Friday, June 17, 2011

Low Carb Cheesecake w/Chocolate Ganache

Low Carb Almond Flour Crust:
1 1/2 C Almond Flour
1 Tbsp Whey Protein Powder
3 Tbsp Water
4 tsp Olive Oil

Mix together dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix. The dough should not be too dry or too sticky, if so add more water or almond flour as needed.  Press into a greased pie pan with your fingers.  If you need to dip your fingers in ice water to keep the dough from sticking.  Use a fork to press the edges as shown below.


Bake @350°F for 15-20 min.  Cover the edges of the pie with aluminum foil until the last 5 minutes to keep the edges from burning.  The finished crust should be nicely browned and fragrant of toasted almonds.


Filling:
16 oz Cream Cheese, softened
1/2 C Sour Cream
1/2 C Yogurt
5 Packets Splenda
1 Tbsp Truvia
3 Eggs
1/3 C Butter - melted
1 Tbsp Vanilla

Whip cream cheese, sour cream, and yogurt in your mixer until smooth.  Beat in eggs one at a time.  Add butter vanilla, and sweetener and mix until blended smooth.  Pour filling into the pie crust and bake @350°F for 35 to 45 minutes.  The most difficult part was trying to tell when it was done.  I consulted several websites and I am still a bit confused.  I checked my cheesecake after 35 minutes and it was still very wobbly in the center but starting to brown.  After 45 minutes it was still a little wobbly but browned nicely on top so I took it out.  It apparently finished cooking as I let it cool on the counter because it firmed up nicely.  After it coold down a bit, place the cheesecake in the refridgerator for 1-2 hours.  Note, the cheesecake puffs up very high and I was worried that I would end up with a huge mound, but as it cooled it fell back down to perfectly fill the crust and leave just enough room for the ganach topping. 

Mint Chocolate Ganache:
1/2 C Half & Half
1/4 C Yogurt
1 C Unsweetened Carob Chips
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
1/4 tsp Peppermint Extract

In a saucepan add half & half and yogurt and heat over low heat to just below a simmer.  Add extract, carob chips and cocoa powder and mix until melted.  Set aside and let cool for about 5 minutes.  Don't let it cool too long or it will get too sticky to spread.  Pull the cheesecake out of the fridge and pour the ganach topping on top.  Place directly back into the fridge and cool for 1-2 hours.


Sorry couldn't wait to take a picture before we cut out a slice and had a taste.  It was amazing.  Made for a terrific birthday suprise for my wife.


This slice had approximately 6-8 net carbs in which the majority are from the carob chips, but it was well worth it.  You could leave out the ganache and play with other low carb toppings to reduce the carb count if desired.