such a beauty. It definitely looked more appetizing. But regardless of its looks, its taste and texture was just what I wanted. Thick and crumbly but with a light and airy flavor. 

Blueberry compote:

1.5 cups blueberries, 2 tbs granulated sugar, 3 tbs water and 1 tbs lemon juice

Boil 1 cup of blueberries with the sugar, water and lemon juice until blueberries burst and syrup thickens. Take it off the heat and add the remaining blueberries. Set aside to cool. Pour on top of cheesecake before serving.

Note: Next time, I'll stick to a water bath and a constant temp of 200°F

Update 7/8/2013: Here's a picture of the ravaged cheesecake a day after our Saturday bbq.

Update 7/19/2013: Made another one but it baked in a water bath at a constant temp of 200°F.

Turned out to be much more moist and creamy if you prefer that version... Personally, I like the drier one. Also, this crust was made with 5.5 oz gingersnap cookies and 5 tbs butter and was a bit too much butter. I guess I'll stick with the original bake heat and timeframe. But I do like that gingersnap crust! Yum!!

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cheesecake

I had been meaning to make a pumpkin cheesecake for a long long time. The trouble was finding enough time. This memorial weekend was the perfect time to test one or two out :D

For the graham cracker CRUST (yields two 8-inch pie pans):
10 whole cinnamon graham crackers, finely crushed
6 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Mix together, then pack it tightly into your pie pans. Bake in preheated oven of 325°F for 7-8 minutes. Then set aside.

For the coconut flour CRUST (if on keto diet) (yields two 8-inch pie pans):
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature mixes easier
2 eggs
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup coconut flour

Mix first three ingredients and then add the coconut flour in approximately three stages until it is well incorporated. Then pack it tightly into your pie pans. Bake in preheated oven of 400°F for 7-8 minutes. Then set aside

For the FILLING, you will need the following (yields two 8 inch pies):
24 oz cream cheese
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract (not used if on keto diet)
1.5 tsp lemon juice
8 tbs granulated sugar (6 tbs splenda if on keto diet)
1 cup canned pumpkin
4 oz evaporated milk (4 oz heavy whipping cream if on keto diet)
2 tsp pumpkin spice
a pinch of salt (optional)

"Regular" pumpkin cream cheese cheesecake

Keto friendly pumpkin cream cheesecake

Here's what I did:

1. Preheat oven to 325°F.
2. In a mixer, mix the cream cheese and 3 eggs. Then add the vanilla extract, lemon juice and sugar. Mix together until all ingredients are well incorporated. (This is pretty much the cream cheese cheesecake batter.)
3. Then, add 1 cup of the canned pumpkin. Mix well.
4. Then, add the last egg and 4 oz of evaporated milk OR heavy whipping cream and 2 tsp pumpkin spice and pinch of salt (optional). Again, mix well.
5. Pour the batter into your cooled crust.
6. Bake for about 1.5 hours or until done.
7. Let it cool for about 10 minutes and then refrigerate until ready to serve.

I have to be honest and say that the splenda version has more pumpkin taste to it whereas the "regular" version is a bit dry (maybe add more evaporated milk next time?). Nevertheless, they are both still tasty for not being an exact recipe since I basically combined my go-to pumpkin pie recipe with my cheesecake recipe. heh.

Here are pics of my attempt at making mini pies instead of a second "regular" cheesecake:

They cracked horribly because they were baking on the top half of my oven whereas the bigger pies baked in the middle shelf...

Covered the cracks with amaretto whipped cream*. All better! :D

*Amaretto whipped cream is just heavy whipping cream, a bit of powdered sugar (or splenda if on keto) and Disaronno (not for keto diets). 

These are pictures of my second keto friendly cheesecake:

5/29/13 update: I froze the "mini pies" and it turned out delicious! It's kind of like an ice cream substitute, but with a bit of pumpkin flavor. Also, next time I make the regular version, I will try it out with brown sugar. It might help bring out more of the pumpkin flavor.

