Cheesecake Heaven

Today is my mother-in-law's _____ birthday. (Yes, I am smart enough not to post a lady's age!) In my family, a birthday means any meal upon request, so when she asked for "something light" followed by "something decadent," I knew cheesecake had to be on the menu.

We started the meal with lovely little Caprese appetizers consisting of yellow cherry tomatoes sandwiching a square of mozzarella cheese, basil, and hard salami. Drizzled with a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar, these small bites were sweet and addictive. (The boy and I polished off more than our share, I fear!)

While we munched these down, tender Alaskan salmon fillets topped with lemon butter and julienned veggies (bell pepper, red onion, and zucchini) steamed in parchment bags. (Unfortunately, something ran over into the bottom of my oven last night and a little smoke billowed forth unexpectedly, so I had to run the vent while the fish cooked. Yikes!) But all this goodness was only a prelude to the star of the show - Neapolitan Cheesecake!

Since it was a special day, I wanted to make sure the dessert was excellent, so I didn't attempt to make it as carb-free as possible, only to lower the sugar levels to something within reason. (The original cheesecake recipe from Hershey's Chocolate Lover's Cookbook (1991) runs a whopping 51.9 grams of carbohydrates for 1 of 12 portions. My version - which tasted like the real deal - has 18.9 grams for the same portion size (a 64% difference). In an effort to keep the taste, I did not skimp on the chocolate chips or pureed strawberries, but saved most of the carbs by substituting low-carb cookies in the crust and Truvia Baking Blend for the sugar. While this dessert still has too many carbs to eat on a regular basis, it is worth making as a splurge. In addition, I learned that a few strategic substitutions can result in an excellent product that I could serve to any guest on any occasion without throwing my body into sugar shock. (I plan to apply this lesson to chocolate chip cookies once the cheesecake disappears.)


The cheesecake adaptation began with Flourless and Low Sugar Chocolate Shortbread Cookies from Kalyn's Kitchen http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2009/12/recipe-for-flourless-and-low-sugar-or.html. The hubby thought these cookies were great on their own and suggested they'd be good for dunking in coffee or hot tea. They are dark and not particularly sweet, and would make good sandwich cookies with sugar free icing or ice cream in the middle. I briefly contemplated the butter pecan in the fridge, but remembered this batch was dedicated to cheesecake crust, and promptly crushed them all (well - almost all). They went to fine crumbs quickly, and with the addition of melted butter, easily compressed into the bottom of my spring form pan. This substitution (from using vanilla wafers with powdered sugar and cocoa) had the largest impact on the overall carb count. The original chocolate crust accounted for 186.1 grams of carbohydrates while my version added only 38.9 grams to the entire dessert. Though baking my own cookie crust took some time, the result was worth it. Enjoy!

Reduced Carb Neapolitan Cheesecake

Ingredients

• 8 ounces frozen strawberries, defrosted and drained (16.5 g net carbs)
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (72 net carbs)
• 3 8-ounce packages of cream cheese at room temperature (24 net carbs)
• 3/4 cup Truvia Baking Blend (72 net carbs - This is substituted for 1 1/2 cups of sugar worth 302.4 carbs.)
• 3 large eggs (0 net carbs)
• 1/3 cup sour cream (2.66 net carbs)
• 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon almond flour (.08 net carbs - This is substituted for all-purpose flour worth 19.8 net carbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (0 net carbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (0 net carbs)
• 1/4 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
• Chocolate Crumb Crust (38.9 net carbs - I used 22 of the 24 cookies from the Kalyn's Kitchen recipe mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter.)

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Press cookie crumbs mixed with 1/3 cup melted butter into bottom of 9-inch spring form pan.
• Puree strawberries in blender or food processor.
• Melt chocolate chips in the microwave. (Place chips in a small glass dish and microwave on high for 1 minute. Stir until chips are just melted.)
• In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and Truvia Baking Blend until creamy. Add eggs, sour cream, 3 tablespoons almond flour, vanilla, and salt. Beat until smooth.
• In a separate bowl, mix strawberries, 1 teaspoon almond flour, and 1 1/2 cups batter.(Add the food coloring if you plan to use it.)
• Spread 2 cups vanilla batter over cookie crumb crust.
• Add melted chocolate chips to remaining batter and stir well. Carefully spread the chocolate layer over the vanilla batter.
• Finally, top with the strawberry batter. (Any order works, but the strawberry layer is the thinnest and seems to work best on top.)
• Bake 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and continue baking 55-60 minutes until center of cheesecake is almost set.
• Remove to a wire rack and cool 30 minutes.
• With a knife, loosen cake from side of pan. Remove side form.
• Continue cooling to room temperature.
• Cover and refrigerate several hour or overnight.

The carb count for the cheesecake comes to 227.18 with each serving (1/12) at 18.9 net carbs. (The original recipe came to 623.46 net carbs for 51.9 per 1/12 serving.)