A low carb and gluten free cranberry swirl cheesecake that’s easy to prepare and looks fabulous. It adds a pretty festive color to a holiday dessert table.
Cranberries are a symbol of the holidays. I had planned to make a cranberry cheesecake for Christmas this year, but there just wasn’t enough time in the day for me to prepare it.
The day after Christmas, we had blizzard warnings so I got all my errands done in the morning so I could weather out the storm at home. Although the snow didn’t amount to as much as was predicted, I had the time to bake this cranberry swirl cheesecake that I had been dreaming about.
The best substitute I have found for low carb graham cracker crust is made from finely ground pecans blended with butter, sweetener and cinnamon. I use a food processor to grind the pecans then mix in a stevia erythritol blend. Melted butter is added and pulsed into the pecan mix.
After pressing the mixture into a baking pan, I sprinkle the top with cinnamon. I don’t bother measuring the cinnamon because I want just enough to cover the top.
The cranberry sauce I used to swirl into the cheesecake would also be something that could be served with a Thanksgiving turkey. It’s just cranberries cooked in xylitol and water then pressed through a sieve to remove the skins. A little lemon juice is added to enhance the flavor.
Although I don’t have a traditional low carb cranberry sauce recipe, I have created one that uses blueberries. So, if you want a little change at your Thanksgiving dinner, make up a batch of the blueberry cranberry sauce.
I will admit that the plain cranberry sauce has a much prettier and festive color for the holidays. And, it’s what really makes this cranberry swirl cheesecake pop with holiday color.
I have been having trouble with erythritol crystallizing in refrigerated recipes so I have been using more xylitol. So far, the xylitol hasn’t been bothering me like other sugar alcohols do. However, it can impact blood sugar so be careful.
There wasn’t enough erythritol in this cheesecake to really cause an issue. If you like Swerve, you can use that in place of the erythritol and stevia.
I’ve been moving more to liquid concentrated sweeteners. And, I’ve found that blending liquid stevia with monk fruit gives a really nice sweet taste.
I don’t think liquid sweeteners would work will in the crust for this low carb cranberry swirl cheesecake. But, they would work in the cheesecake and cranberry sauce.
I’ve also discovered inulin sweeteners which are made from chicory root. It’s pretty much all fiber and isn’t a sugar alcohol. So, there’s very little blood sugar impact.
What’s your favorite low carb sweetener? Do you like the bulk one for one sugar replacements or the concentrated zero carb liquids?
Some of the other low carb baked cheesecakes I’ve made include a mocha one and another with cookie crumbs. The cookie crumb one tastes like cookies and cream.
You really can’t go wrong with cheesecake. It’s one of the best low carb desserts out there!
Low Carb Gluten Free Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Cranberry Swirl Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust:
- 2 cups pecan halves
- 1/4 cup melted butter
- 2 tablespoons Steviva Blend or 2 tablespoons powdered erythritol and a dash of stevia extract powder
- cinnamon
Sauce:
- 1/3 cup powdered erythritol
- 1/2 teaspoon stevia extract powder
- 1/3 cup water
- 1 bag fresh cranberries 12 ounces
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
Filling:
- 4 packages cream cheese 8 ounces each, softened
- 1/2 cup powdered erythritol
- 1/2 teaspoon stevia extract powder
- 5 eggs lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
Crust:
- Grind pecans in a food processor. Pulse the processor until the largest pieces are no bigger than split peas. Add the butter and the sweetener. Blend until it’s mixed evenly.
- Press it into the bottom of a 9-in springform pan. Sprinkle cinnamon on top to cover. Press cinnamon in with back of a spoon.
- Bake at 300° for 8-12 minutes. Cool.
Sauce:
- Combine sugar and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat for one minute.
- Stir in berries; cover and reduce heat. Cook until most of the berries have popped. Add lemon juice.
- Press mixture through a sieve and set aside.
Filling:
- In a large bowl beat the cream cheese with the xylitol and stevia until light and fluffy. Add eggs, beating just until blended. Add lemon juice. Pour into crust.
Topping off and baking:
- Spoon cranberry sauce over filling; cut through filling with a knife to swirl.
- Put a pan on the bottom rack of the oven and fill with water.
- Bake cheesecake on middle rack at 350° for 45 minutes. Turn oven off; let cheesecake stand in oven for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. Carefully run a knife around sides of pan to loosen and remove side of pan. Refrigerate overnight.
Nutrition
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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.
