I came across these two recipes when searching for something to make for me and my boyfriend as a low-carb treat.  I was skeptical, as I always am with low-carb desserts.  They tend to be either great or disastrous.  This was was a TOTAL hit!  We took it over to our friends’ as a dessert and it was devoured in almost one sitting!

One thing I’m going to make different next time though is to macerate the strawberries in some liquor and zest more lemon and orange into the topping.

Oh, and I used the non-water bath method with the pizza stone and it worked great.

Recipe was found on a low carb diet website.

Ingredients:

Cake:

• 3 packages (1 and 1/2 lbs) cream cheese (room temperature)
• 4 eggs (preferably room temperature)
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 Tablespoon) vanilla
• 1 and 1/2 teaspoon (1/2 Tablespoon) lemon juice
• 1 and 1/3 cups sugar equivalent of artificial sweetener
• 1/4 cup sour cream

Crust:

• 1 cup almond meal
• 2 Tablespoon melted butter
• 2 Tablespoon sugar equivalent in artificial sweetener

Instructions:

1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. Tip: If you have bricks or a pizza stone or unglazed ceramic tile*, put them on the lower rack of the oven. This will hold the heat in the oven. This is good for cheesecakes not baked in a water bath. (Well, actually, it’s helpful for any kind of baking, as it keeps the heat in the oven more constant. I keep a pizza stone in the oven most of the time.)
3. Combine ingredients for crust, and press into the bottom of a springform pan. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until fragrant and beginning to brown.
4. Raise oven heat to 400 F, or lower to 350 F if you’re using a water bath (see below).
5. Put cream cheese in mixing bowl, and beat until fluffy. Add other ingredients, scraping the bowl and beaters each time (this is very important), fully incorporating each ingredient. When all ingredients are combined, scrape one more time, beat one more minute, and pour mixture into pan over crust.
6. Instructions for water bath: Wrap the bottom and sides of the springform pan in foil, put it in a baking pan and pour boiling water around the sides. Bake at 350 F for 60 to 90 minutes, checking often. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 F, remove from oven.
7. Instructions for non-water bath: For this method, you start the cake at a high temperature, and it slowly drops. If you have stoneware, bricks, etc, this allows it to happen at a slower rate, and I get better results in less time. Put the cheesecake on a sheet pan in case of drippage. After putting the cheesecake in the oven at 400 F, turn the oven down to 200 F. Bake for 60 to 90 minutes, checking often after an hour. When the cake is firm to touch but slightly soft in the center, or the center reaches 155 F, remove from oven.
8. Chill completely. Top with fruit, if desired, such as Sugar-Free Strawberry Topping.

Makes 16 servings.

Sugar Free Strawberry

Ingredients:

• Fresh Strawberries
• Artificial Sweetener
• Low Carb Strawberry Jam
• Lemon zest and orange zest to taste

Preparation:

1. The amount depends on what you’re using it for. For a cheesecake topping, I use 2-3 cups of strawberries.
2. For each cup of chopped strawberries, sprinkle with one packet of Splenda, and mix in one tablespoon of sugar-free jam.