A fabulous low carb Boston cream cheesecake that bakes up in no time. It’s got a layer of gluten free cake topped with cheesecake then a layer of chocolate!
Summer is rolling to an end and the kids are getting ready to head back to school. So, I’ve been taking a little time from recipes so I can enjoy the summer before it’s over.
We have been making some Fat Head pizza on the grill. And, I’ve been using my homemade low carb pizza sauce with no sugar added.
I did, however, have some time to make this low carb gluten free Boston cream cheesecake last weekend. It looks a lot more involved than it really is so don’t be afraid to try it because it looks complicated. It’s so easy to put together.
I had a love for Boston cream donuts and I have not yet attempted to make low carb ones, yet. I’m not really sure how you would get the light airy donut that’s needed to fill with the traditional vanilla custard.
Donuts have been my only experience with Boston cream as I’ve never eaten the pie or cake. I saw a recipe for Boston cream cheesecake in a Better Homes and Garden cookbook and thought it could easily be made low carb and gluten free. I was right!
For this cheesecake, you will need a springform pan and the sides will have to be greased well if it’s not a good non-stick surface. The sides of my cheesecake did stick a bit to the sides, but running a knife along the inside of the pan prior to expanding the sides did the trick for easy release.
This is a layered cheesecake with a gluten free cake at the bottom rather than a crust. The cake needs to be baked fully before putting the cheesecake layer over the top.
After about 25 minutes in the oven, the cake should be done. Then it’s time to whip up the cheesecake batter which is a creamy mix of cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, vanilla and sweetener.
Some may argue that this really isn’t a Boston cream pie because the famous vanilla cream is missing. Well, that is true because it’s replaced with a vanilla flavored cheesecake instead.
Okay, so it may not have any custard, but it still incorporates all the flavors and idea of the Boston cream pie. And, cheesecake is as delicious if not better than custard, right?
I just love a baked cheesecake, don’t you? It may not be as easy as blending up a no-bake mix, but there’s just something extra special in a baked cheesecake that isn’t there in the no-bake versions.
To make the chocolate glaze, I used a whole 3 ounce bar of Lily’s dark chocolate. I find the prepared chocolate works much better than trying to make one with your own low carb sweetener and cocoa or unsweetened chocolate.
Once the chocolate mixture is completely blended, it needs to cool off a bit before spreading on the cake. You can drip a bit of chocolate down the sides if you wish, but I chose to keep it all on the top.
Since this is a pretty rich cake, cutting the whole thing into 16 slices will keep the portion to a size that keeps calories and carbs within reason. Each thin slice has about 3g net carbs.
Most cheesecakes freeze well, and this one should be no different. If you aren’t taking this to a party to share or have a large family that will eat it, you probably want to freeze the individual slices to enjoy later. It’s easy to overeat this yummy gluten free low carb Boston cream cheesecake!
No time to bake a cheesecake or staying away from dairy? Try this dairy-free coconut custard instead.
Low Carb Keto Boston Cream Cheesecake Recipe
Boston Cream Cheesecake
Ingredients
Cake Layer:
- 1 cup almond flour
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup butter softened
- 3/4 cup low carb sweetener or other sugar substitute
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk
Cheesecake Layer:
- 3 blocks cream cheese (8 ounces each), softened
- 3/4 cup low carb sweetener or other sugar replacement
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
Chocolate Layer:
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
- 3 ounces low carb dark chocolate or 3 oz Lakanto chocolate bar
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
Cake Layer
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Grease a 9 or 10 inch springform pan, set aside.
- Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
- In bowl of stand mixer cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and continue mixing until smooth.
- Add flour mixture and milk in alternating amounts, starting and ending with flour. Stir until just blended.
- Pour in springform pan. Bake for 25 minutes until center is set and toothpick comes out clean.
Cheesecake Layer
- Lower oven temperature to 325*
- In bowl of stand mixer beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla together on medium-high speed until smooth.
- Separately whisk eggs with a fork in a small bowl, add beaten eggs to cream cheese mixture on low until just combined. Stir in sour cream. Pour mixture over cake in the springform pan, spreading to cover.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes until the outside edges appear set when gently shaken. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes.
- Loosen the edges of cake from the pan by running a butter knife around the cake.Allow cake to cool completely. Cover cake and chill for at least 4 hours (I chilled mine overnight)
Chocolate layer
- When cheesecake is chilled heat heavy cream in a small saucepan until it almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Stir in butter until smooth.
- Chill for 15 minutes and then spread over top of cake.
- Chill until ready to serve.
