No sugar added pie cherries FTW
Cheesecake. It’s been the one dessert that’s so decadent that I seek it wherever I go. Around my house, cheesecake is the birthday cake of champions. Even in its natural state, it’s worth the carbohydrates, but sometimes it’s worth the effort to bring it into your lifestyle, just because you love it that much.
Hence the Ultimate Cheesecake. My favorite cheesecake in the entire world, this recipe is the process of two years of blood, sweat, flops, flop sweat and tears. Salty salty tears.
You might likely say, “But. But. But. Sugar alcohols? In thy cheesecake?” To which I answer, Absostinkinlutely! followed by I wouldn’t use something I hadn’t tried out extensively on my own and wasn’t 100% comfortable with.
Erythritol and Xylitol have proven themselves to not only not cause stomach discomfort, cravings and other problems, they’ve behaved in a way which the stevia didn’t, tasting much better than the sucralose and flavored syrups ever could. The two products can be found in numerous gums and organic food items, and as the world’s greatest skeptic, it’s worth putting aside concerns and going for it.
That said, this is it. It’s the cheesecake of my dreams, hopes and desires, and at only 3.5 effective net carbohydrates, it’s worth spending the carbs on.
The nut crust is remarkable. You might ask why three kinds of nuts? I wanted a nut crust that had the same kind of flavor base and an acceptable texture to graham crackers. The macadamias lend a fatty, earthy flavor; the almonds add the oomph, and the cashews add the sweet.
This recipe is not Atkins induction friendly due to the nut crust and the amount of sour cream. This recipe is gluten free.
Cleochatra’s Ultimate Cheesecake
5 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup erythritol
1/2 cup xylitol
3 eggs
½ cup sour cream
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
For the crust
1/3 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup cashews
1/3 cup almonds
2 Tbsp erythritol
¼ cup butter, melted.
Making the crust:
Process nuts together until resembling coarse crushed graham crackers. Mix flour, butter and erythritol. Press in bottom of a 9” springform pan. Place in fridge.
Making the Filling:
Heat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a mixer, beat cream cheese with erythritol and xylitol on medium for about one minute. On low, add eggs, one at a time, until just blended. Finally, add sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla and beat just until blended (10-30 seconds).
Pour into crust. Bake until set, 1 hour 15 minutes-90 minutes. Cool on rack for 15 minutes before moving to chill in the refrigerator.
Makes 16 servings.
Nutritional Information for one serving: Calories: 351, Carbohydrates: 29g, Fiber: 2g, Sugar Alcohols: 21g, Net Carbs: 6g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 8g
Please do not copy this recipe to other websites. Link back to keep me from competing with my own recipes.
Hi Cleo, i was on LCF with you years ago. It the crust you mention flour, but i don’t see it in the ingredients can you let us know what is needed. Thankyou Goddess of OOpsie
Hey, Miss Michelle! The flour is almond flour. I tend to grind my own. For some flours I’ll process more than one nut type for a more rich, less almond flavor. I think almond can be too too, so sometimes I’ll blend in some macadamia and some pecan, as an example. Let me know if that helps or doesn’t.
What do you use to grind your own nuts into flour?
Hi, Erica. I use my Ninja Kitchenmaster Prep to turn nuts into a coarse meal. It happens pretty quickly, so just a few pulses and you’re perfect! Another option would be to chop the nuts, pop them into a bag and then have at them a few times with a meat mallet.
Hi, Cleo – this cheesecake looks scrumptious. But is it really only 73 cals. per serving?
Hey hey, Traceygirl! No 75 calories is not correct. I must have been smoking crack when I ran those caloric numbers. The cream cheese alone in that recipe is worth 250 calories per slice. I’m changing the numbers to reflect 351 calories per slice and three added carbs. Thank you for asking or I wouldn’t have rechecked those numbers.
I would love to make this. Knowing about your feelings about Stevia, I am going to ask anyway, Would it be possible to substitute Stevia or will it mess with the bulk of the cheese cake. I use liquid Stevia. Thanks, and you are awesome!!!
Hi, Jennifer. I haven’t personally been happy with stevia as the sole sweetener for cheesecake. I would combine it with something else.
So, I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving, with the cranberry filling/topping from your pumpkin cheesecake. I have erythritol, but the only xylitol I have is Ideal Brown – which I’m thinking might be a bad idea in a white cheesecake. I have Splenda, EZsweetz, Swerve, ZSweet, and stevia glycerite, as well as both powdered and granular erythritol. Which can I sub for the xylitol? I’m new to the non-splenda sweeteners, I don’t know which work best in cheesecake. Thank you!!
Hi, Mary Anna! I think you could use a combination of 1/2 Splenda and 1/2 Ideal Brown in place of the sweetener. To me, the erythritol tends to have a major cooling effect, which might not work well with the Splenda. And mixing the Splenda with the Brown will calm the molasses aspect of the brown down, while still delivering the nice “sweet” of the xylitol.
So, wait, I’m confused. The recipe calls for a cup of erythritol, and half a cup of the xylitol. Am I subbing the splenda/ideal brown for the xylitol, or for both? (and if both is the case, do i use 3/4 cup of each?) Sorry, my brain is slow tonight.
I’d use 3/4 of each, yes!
So will this not work if I just use splenda instead of sugar alcohols? I’m new to Atkins
Hi there! You can use the bagged Splenda that measures the same as the sugar alcohols, absolutely!
Thank you! Will it affect the taste terribly?
If you prefer the sweetener, that’s what I’d pick. As an example, I can’t stand the taste of sucralose on its own; but when it’s combined with xylitol, I’m all in. In fact, that’s my favorite combination. I am always trying to convince others to use the sweeteners you like the taste of, or you’re not going to enjoy the flavor of your desserts.
I wound up using straight splenda, and it was great – totally the hit of Thanksgiving. Have had multiple requests to make more – guess what I’m doing this week!
That sounds SO delicious. Peppermint. Mmmmm…. You know, you could set aside a bit of the cream cheese mixture, put some peppermint oil and red food coloring in it and then swirl it back into the main cake, too. I love the idea of adding crushed candycane on top–of a ganache, or sprinkled over fresh, whipped cream…
Now I want to make more cheesecakes!
Help! Ive made this cheesecake and i adore it. But it makes too. Much. Cheesecake. I know, blasphemy, but i live alone, and i cant eat it all. I want to make a smaller recipe, but not sure how to cut this down. Have u developed a smaller batch recipe? My best guess is everything in thirds, so i only use one egg. Cleochatra, youre my only hope!
Hey there! You could make a smaller batch. You could even bake these into cupcake liners and freeze the extra portions! 🙂
Where can I buy thicken thin? I tried to google it and couldn’t find it. One website said manufacturer was out of business. Is there a good alternative?
Hi, Barb! the bad news is you can’t find that product anymore. The good news? You probably never even needed it! Make this recipe without it. I need to amend the recipe to remove it…
Hi there! FANTASTIC recipe! I use Sweet LUV which is a blend of all natural plant based sweeteners and it’s perfect! Delicious recipe, thanks!
You are welcome!!! 🙂
I’m so excited to make this next week! I shall let you know how it turns out 😀