It is our 9th wedding anniversary today on August 11th, so I wanted to make Craig's favorite dessert...Vanilla Bean Cheesecake! I brought this to a gathering with family and friends and everyone loved it. No one knew it was "healthified!"
CRUST:1 1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1 cup coconut oil or butter
1 cup Swerve (or erythritol)
2 tsp stevia glycerite
1 tsp Celtic sea salt
(UPDATE: This makes a very thick crust! In the future, I would do 1/2 the batch and add one egg to the dough. This makes for a better crust that isn't so thick)
FILLING:
6 (8 oz) packages of cream cheese
3 eggs
3/4 cup Swerve
1 vanilla bean
Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix the "crust" ingredients and then press into bottom of spring-form pan.
Cut a vanilla bean open through the middle and scrape the beans out of the inside with a sharp knife.
Optional: in a coffee grinder, blend Swerve until a fine powder. This creates a smoother cheesecake. Mix cream cheese, sweetener, vanilla bean with an electric mixer until blended. Add eggs one at a time, mixing on low after each, just until blended. Pour over crust. I use a water bath to create a more even baking process. To prevent water from seeping into the removable bottom of the springform pan, wrap aluminum foil completely around the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan. Place the cheesecake into a jellyroll pan (or any baking pan with sides) and place the pans into the oven. Use a teakettle to fill the outer pan with hot water. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes to 1 hour and 10 minutes or until center is almost set.
Run knife around the rim of the pan to loosen cake and allow to cool before removing the spring-form pan ring. Refrigerate overnight. We cut the cheesecake into 18 pieces, which were so satisfying!
NUTRITIONAL COMPARISON (per serving)
Cheesecake Factory Vanilla Bean = 869 calories, 72 carbs, 1 fiber, 3 protein
"Healthified" Cheesecake = 407 calories, 4.8 carbs, 1.2 fiber, 3 protein
Hey Maria, I just made this, and it seems the ratio of cream cheese to eggs is VERY off. My cheesecake is very eggy, hardly cheesy at all!
ReplyDeleteDid you use six 8oz packages of cream cheese? :)
DeleteI clarified it in the ingredients. :)
Deleteoh my! I thought it meant use 6-8 ounces
ReplyDeleteI thought the same thing...6 to 8 oz. of cream cheese
DeleteMaria - Thank you so much for all of your info and recipes! I have been learning about the healthier way of eating and low carb - no processed food - for about 4 months now. I'm obvoiusly loving the change my body has gone through in this short time. Anyway, this recipe is my most favorite thing. The crust - I could go with just eating that! Delicious! Helps the cravings for salty and sweet at the same time. Thanks again so much for sharing all of your knowledge! Its so helpful to get the reasoning behind the change of ingredients in your posts! I look forward to each post so I can see whats new to learn from you!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the kind words! :)
DeleteMaria~
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this recipe! I have been living and learning about the low carb and healthier non-processed way of eating for about 4 months and your posts have helped me in so many ways. This cheesecake is delicious! It helps so much with my cravings of sweet and salty! What about peanut butter on this? As I said above - I am still learning about this way of eating - is an all natural peanut butter an okay topping?
Yes, that would be great as long as it is an all natural peanut butter (the kind that the oils separates to the top on the shelf and you have to stur it up) which means no hydrogenated oils. Like this one: http://astore.amazon.com/marisnutran05-20/detail/B000QX958O
DeleteWhat is in "swerve"
ReplyDeleteHere is a description. :) http://www.swervesweetener.com/about
DeleteWould unblanched almond flour be ok? I just bought some (never have used tried it). Do you always use blanched?
ReplyDeleteI always use blanched as it give results similar to regular flour. Unblanched will still work, the texture may be different through. :)
DeleteThis may be a silly question but, do I use the vanilla bean or the seeds? Also I wanted to make this today and would have to order the Swerve online since no stores carry it here, can I substitute Xyla (xylitol) instead?
ReplyDeleteYou scrape the seeds out and use them. You can discard the bean. Xylitol will work, but it does have a few more calories. :)
DeleteThank You:)
DeleteMaria,
ReplyDeleteI am trying to avoid dairy, but love cheesecakes...how to substitute cream cheese, any recipes ? thanks
Ok two questions! :)
ReplyDeleteIf I use swerve in the crust, do I still need the stevia?
Second, instead of blending the swerve to a fine powder, would it be the same using swerve confectioners sugar instead?
