Cheesecake is one of those desserts that’s far too decadent for me to eat on a regular basis, but every once and a while I just need to have a piece. I actually didn’t eat cheesecake much, if at all, until several years ago when I tried a piece from that oh so popular mall chain with the 5000 page menu. After that, I realized that cheesecake didn’t have to be as dense as a brick and sit in your stomach for what felt like days after consumption, and I started eating indulging more regularly.
This cheesecake was the first I’ve made since going gluten free, and I was somewhat concerned about a replacement for the graham crackers. Gluten free graham cracker recipes exist, but I haven’t tried any and didn’t have the time to experiment. Hey, those cravings don’t like to wait. So, I used my favorite gluten free tart crust recipe and spiced it up with ground cinnamon and ginger. For the filling, I was inspired by Gourmet’s recent recipe for Cannoli Cheesecake and used ricotta in place of sour cream with great results. The texture of the filling was nice, not too heavy, and the crust only got slightly soggy at day four or so.
I went with a simple vanilla flavor for my cheesecake and used one of my favorite ingredients, vanilla bean paste, but this is a very nice base recipe to which you could add really any flavor combo. Next time, I’m going to try a spiced nut crust, which I think will add a nice flavor and texture. My version makes one 7 inch cheesecake, but you can easily double it for a larger size.
makes one 7″ cheesecake
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUST
adapted from adapted from Gluten Free Baking Classics by Annalise Roberts
1 cup all purpose gluten free flour mix (see this recipe)
1/4 cup xylitol (or sugar)
1 tsp. xanthan gum
5 Tbsp. cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
1/8 tsp. kosher salt
FOR THE FILLING
2 8 oz. packages of 1/3 less fat cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. xylitol
1 Tbsp. vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean are excellent, too)
3 eggs
a pinch of kosher salt
Directions
1. For the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 7 inch springform pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine the flour mix, xylitol (or sugar), cinnamon, ginger, salt, and xanthan gum. Add the chilled butter cubes and incorporate with a pastry cutter or your hands until crumbly. Add the vanilla and incorporate thoroughly.
2. Pour the crust dough into your pan (it will still be quite crumbly). Press the dough evenly along the bottom and approximately halfway up the sides of the pan. If needed, use a small glass with a flat bottom to help press the dough into place. Bake for 16-18 minutes, until lightly golden in color. Remove and cool on a rack.
3. Raise oven temperature to 475 degrees F.
4. For the filling: Add cream cheese and ricotta to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Add the salt and xylitol. Continue to beat for 2-3 minutes. One at a time, add the eggs and beat until blended. Add vanilla bean paste and mix well.
5. Fill a saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Wrap the pan containing the cooled crust with aluminum foil, to prevent leakage in the water bath. Place the pan into a larger pan — a roasting pan works well — and pour filling into the springform pan. Place the roasting pan containing the cheesecake on the middle rack of your oven and slowly add the boiling water to the outer pan, filling until the water comes approximately 2/3 of the way up the side of the springform pan.
6. Bake for 8 minutes at 475 degrees F and lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Continue to bake for 30-45 minutes, or until the center is still slightly jiggly but not set. Remove the springform pan from the water bath and cool on a rack. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
Posted in Alternatively Sweetened, Desserts, Food, Gluten Free | 2 Comments »
There is usually sugar in vanilla extracts, and there is a lot of cane sugar in vanilla bean paste. If you have found a brand that doesn’t have sugar, please post it. I have been looking and can’t find any alcohol-free, sugar-free pure vanillas.
posted: March 16th, 2012 at 5:48 pmYou’re right, Laura Lee. Vanilla bean paste and most vanilla extracts do have some sugar, so a vanilla bean is your best bet if you want something that’s 100% sugar free. I’ve also been thinking about trying Singing Dog vanilla; they offer an alcohol free, sugar free vanilla extract. Let me know what you think if you try it out!
posted: March 20th, 2012 at 2:35 pm