Low Carb Blueberry Cheesecake

I'm not a low carber, but I have friends that are and I don't like to leave people out when I cook. While not induction friendly, the use of Splenda definitely cuts some calories and brings the net carbs to under 25 grams per serving. Not bad for a slice of cheesecake!

I'm sure there are many, many technical flaws in this, but I don't care. It's yummy and easy.

If you only use half of the blueberry swirl, it cuts the net carbs down to 14 grams per serving. You could cut it even more by using regular splenda instead of the brown sugar blend in the crust, but I think it tastes better with the brown. This IS a treat, after all!

If you want to cut more calories, you can use low fat ricotta and cream cheese, but your carbs will go up. So, pick your poison. I personally prefer the taste and texture of full fat (and real sugar, but today is not the day).

You'll need a food processor for the crust and filling and a 9-inch square pan lined in foil. I blended the blueberries with an immersion blender.

You can also add some lemon juice to the blueberries if you want to brighten up the flavor a little. To the filling, too! Just do it to taste!

Makes 9 servings.

Crust

5 tablespoons butter, melted

1 cup sliced almonds

2 tablespoons flax seed

1 tablespoon splenda brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch fresh nutmeg

Pinch salt

Blueberry swirl

2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup water

2-4 tablespoons splenda, depending on taste and sweetness of the fruit

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

Pinch fresh nutmeg 

Filling

2, 8oz blocks of cream cheese

1 15oz tub of ricotta

3 whole eggs

1/3 cup Splenda

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

fresh nutmeg to taste

Method

1. Line a 9-inch square baking dish with foil. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Combine all the ingredients for the crust into a food processor and pulse until it's finely chopped and blended, but not a paste.
3. Spread crust onto the bottom of the pan, being careful to not have any holes.
4. Bake crust for 8-10 minutes and allow to cool. Turn oven to 350.
5. Combine all ingredients for the swirl in a small saucepan and cook until the berries are tender. Blend if desired. Allow to cool to room temp.
6. Combine all ingredients for the filling in a mixer or food processor until smooth. Pour over cooled crust and spread.
7. Pour cooled blueberry swirl over filling. With a butter knife or spatula, gently swirl the filling and blueberry swirl together. 
8. Bake for 10 minutes in a water bath*, then turn temp down to 350F and bake for another 45-75 min or until set (the middle of the cheesecake will have a slight jell-o jiggle to it).
9. Cool to room temp and chill for at least an hour.

Here are the screenshots from my recipe entries on MyFitnessPal.com. The top one is with half the blueberries.

 

* If you've never done a water bath, it's very easy. You're going to place the pan with the cheesecake inside a larger pan and fill the larger pan with an inch of water, being careful to not get any water in the cheesecake. The water bath is an important step with baked goods like cheesecake because it keeps the top from drying out and cracking. When you're done baking, just take the smaller pan out of the water and let the pan with the water cool in the oven.