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Notes
Nutrition
Note on Nutritional Information
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts as it has been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
About Lisa
Lisa has been creating low carb recipes for herself and sharing them with others since 2010. She loves to experiment in the kitchen and find new ways to create low sugar foods that taste like high carb favorites! Her recipes have been featured on popular magazine sites including Fitness, Shape, Country Living, Women's Health, and Men's Health. Lisa lives in Southeastern Connecticut. Connect with her and Low Carb Yum at:
Debbie says
Do you have to use the sour cream?
Lisa MarcAurele says
It’s essential to the recipe. If you don’t use it, you’ll need a suitable replacement like yogurt.
Christina says
This cheesecake is amazing. I did have to bake the cake base longer as I didn’t have a convection oven. Maybe the recipe should mention that you did. it is tasty, creamy and smooth. I love the moist cake base. I just might use that by itself!
Lisa MarcAurele says
I do adjust my convection oven down in temp to be more equivalent to conventional baking. But I’ve found ovens can vary quite a bit. I’m glad that you were able to adjust and enjoy the cheesecake.
Shea says
Hi, I do not have a high powered mixer or blender. The last 2 cakes I made with Coconut flour & my mixer made the whole cake taste like coconut. I’ve read rice flour is really close to in taste to all purpose flour. To use my mixer, could I use rice flour instead and it turn out well?
Thanks!!
Lisa MarcAurele says
Rice flour is different than coconut flour so I don’t think it would work out.
Neetu says
Hi there,
I just baked the cake base and I used trivia (erythritol and sugar blend) and I noticed two things I wanted to share. Firstly I think the cake base which is as far as I’ve got, is delicious tasting. It’s very soft and nit dry! Ok so I used 3/4 cup trivia and it’s too sweet 😭I’m new to baking with sugar substitutes and just haven’t figured out just how sweet things will turn out. I’ll still continue to use it this time but in case anyone else is baking with trivia, maybe it’s better to use 1/2 cup or even less. The other thing I noticed was that the butter, sugar substitute and eggs once mixed , separated like fine scrambled eggs. I was alarmed and thought maybe it was the temperature difference between creamed butter and eggs. I searched in the web and it seems sugar substitutes can do that but it does not spoil the cake, you can continue on with the recipe. I haven’t cut open the cake yet since it’s not fully done but I think it turned out ok aside from killer sweetness.
Thanks for the delicious recipe!
Lisa says
The “low carb sweetener” amount is for a one-for-one sugar substitute which Truvia IS NOT. If you look at the conversion table on their website, you can get an idea of how to convert. Truvia is sweetener than sugar for the same amount. According to the conversion chart, 1/4 sugar is equal to 1 Tbsp + 2 tsp Truvia. So if the recipe states 3/4 cup low carb sweetener, you’ll want to use 3 Tbsp + 6 tsp which is 5 tablespoons or about 1/3 cup. So, use only 1/3 cup Truvia. Hope that helps!
Ann Nielsen says
I have Stevia in the Raw Bakers Bag that is 1:1 sugar replacement. Can I use that in this recipe? Sorry, very new to low carb baking and sugar substitutes. Thanks!
Lisa says
It can be used, but I don’t recommend it for low carb because it adds a bulking agent (dextrose or maltodextrin) which isn’t low carb friendly.
Gail M Weatherill says
This recipe was the center of a sweet moment this week during a visit to family in Florida. A wonderful neighbor who helps care for my dad has severe diabetes. Since her birthday fell during my visit, I prepared this delicious cheesecake to surprise her. When she saw the cake, she burst into tears! (No, I didn’t ruin how it looked). She said she was crying because it was the first time anyone had ever made her a homemade birthday cake. I responded that at the tender age of 77 yrs old, she was long overdue! Everyone loved the cake, including my non-keto family members. Thanks for being such an awesome resource!
Lisa says
Such a great story. Thanks so much for sharing. What a wonderful birthday gift!
Megan says
This cheesecake is amazing! I make it all the time! I freeze individual peices and eat it frozen! Thank u!
Lisa says
Great idea to have pieces in the freezer!
Kelly O'Connor says
I absolutely LOVE cheesecake so I made this one and OMG it is sooooo delicious!! I made it with the chocolate topping and now I will make it without!! By far the BEST cheesecake EVER!!. The only issue I had was the “cake” was not cooked in the 25 minutes so I had to extend the cooking time to approximately 50 minutes. Thanks so much for your recipe!!!!
Lisa says
Sorry the cake needed a little extra time. My oven is a convection so it does tend to bake a bit faster.