Sour Cream Cheesecake

So I finally found our proper cheesecake bake-ware. In my previous posts, I've been baking my cheesecakes in a pyrex pie pan. However, I couldn't find it this time and in my search, I found something better - actual cheesecake-ware. Although, it will still suck when I want to make a pie and still can't find our pie pan...

Going back to the sour cream cheesecake, which is Alton Brown's recipe, I've altered it a bit so it's more keto friendly (just changed the graham crackers crust to coconut flour crust and sugar to splenda).

To make the CRUST, you'll need the following: 1/4 cup butter (room temp works better to mix), 1 egg, 1/8 tsp sea salt, and 1/4 cup + 2 tbs coconut flour.

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Mix the butter, egg and salt in a mixer (or by hand. I just got married and received a mixer as a wedding gift. hooray!)
3. Incorporate the flour and mix well.
4. Then place in your pie-ware and press down until the bottom is covered. See below:

5. Poke holes in the crust.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until done. Then lower the heat to 270°F.

To make the FILLING, you'll need the following: 1-1/4 cups sour cream, 20 oz cream cheese, 3/4 cup splenda, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 3 yolks, and 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream.

1. Preheat oven to 270°F. Prepare a water bath and let sit in the oven. (A water bath is just a bigger shallow pan that'll hold water and your uncooked pie.)
2. In a mixer, beat the sour cream for 10 seconds.
3. Then add the cream cheese and beat again. Add the sugar and beat til everything is well incorporated. Be sure to scrape the bowl.

4. In a mixing bowl, combine the eggs, yolks, heavy whipping cream and vanilla extract.

5. Pour #4 into your sour cream cream cheese mixture. When half is incorporated, stop and scrape the bowl. Then continue to completely incorporate the ingredients.
6. Pour your mixture into your cooled coconut crust. Then place in the water bath and let bake for 1 hour.

7. Turn off the oven and leave the door open for 1 minute. Then close the door and let sit for another hour. Then refrigerate for 6 hours to completely cool before serving.

I ended up taking a slice before the 6 hours of refrigeration was over and it's pretty tasty if you don't mind the splenda taste. I've got to make a version with regular sugar! Also, it wasn't set yet so it's probably better to wait until after the 6 hours are done.

These are useful to have:

KitchenAid Artisan Stand Mixer KSM150PS - White - KitchenAid Artisan (Google Affiliate Ad)

Oxo Good Grips 3-Pc. Silicone Spatula Set (Google Affiliate Ad)

Fat Daddio's Round Cheesecake Pans, 9"x2" (Google Affiliate Ad)

Cheesecakes

This one is the keto friendly cheesecake. Go here for the recipe and times the filling by 3 if you want a whole 9" cheesecake pie. I'd keep the crust recipe the same since hubster said it was kinda thick.

This one is plain cheesecake made with good ole white granulated sugar. Go here for the recipe. This one was smaller because I ran out of cream cheese from a 5lb tub we got at Smart and Final. I can't believe I actually bought a 5lb tub of cream cheese.... but the cheesecakes sure were delicious!

Here are some pictures of the cheesecakes:

Or if you don't bother with baking, you could just buy one... or two: New York Cheesecake, Set of 6 (Google Affiliate Ad)

Deconstructed Burger & Fudge Brownie

It's like an open burger without the buns plus rice for my daddie (he's from hawaii). :)

Also, it's my daddie's bday today so no leftover foods today!

Except for the cheesecake.... but that's like crazy yumminess so it's ok. Plus a freshly baked batch of brownies for my da.... it's also one of his favs.

Brownie recipe:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, 1 to 1-1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, just under 1 cup of granulated white sugar, 2 eggs, 1tsp vanilla extract, 2/3 cup flour

1. You could either grease your pan or use parchment paper

2. Melt butter and chocolate over low heat in a double boiler OR nuke 30sec in microwave a few times. Careful not to over heat it! You just might burn your chocolate...