Thank you!
You can omit it if you like. I sometimes find a combination works better, but some people like their baked good less sweet. Yes, you can use Swerve Confectioners instead. :)
DeleteI have a question about Swerve. I used it to make lemon curd, lots of egg yolks and lemon juice in it of course. It came out great but after a couple days in the refrigerator the swerve turned into hard little crystal chunks!! So a bite of lemon curd was very crunchy and weird. Why does that happen and why would it not happen in this cheesecake?
ReplyDeleteErythritol has a tendency to crystallize so since the curb is liquid, it had a chance to re-crystallize in the fridge. In the cheesecake it is a solid so it can't do that. So it is probably a good tip to eat things that are liquid the same day. :)
DeleteOk, that makes sense. Thanks, Maria :-)
DeleteHi Maria, I hate to be a pain in the neck .. but when you give these wonderful recipes, could you give a nut-free alternative too? My family has nut allergies and I know that substituting coconut flour or flaxmeal can change the outcome if used in the exact measurements as the almond flour.
ReplyDeleteJust a suggestion, no criticism intended. These allergies are so inconvenient, but also life threatening.
Thank you
warm quilt hugs, sue in CA
Hi, on my newer recipes I always try to have a coconut flour option but I didn't do that on older recipes like this. Sorry. :)
DeleteI wanted to thank you for this recipe, Maria. My husband's favorite dessert is cheesecake, and he fancies himself an "expert". So for our 35th anniversary yesterday, I made him your Vanilla Bean cheesecake... it turned out wonderful!
ReplyDeleteI made it Saturday (so it could "ripen" overnight) and he kept protesting: but I NEVER use 6 packages of cream cheese in one recipe; but you're supposed to turn down the oven after the first 15 minutes; but I put the water in a separate pan underneath... on and on. Too funny!
Yet... at the first bite, his eyes lit up, and he admitted he LOVED it. :-D
Thank you!
Awesome! Thanks for writing! :)
DeleteYuuuum! Feeling a cheesecake thing tonight!! The only thing I have in the fridge is philaedelphia, some goats cheese and a tub of cottage cheeese.. will any of these do? I also have some cherry juice.. and coffee.. and just two xylitol packets left (gotta get some swerve next! hope I can find this in a store in Canada here..?). What can I concoct? :)
ReplyDeleteThe Philadelphia cream cheese will work great. You could try cutting the recipe down and making it in a small dish or ramekin. With only 2 packets of sweetener it wouldn't be sweet enough for a whole recipe. :)
DeleteI made this cheesecake over the weekend, my picky daughter even loved it! I don't use alot of coconut flour, but it was really nice in the crust! I thought I would not be able to have crust withe a cheesecake!! And it was also the first time using Swerve! I'm hooked!! This is beautiful! I'm bringing it to my family's for Thanksgiving!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Glad you liked it. :)
DeleteHi Maria, if I were to use organic cane sugar, would I use the same amount as swerve?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
Hi! Swerve measures one for one with sugar but I wouldn't consider it a "Healthified" dessert with cane sugar. :)
DeleteProbably a little bit too late to ask, since the cheesecake is in the oven, but what size springform pan do you use? I used a 9.5 inch pan and the crust seemed a bit thick. We can't wait to taste it tomorrow!!
ReplyDeleteThat is what I used. I like my crust thick. :) Happy Thanksgiving! :)
DeleteHi: I realized that with all the craziness of Thanksgiving I didn't thank you for your great recipes and for getting back to me so quickly!! This cheesecake is a winner!! I have made it three times now and everyone loves it!! I have cut the crust recipe in half, since we like the crust a little thinner. I have also found that if I leave the cream cheese out of the refrigerator for about an hour before making the cheesecake, it blends easier with the eggs and the the cheesecake results in a taller, fluffier cheesecake. Love it!!
ReplyDeleteAwesome! Glad you liked it. Thank you! :)
DeleteThis was amazing! Totally made our New Years Eve!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Happy New Years!
DeleteMade this for Easter dinner tonight.. EVERYBODY (diabetics, low-carbers, and normal eaters) LOVED IT!!! I have also found the crust recipe I will now use for every cheesecake, pumpkin pie, etc.. DELISH!
ReplyDeleteMaria, thank you for a WONDERFUL dessert that everyone could enjoy equally!
Awesome! Thank you! :)
DeleteOne of the best crusts ever! Loved it!
ReplyDeleteThank you! :)
Delete