Sugar Free New York Cheesecake
We had a pretty great food day on Father’s Day. Lunch on days like Mother’s or Father’s Day in our house is usually a pretty big affair. Sometimes we’ll head out for a delicious brunch somewhere. But occasionally, you just cannot beat an amazing home-cooked meal. And last Sunday’s was just that. Amazing.
I had promised to make my husband I Quit Sugar’s Dude Food cookbook‘s Ultimate Steak Sandwich. Pan-fried mustard bavette steak (thank you cheap cuts we can actually afford from time to time!), melted cheese, full-fat mayo, lettuce, a fried egg, caramelised red onions, avocado (we didn’t have tomatoes), sourdough bread… Seriously, I could not have dreamed of a more perfect Sunday lunch. And everyone loved it. Kids, hubby, me. It was perfect.
So how on earth could I come up with a pudding good enough to follow it?!
Turns out, I needn’t have worried. Because the dessert I chose to attempt was every bit the star of the show that the steak sandwich was.
My husband loves cheesecake. Especially a baked New York cheesecake. I’ve played with a few cheesecake recipes before, trying to get them low in sugar and still tasty, and they’ve been fairly successful. But this time…well, let’s just say, I won’t be playing around with recipes anymore. If we want a cheesecake, it will be this one.
Because…yum. And double yum. Times a million.
It was a perfect Father’s Day treat. But it is just as good for a celebration, birthday, weekend treat or general indulgence!
If you are not a fan of nuts, you could go with a more traditional cookie base (use these low sugar hobnobs for a low sugar version), but we loved the extra crunch and flavour that came from this base. And you can make the nuts as coarse or fine as you like to suit tastes.
And the best bit about this cheesecake recipe (other than the no added sugar and creamy yumminess factor) is that it is super simple. No water baths, no tin foil around the tin (although I do recommend putting the tin on a lined baking tin when cooking just in case), no cracks, no flour or various creams or unnecessary ingredients. A 4-ingredient filling, 2-ingredient topping, made in minutes. No faff, no extras, no added sugar.
Just pure creamy, fluffy, sweet delicious simplicity.
A delicious, creamy, indulgent dessert that tastes just like an excellent New York cheesecake, but is gluten free, has no added sugar, and is super simple to make - no water baths, excess ingredients or extra effort.
- 125 g (1 cup) mixed nuts
- 25 g (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 tablespoon rice syrup or organic raw honey, optional (you could also sweeten with 2 teaspoon xylitol or 1-2 drops stevia, or skip completely)
- 1 tablespoon cacao powder, optional
- 300 g (10 and 1/2 oz) cream cheese
- 50 g (1/4 cup) xylitol (feel free to use less - this makes a fairly sweet cheesecake, so I would recommend using less if you are happy to)
- 2 medium eggs
- 2 teaspoons sugar free vanilla extract
- 120 g (1/2 cup) sour cream
- seeds scraped from 1 vanilla pod (or 1 teaspoon sugar free vanilla extract)
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Preheat oven to 180C/gas 4. Line a 6" (15cm) loose-based cake tin with baking paper (cut a circle for the base and then a long strip slightly taller than the sides so it's completely lined and sticks out of the top of the tin a little).
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Make the crust by pulsing nuts in a food processor to chop (chunkier will make for a crunchy base, but finer will be more delicate), then pour in melted butter, rice syrup (if using) and cacao powder (if using), and pulse until combined. Pour into the lined cake tin and press into a smooth, even layer along the bottom and slightly up the sides of the tin. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes. Allow to cool while you make the cheesecake.
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Beat together cream cheese and xylitol with a whisk until soft and fluffy. Stir in the eggs, one at a time, mixing between each addition until incorporated. Fold in the vanilla. Pour on top of the base in the cake tin and return to the oven for 45-50 minutes, or until the cheesecake is just set on top, but still has a slight wobble in the centre if you shake the tin gently.
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Mix the sour cream and vanilla and spoon over the top of the cheesecake. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, then allow to cool completely before chilling in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours, or overnight. Remove very carefully from the tin and serve cold on its own or with fresh berries, which cut through the richness. You could also crush some frozen berries and heat until warm to make a coulis for drizzling over.