Megan says
I don’t have a spring form pan. Could I just make it in another pan? What size would u recommend?
Lisa says
You can use a regular 9 or 10 inch pan, but it won’t be as easy to get out. You could try a rectangular or square pan and just cut it out in squares but baking time may need adjustment.
Kim Gibson says
I love all you baking it is what is helping keep my husband on track cause he is so happy eating differently if he gets dessert. Thank you for all you creativity
Lisa says
You’re welcome Kim!
Cheryl Deger says
Help, I know it won’t be the low carb or keto way, but just realized I’m all out of my Swerve or Monk sugars!!! I got all the other ingredients at room temperature for recipe!!! Could possibly use my Splenda or Splenda Blend??? I’m so hoping you will answer very soon… Thank You…
Lisa says
Yes. Splenda is fine to use.
Paula says
The recipe for the cake calls for two eggs but the video only shows one and instructions reference adding “egg”. Is it two eggs or one for the cake portion. I used two and it’s not setting.
Lisa says
It’s 2 eggs. The instructions had a typo. It should have said eggs.
Lori says
I’m making this right now, and am concerned about the carbs. You used swerve you said…right? Well the whole recipe calls for 1.5 cups and that’s 4carbls per tsp. So how is it possible to have 2.2 net carbs per serving?
Lisa says
Those carbs from Swerve are from erythritol which have no impact so you can subtract them all.
Ruth Sayers says
I would love to make this recipe, but my daughter can only use pure Stevia as sweetener. It will only take half a teaspoon. What could I use as filler, to make up the three quarter cup? She cannot have gluten either.
Thanks,
Ruth
Lisa says
Typically, you’d add in more liquid to make up the difference.
Winona says
Wow surprised myself that I could do this. Very tasty however not a fan of dark chocolate. Any suggestions?
Lisa says
You can leave the chocolate off or top with a fruit sauce. Or, you can melt in some low carb milk chocolate.
Rhonda says
This looks so good. What is the net carb count? What is mentioned in the text is different than what is in the recipe.
Lisa says
It’s about 3g if you cut the cheesecake into 16 slices.
Teresa says
Would using half Lily’s milk and dark chocolate work well?
Lisa says
It should!
Debbie says
My husband hates cheesecake so i would be the only one eating it, do you think it would work if i halved it and used a smaller springform pan?? It looks so delicious and boston cream was my fav kind of donut
Lisa says
You can either half it or freeze the extra.
Sarah says
My mom made this for my Dad’s birthday today and it’s delicious! It makes a lot of cake …do you know if would freeze ok?
Lisa says
It does freeze well.
Deb says
This looks yummy, do you think i could use the cake base by iteself with some whipped cream and fresh fruit?
Lisa says
It should work alone as a cake if you prefer.
Jan Richter says
This looks so great! I want to try this but it seems a lot for the two of us. Has anyone tried freezing the cheesecake and did that work well for you?
Lisa says
It does freeze well. Just thaw in the fridge before serving.
Cassie says
I would like to make this and would like to know if I could use pure stevia powder in cheesecake filling as don’t have swerve, is this possible? Thank you
Lisa says
It should work fine. The stevia powder I use has a conversion of 1 tsp per 1 cup Swerve.
Jennifer says
Hello! I want to make this cheesecake but do I use swerve confectioner sugar or regular swerve? And do I use unsalted or salted butter?
Thanks! So excited to make this!!!
Lisa says
I used salted butter and regular Swerve.
Amanda says
Made this for my husbands birthday and it is delicious. I topped it with some stevia sweetened heavy whipping cream to add to the boston cream feel.
Lisa says
Yum!
Erin says
This looks wonderful, but my husband is allergic to coconut. Do you have any suggestions for a substitution for the coconut flour?
Lisa says
You can use all almond flour.
Erin says
Would I have to adjust the liquids? I know coconut four tends to absorb a lot more liquid than almond flour.
Lisa says
You may want to cut back a little on the almond milk.
Sandie Carlson says
My BFF made this for my birthday and it was out of this world! Even our non-LC friends were raving over it! You need the darkest chocolate you can find -the Lily’s is perfect, but I made it again for a potluck and used Trader Joe’s dark chocolate- not quite as good but a close second. This is a go to recipe for sure!
Lisa says
You have a great BFF making it for your birthday! So glad everyone loved it!
Avi says
This looks amazing, would love to make it do this weekend’s dinner with friends.
What is the procentage on the dark chocolate? I have 72% dark chocolate.
