Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake (GF, SF, LC)

I decided to do a post on this cheesecake after sharing it on my FB page. It’s fairly easy to make and is always a hit. Since we are doing the ketogenic diet, I have to freeze stuff like this in portions. That way we are able to exercise portion control. To freeze in portions, I cut into 16 pieces, then freeze. When frozen, I wrap individually in wax paper or foil and place pieces inside a baggie, then place in freezer. To serve, remove from freezer and let thaw 30 minutes. (Or place in refrigerator overnight to thaw). This is very similar to my GF Low Carb Cheesecake recipe, with just a few changes.

PEANUT BUTTER CUP CHEESECAKE
gluten-free, sugar-free, low carb, serves 16

Crust

1 1/2 cups almond flour (can sub 1/2 cup with ground chia)
3 Tbls softened butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbs LC-Sweet (or sweetener of choice)

Preheat oven to 350^o. Butter a 9″ springform pan. Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl or food processor, then add butter till combined. Place almond mixture in pan and spread across the bottom and up the sides as well as you can. Like so:

Bake for 8-10 minutes, watching carefully that you remove just as it begins to brown. Remove and set aside. Lower oven temp to 325^o.

Cheesecake Filling

3 (8 0z) packages of cream cheese, softened
2 cups plain, mild yogurt (I used Greek)
3 large eggs + 1 yolk
2 tsp vanilla
2/3 cup LC-Sweet (or sweetener of choice)
Stevia to taste
3/4 cup sugar-free peanut butter (or almond butter)
2 Tbsp + cocoa powder to taste (or 3 squares melted low-sugar chocolate bar)

Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy, but keep your mixer speed relatively low. Slowly add sweetener and stevia (if using) and continue beating till creamy.

Add eggs one at a time, incorporating after each addition. Add vanilla and yogurt and mix just till well blended. (Don’t overmix) Adjust sweetness as necessary.

Separate filling into 2 equal parts. In one part add peanut butter and mix well.

In the other part, add the cocoa powder and mix well. (No picture of this step)

Wrap outside of springform pan (with crust) well with foil wrap (heavy duty is best). Make sure this is done in one large piece to keep water out (or refer to my other cheesecake post for how to wrap with smaller pieces) Pour 1/2 of chocolate mixture into bottom of crust.

Carefully spoon peanut butter filling onto chocolate filling, taking care not to let chocolate filling show through. Repeat to top peanut butter filling with remaining chocolate filling.

Place cheesecake onto another pan with sides (my broiler pan bottom works well for this) and place into oven. Carefully pour 2-3 cups very hot water into outer pan.

Bake at 325⁰ for 1 hour. At end of hour, turn oven off and leave cheesecake in oven for 1 more hour. At no time open the oven door. When second hour is up, remove cheesecake from oven, remove foil, and refrigerate till completely cooled. Remove springform sides and serve.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays real food blog carnival.

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