Catie's Cheesecake Recipe

  

I am only on my seventh day of the Paleo diet, but from day one I have been plotting and planning how to cater for my infamously sweet tooth. On paging through the Real Meal Revolution cookbook I noticed that certain “sweeteners” are not prohibited. A substance called “xylitol” caught my eye in particular, which though tastes like sugar, looks like sugar and walks like sugar, is not in fact sugar. It is a plant extract which actually helps prevent tooth decay in humans (but be warned, is very poisonous for dogs).

I found a recipe for a cheesecake on “Low-Carb is Lekker.” But either the woman who writes the blog cannot do maths, or is just a terrible cook, because following her instructions resulted in an overly runny mixture drowning in egg. So I made some alterations. See below my recipe, which was completely delicious!

The Crust:

1 Cup almond flour

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons xylitol

Combine all the ingredients, and press into the bottom of a springform pan (this kind of pan is preferable because it makes extracting the cheesecake much easier). Bake for 8-10 minutes at 200 degrees until fragrant and beginning to brown.

Cheesecake filling:

2 Packs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese

2 Cups Sour Cream

4 Eggs

1 ½ Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

7-8 Tablespoons xylitol (depending on how sweet you want it – I suggest tasting the mixture)

1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees

2. In a mixer or processor fluff the cream cheese (Philadelphia is thick so this can seem tricky – particularly because I only had a stick blender)

3. Add eggs one at a time while mixing

4. Add the sour cream, vanilla and xylitol (don’t overwork the mixture)

5. Pour over the crust and bake at 200 degrees for 15 – 20 minutes. Then set to bake at 180 degrees for the rest of the baking time (this should take about an hour, but you will know the cake is ready when the top begins to brown and crack slightly. I suggest doing the knife test though to be sure – stick it in the cake and if it comes out clean its ready)

6. Allow to cool before serving

Note: It is even better the next day after a night in the fridge!

Berry Topping:

1 Cup Mixed Berries (frozen work well)

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Xylitol            

1 Teaspoon Psyllium Husks (as thickener)

In a saucepan stir all the ingredients together on a medium heat, except the husks. Stir in the husks as soon as a syrup has formed.