Who’s not on a low-carb plan these days? It seems that most of us have finally wised-up and realized the connection between the bad carbs (sugar, white flour, etc) and excess weight—especially in our mid-sections.
If you’re just starting a low-carb plan, make sure you know where this recipe fits. You may need to wait a few weeks to eat things like cheesecake. For me, I cut my carbs without any particular diet plan, so cheesecake fits in from the start. With 3.5 carbs in every slice, this is a little bit of heaven that will get you over the dieting hump and into a healthier you.
For this recipe you’ll need:
4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
1 cup minus 1 TB Splenda brand sweetener
1 TB Splenda brand brown sugar blend (1/2 Splenda ½ brown sugar)
¾ cup heavy cream
4 large eggs
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup smooth peanut butter
1 TB no sugar added Pure Vanilla Extract
Topping:
1 cup sour cream
3 TB Splenda
1 tsp. no sugar added Pure Vanilla Extract
To make this recipe:
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese and the sugar. Add cream and then the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between additions. Add the sour cream, vanilla extract, and peanut butter. Beat on high just until smooth.
Grease a 9-inch round springform pan with butter. Wrap the bottom of the pan in two layers of aluminum foil. Pour the mixture into the springform pan. Place the pan into a roasting pan and place it in the oven (or any pan large enough to hold it) then add approximately 1-inch of boiling water to the pan (NOT the cheesecake pan). This will prevent cracking.
Bake uncovered for 55 minutes.
While the cheesecake is baking, in a small bowl, combine 1 cup sour cream, 3 TB Splenda, and 1 tsp. vanilla extract. After the cheesecake has baked for 55 minutes, carefully spread the sour cream mixture on top of the cheesecake using the back of a spoon. Bake for another 10 minutes. Turn off the oven and run a butter knife around the cheesecake. Allow the cheesecake to sit in the oven for at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours. Remove it from the oven and remove the aluminum foil. Cover the top and place in the refrigerator to chill for several hours or overnight.
To serve, run a butter knife around the cheesecake to loosen it. Loosen the pan. Cut the cheesecake into 16 pieces (or 8 very large pieces—you’ll have 7-8 carbs per piece).
For 2 extra carbs, you can top your cheesecake slice with 1 TB of Cool Whip—yum.
If you can find brown sugar substitute, you may use that instead of regular Splenda. You may also omit the brown sugar blend and just use the Splenda, reducing your carb count by 12!