Keto Chocolate Cheesecake
Velvety smooth meets crisp and crunchy in this rich and dreamy keto chocolate cheesecake with layer after layer of chocolatey heaven.
Ingredients
Crust
- ¼ cup unsalted butter
- ¼ cup whole almonds
- 1 tbsp golden monk fruit / erythritol sweetener
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 cup almond flour
Cheesecake
- 6 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 2 tbsp refined coconut oil
- 3 x 8oz cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup powdered monk fruit / erythritol sweetener
- 3 eggs room temperature
- ¾ cup sour cream room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ tsp sea salt
- 2 tsp instant coffee
Drizzle
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate
- 1 tbsp refined coconut oil
- 4 tsp powdered monk fruit / erythritol sweetener
- 1 pinch sea salt
Optional Garnish
- 1 high quality bar of dark chocolate 75-85%
Instructions
Equipment Needed
- Tin foil
- Deep baking dish that will fit the 8” springform pan inside
- Spray oil
- Microwave safe bowl
- Stand mixer with paddle attachment or Large bowl with Hand mixer
- Spatula
- Kettle
Directions
Crust
- Turn the oven on to 350° and move the rack to the center of the oven. Place an 8" springform pan in the center of a piece of heavy duty tin foil and fold it up, as high up the sides of the pan as it can go, being sure there are no cracks lower down. The cheesecake will be baked in a water bath so we need to make sure the water can't get inside the pan. Coat the inside of the springform with spray oil.
- Melt the unsalted butter and then mince the almonds into a fine crumble. Whisk the sweetener, cinnamon, salt and cocoa powder into the melted butter, stir in the almond crumble and then the almond flour. Stir until well combined and then press evenly into the bottom of the springform pan.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 10 minutes and then set aside to cool.
Cheesecake
- Chop up the unsweetened chocolate into a fine crumble and add it to a microwaveable bowl with the refined coconut oil. Melt in the microwave at 40% power until fully melted and no chunks remain. Alternately they can be melted in the top of a double boiler. Set aside for now.
- Cream the softened cream cheese until smooth using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. Blend in the powdered sweetener until fully combined and then scrape the bowl. Mix in the eggs, one at a time and then the sour cream, scraping down to the bottom of the bowl often, but do not over mix the batter. Stir in the vanilla, cocoa powder, salt and instant coffee.
- With the mixer on low, slowly drizzle in the melted chocolate until it has all been incorporated into the batter. Scrape the bowl, give it one last stir to ensure it has been evenly mixed in, and then scrape out batter into the springform pan, overtop of the crust.
- Using a spatula, spread the batter down into the pan. Try not to capture any air underneath as the batter is spread down into the pan. Smooth the top evenly.
Bake it
- Bring a kettle of water to a boil and place the springform pan inside the deep baking dish. Pour about an inch of boiling water inside the baking dish, carefully, so that no water splatters on the cheesecake. Be sure the water can't get inside the tin foil - if you were only able to get the tin foil 1" up the side of the springform, then only pour in ½ " of water.
- Place the whole baking dish inside the oven, on the center rack, and bake for 45 minutes. Turn the oven off and keep it propped open slightly with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to sit inside the warm oven for 1 hour. Remove the cheesecake from the oven and allow to cool at room temperature for an hour or two, and then place in the refrigerator, unwrapped, for several hours to overnight.
Drizzle
- Wait until just before serving to make the chocolate drizzle because it will harden and be unusable after about 30-45 minutes.
- Chop the unsweetened chocolate into a fine crumble and melt in the microwave with the refined coconut oil on 40% power until fully melted. Alternately they can be melted in the top of a double boiler. Whisk in the sea salt and powdered sweetener.
- Remove the sides of the springform pan and place the cheesecake on a serving tray. Using a spoon, drizzle the melted chocolate all over the top of the cheesecake - it should harden almost immediately. Slice the cheesecake into 12 slices and serve with any leftover chocolate drizzle.
Optional Garnish
- So beautiful, I love to garnish this Keto Chocolate Cheesecake with chocolate shavings. It's easy to do if you have a microwave. Unwrap the chocolate bar and microwave it on 40% power until it has become soft. Use a vegetable peeler to peel the sides of the bar to create beautiful shavings. Keep the shavings in the refrigerator until ready to garnish your cheesecake!
Notes
Tips & Tricks
- It is important to start with room temperature ingredients. Each ingredient will blend easier together, which means less mixing time, so less air bubbles in the cheesecake. Also, if the cheesecake batter is too cold, the melted chocolate could seize when poured in, which we do not want!
- Be sure to chop the almonds fine enough for the crust to create the perfect amount of crunch.
- Melt the chocolate slowly, otherwise the chocolate could burn and be ruined. This is why I melt it on 40% power and stir often.
- It is important to scrape all the way down to the bottom of the bowl to ensure nothing is stuck at the bottom. This could cause clumps and mess with the colour of the cheesecake.
- Do not over mix the batter. We want the least amount of air as possible to avoid cracks. This is also why we need to be careful when smoothing the batter down onto the crust. Try not to trap any air underneath.
- Any leftover cheesecake can be wrapped or packaged into an airtight container and kept in the fridge. To freeze it, cut the Keto Chocolate Cheesecake into individual slices. Spread them evenly on a baking sheet and freeze. Once solid, they can be individually wrapped in tin foil and stored in the freezer.
Special Ingredients
- Monk Fruit Sweetener- The best sweetener in my opinion, it has no aftertaste and comes in golden or classic. If you only have one and not both, either would work fine for all three parts of the recipe. Just be sure to grind any granular sweetener in a clean coffee grinder into powder for where the recipe calls for powdered sweetener.
- Unsweetened Chocolate- I use Bakers unsweetened chocolate in this recipe, but if you are more sensitive to bitter chocolates, you could use your favourite unsweetened chocolate in it’s place.
- Refined Coconut Oil- It is important to use refined coconut oil in this recipe because refined coconut oil has no coconut flavour. I mean, if you like coconut taking over the flavour of your chocolate, then go ahead and use unrefined, no judgment here.
- Instant Coffee- Sounds weird? I always add instant coffee to my chocolate desserts because instead of flavouring it with coffee, it actually adds a deeper, richer flavour to the chocolate. It isn't essential to this recipe if you don't have any, it's just going to make your Keto Chocolate Cheesecake that much more chocolatey.
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 466kcalCarbohydrates: 30gProtein: 13.7gFat: 47.5gSodium: 310mgFiber: 5g
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