Lisa says
I like to use the 90%, but 72% works.
Maria says
Made this today. Was bland and bitter. Any ideas on other toppings? Also do you think the sour cream takes away from the sweetness?
Lisa says
I didn’t find it to be bitter when I made it. Did you use a low sweetened chocolate bar for the topping? I used Lily’s chocolate which is sweetened with erythritol and stevia. Sour cream shouldn’t take away from the sweetness.
Liz says
I made this today for Easter. Added fresh berries to the top. HUGE hit. So good!!
Lisa says
The fresh berries sound great. Glad it was a hit!
Joanne says
You mean berries on top of the chocolate or without it?
Lydia Reaume says
Would Greek Yogurt work in this lovely pie?
Lisa says
You should be able to sub the sour cream with yogurt. I haven’t tried it with this one, but it’s worked okay in others.
Ashleigh says
Made this last night and it was AMAZING. I love the cake part, which was so nice because I miss that flavor/texture with being Keto. Yummy!
Lisa says
Thanks for writing in! SO glad you like this one. I’m in need of making it again!
Julie says
Can anyone advise on how to sub for the almond flour? This looks amazing!
Lisa says
You can use any nut or seed flour in it’s place. A low carb baking mix or flour could also be used.
CiaoFlorentina says
Coffee and cheese-cake, I’m in love with you both !
Serena | Serena Bakes Simply From scratch says
Love this!
DML says
I made this for a party yesterday, and it was really tasty! People seemed to like it.
At one point I think I must have messed something up because the chocolate layer turned out to have a fudgy consistency, and it kept breaking off when I would cut into the cake. BUT I’m really happy it turned out that way because now I have a low carb fudge recipe that I like!
Thanks for this recipe. 🙂
Lisa says
Your cheesecake came out great! I may have to try making the topping by itself and keeping it thick for that fudge!
Kathi says
Hi Lisa, I made this cheesecake for Thanksgiving. It was a big hit! I love it, very easy to make & absolutely delicious. Not too sweet, even with 3 yummy layers. I’d definitely make it again. I have a few pieces left & im going to try freezing then so I don’t eat it all at once.
Lisa says
I’ve had good luck freezing low carb cheesecake and cakes so it should be fine in the freezer. This is one of my favorites and I’m hoping to make it again for Christmas. So glad it went over well at Thanksgiving for you. 🙂
Laura Jennings says
If I wanted to use real sugar, what would be the equivalent in this recipe?
Lisa says
Yes, but I typically cut back a little on the sweetness so you may want to adjust to your taste.
Lucy says
I wondered the same thing. Apparently, Swerve and sugar can be substituted cup for cup.
Rebecca says
I was needing a dessert for our Labor Day BBQ this will be perfect! Thanks!
Lisa | Drop The Sugar says
This looks so delicious! I’ve seen this on Facebook a couple times and I can’t wait to try this. I think I have everything on hand except the cream cheese and lily bar.
Lisa says
You’ll definitely need cream cheese, but any low carb chocolate will do.
sue says
Bravo!!!! 10 stars!!!
Karen says
Hi Lisa
I think this looks like a lovely cake.
Can you let me know under the “Cheesecake Layer” heading, what ‘3 (8 ounce packages) cream cheese” means? Is it 3 by 8 ounce cream cheese therefore 24 ounce cream cheese in total?
Lisa says
It’s 3 blocks of the 8 ounce cream cheese packages which would equal 24 ounces of cream cheese. Sorry for any confusion. The 8 ounce packages are pretty standard here.
Karen says
Got it. Big thanks
Karen says
Hey Lisa,
We made this for our lunch guests today. Believe me, it was a huge success! Despite its intimidatingly sophisticated look, it is actually a very easy cake to make.
I made an addition – fresh strawberries and bluberries on chocolate layer top
Lisa says
Hi Karen! So happy to hear that your guest enjoyed the cheesecake. The fresh fruit sounds great too!
Lorrie says
its probably good with cheesecake in the middle too but, why not just use a sugar free custard?! I make a delicious sugar free custard that i refrigerate and then make into frozen custard in my ice cream maker. The same custard recipe can also be baked into a hot custard., then could be used in boston cream pie!
Lisa says
You’d have to have two cake layers and sandwich the custard in between. Then add a chocolate topping. The mix for a baked custard is too thin and would soak into the cake layer. To be honest, I just really love cheesecake more than custard.
amber says
What do you think about sugar free jello as custard? Would it make the cake too moist?
Lisa says
Do you mean pudding?