For those who love the Atkin’s diet but do not want to give up dessert, here is an excellent diet friendly cheesecake recipe to satisfy your cravings while practicing your weight loss plan. Low carb eating contributes to not only weight loss but a healthy lifestyle. As we all know, most of the carbs are in the crust when it comes to cheesecake. This recipe has a unique nut crust and uses splenda in place of sugar to lower the carb count. I found several recipes on the internet that substitute splenda for sugar. I decided to exchange splenda for the sugar in my own regular cheesecake recipe to make it low carb. I also substituted pomegranate jelly for the strawberries or other fruit that is usually used on the topping in many recipes. Then I dropped my regular graham cracker crust and used a nut crust to eliminate the carbs. It is by far the best Atkin friendly type recipe for cheesecake I have ever tasted.
Cheese cake Ingredients:
3-8oz packages of cream cheese
1 1/3 cups Splenda
4eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons lemon juice
16 ounces sour cream
¼ Cup Pomegranate Jelly (will use to form swirls)
Carb Free Crust Ingredients:
2 oz grated walnuts
2 oz grated pecans
1/2 stick butter
2 packet of splenda
Optional garnish:
1 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons sugar substitute
How To Prepare:
Remove cream cheese from the refrigerator, let stand about 20 minutes to soften. On occasion I have softened the cream cheese in the microwave, on high for about 30 seconds.
While cream cheese is softening, prepare the crust. Mix all crust ingredients and press into a 9 inch spring form pan that you have lightly buttered. I have learned to use a nut crust to make this especially Atkins friendly.
Once cream cheese is softened, add eggs one at a time to the cream cheese till blended. Next, add splenda, lemon juice and vanilla. Mix till well blended. Add sour cream and mix well. Pour over the nut crust. Heat the pomegranate jelly in a microwavable dish for about 20 seconds on high. The object is to heat till pourable like syrup. Drop heated jelly by spoonfuls all around on top of the batter. Swirl jelly with a small spatula cutting into the batter with the jelly to form pretty swirls.
Place spring form pan filled with the cheesecake batter into a preheated 325 degree oven on center rack for 1 hour, 10 minutes. You might also want to try a put in an oven proof pan half full of water to add moisture to the oven air while baking. This prevents cheesecake from drying out. When it’s done, I just turn off the oven and leave the cheese cake in the oven with the door open for about an hour or until cooled to room temperature before I put it into the refrigerator for at least 24 hours. This cheesecake is best if made the day before. If you want to put the optional garnish on, just blend all ingredients and spread over the top of the cheesecake after it is completely cooled.