3. Once melted, off the heat, stir in the sugar.

4. Stir in the eggs and vanilla

5. And lastly, stir in the flour

Bake in preheated oven of 350F for approx 40 minutes or until done. It's really great to eat once it's pulled out of the oven. But once it's cooled completely and then refrigerated, it's hard as rock because all the chocolate hardened so you wanna plop it in the microwave and warm it up again. Also, it's best to precut the slices you want.

AD: Norpro Unbleached Parchment Paper - One (Google Affiliate Ad)

AD: Tri-Ply Stainless Steel Double Boiler, 2 quart - 2 Quart (Google Affiliate Ad)

Cheesecake

This cheesecake is NOT keto-friendly because I used actual granulated sugar.

Essentially, it's the same recipe as the keto version though.

Coconut Crust: 1/2 cup room temp butter, 2 eggs, 1/4 tsp sea salt, 3/4 cup coconut flour. Mix the first three ingredients then add the coconut flour in stages. Once everything is well incorporated, pour it into your pie-ware. (I used a 9in glass pie pan). I pounded the crust down with my fist for a nice good crust. Poke holes with a fork. Place in preheated oven of 400 degrees F for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 325 degrees F for the cheesecake to cook.

Cheesecake filling ingredients: 24oz cream cheese, 4 eggs, 1-1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1-1/2 tsp lemon juice, 1/2 cup granulated white sugar. 

Cheesecake filling instructions: Beat cream cheese until creamy (I did this by hand for about 2 minutes but it sure would've been handy to have this: Cuisinart Power Advantage 5-Speed Black Hand Mixer - HM50BK (Google Affiliate Ad)). Then add the eggs and beat until well mixed. Add the vanilla extract, the lemon juice and the sugar. Mix well. Then pour into your crust.

Your oven should already be pre-heated to 325 degrees F. Place your uncooked cheesecake mixture and cook for an hour. Check for done-ness via the toothpick method (needs to pull out cleanly from the center).

Eat chilled with a bit of whipped cream equals major kick ass delicious-ness that satisfies the sweet tooth really well.

ps: I did make another keto one for the hubster so he can enjoy this as well. ;)

Keto-friendly Cheesecake

If you're on a keto diet, you must be really missing out on some sweet stuff. That was my poor fiance until I found a keto friendly cheesecake for him! This was a small batch that I wanted to try out first and it came out wonderfully!

FYI: I made a coconut crust because I didn't have flax or almond meal.

Coconut Crust: 1/4 cup room temp butter, 1 egg, 1/8 tsp sea salt, 1/4+1/8 cup coconut flour. Mix the first three ingredients then add the coconut flour in stages. Once everything is well incorporated, pour it into your pie-ware. I just pounded it down with my fist since cheesecakes don't normally have a side crust. Poke holes with a fork. Place in preheated oven of 400 degrees F for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling...

Cheesecake filling ingredients: 8oz cream cheese, 1 egg, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp lemon juice, 2 tbs splenda. 

Cheesecake filling instructions: Beat cream cheese until creamy (I did this by hand for about 2 minutes). Then add the egg and beat until well mixed. Add the vanilla extract or your keto friendly substitute and the lemon juice and the splenda. Mix again. Then pour into your crust.

Once you've pulled out your crust, lower your oven to 325 degrees F. Place your uncooked cheesecake and cook for an hour. Check for done-ness via the toothpick method (needs to pull out cleanly from the center)

Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.

It totally hit the spot for my hubby. Now I need to make a bigger batch for him...

PS: For a no brown top cheesecake, it needs to cook at a lower temperature (300F) but for a longer time (60-120 minutes) I just didn't want to wait that long.

PSS: Since I'm not on the keto diet and I strongly dislike the splenda aftertaste, I'm totally going to make another pie using regular sugar!






Johnson & Johnson JOJ200025 Splenda Sugar Substitute- 1.0g- (Google Affiliate Ad)