I turned 31 yesterday! Unsurprisingly, having a birthday while you’re under quarantine, pregnant, and suffering from gestational diabetes is no cake walk (sorry, I’ll see myself out). You can’t just order something delicious from your favorite bakery. If you want a nice treat, you have to sift through countless recipes to find something appropriate. So as a birthday gift to myself and the rest of the world, I decided to develop a low carb, gestational diabetes safe cheesecake. Now, I basically lumped all my favorite things into one cake, so it involves raspberries, passion fruit, and chocolate ganache.
If I’m being honest, I was terrified of how this recipe would turn out. I haven’t been out in public in over 24 days, and getting groceries is no easy feat. I’m lucky if half the items I order each week arrive. And while I’m incredibly grateful that grocery deliveries are even an option, the lack of availability of everyday items can be frustrating when you’re trying to develop your ideal birthday cake (or any recipe, really).
Cheesecake-gate
And then there was cheesecake-gate. Ugh, cheesecake-gate. So uh, the night before my birthday I did a ton of research and formulated my recipe. I had enough ingredients to make one cake, so it had to be good. Things were going great. It didn’t take too long to assemble and smelled absolutely incredible. I excitedly picked it up to put it in the oven. And that’s when the springform pan burst open. In my haste, I guess I hadn’t totally locked the dang thing. So my beautiful creation toppled haplessly to the ground. I immediately burst into tears. Like, a full on sobbing fit. This was the only thing I wanted for my birthday, and it was ruined. All the grocery stores had closed. And it’s a cheesecake, so it takes forever to cool.
Thankfully, my husband sprang into action. He searched every grocery delivery app for the extra ingredients I needed, and found a friend who agreed to give us the passion fruits that we needed. Then he got up super early the next morning and refreshed the Amazon fresh page until he got a morning delivery for the rest of the goods. He’s a true angel, that one.
So as you can imagine, I was terrified that something would go awry once more. Luckily, it did not, and I’m beyond thrilled with how my birthday cheesecake turned out. Now, if you want to make this low carb and gestational diabetes safe, follow the recipe as is ( for the record, I tested it by eating it for breakfast, and my blood sugar was perfect an hour later). But if you don’t want or need to worry about those things, feel free to use regular sugar!
Chocolate Covered Passion Fruit and Raspberry Cheesecake (Low Carb + Gestational Diabetes Safe)
Equipment
- 9" Springform Pan
- Double Boiler (or a heat-proof bowl over a pot!)
Ingredients
Almond Crust
- 1 1/2 cups Almond flour
- 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/3 cup Melted butter
- 1/8 tsp Salt
- 3 tsp Granulated sugar substitute (I used Swerve)
Filling
- 24 oz Cream cheese
- 3 Large eggs
- 1/2 cup Sour cream (Full fat)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup Granulated sugar substitute (I used Swerve)
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 2 Passion fruits
Chocolate Ganache
- 8 oz Chocolate (You have a decision to make here. I didn't want my ganache to be so sweet, so I used half Stevia sweetened chocolate chips, and half 100% cacao chocolate chips. I thought it was perfect, but if you want yours to be on the sweeter side, use more sweetened chocolate chips.)
- 8 oz Heavy cream
Garnishes
- 1 carton Raspberries
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325° and make sure your springform pan is locked.
- Make the crust! To do this, simple combine all the crust ingredients in a bowl. Once they're combined, spray or butter your springform pan, and press the crust mixture into the base of it. You can do this with your hands, or use the bottom of a small measuring cup for a more even application.
- Now make the filling! Beat the cream cheese in the bowl of your mixer (on low) until it's nice and smooth. Then, with the mixer still on low, add each individually. Wait until it's fully incorporated before adding the next. Once the eggs are in, add the sour cream, sugar, vanilla extract, and salt. Mix until combined, but be careful not to over-mix, as that can result in cracks and a wonky texture! If there are a few clumps, that's ok. They'll melt in the oven.
- Add half the filling to the springform pan. Then add one of the passion fruits. Spread it evenly over the surface of the filling, and then swirl it a bit with a toothpick. Add the rest of the filling, and do the same with the second passion fruit.
- If you can, put the pan in a water bath. That entails covering the base in tin foil to waterproof it, and the putting it in a deep pan along with some boiling water. This'll help it cook more evenly, and in a nice, moist environment. It'll also help to ensure that your cheesecake remains crack free! If you don't have tin foil, don't worry about it and simply put the springform pan in the oven for about an hour and 15 minutes. We're going to cover the top with chocolate ganache, so it's not a big deal if it cracks. After the timer goes off, check for doneness. The cheesecake should be slightly jiggly at this point. If it is, turn the oven off and prop it open with a kitchen towel. Leave it alone for about an hour.
- Once the hour is up, transfer it to the fridge to cool. This may take a few hours (like, 4 or 5)
- When it's nice and cool, remove the cheesecake from the springform pan and make your ganache! To do this, heat some water in the base of your double boiler. You'll want it to be at a simmer. Then add the cream and chocolate to the top bowl. Let it melt a bit, then stir to fully incorporate. Once it's nice and melty, cover your cheesecake with it using a spatula.
- Add a crown of raspberries around the top of the cake, and enjoy!
Ok, I know that was a lot
It’s probably one of my longer and more involved recipes. And it’s definitely not super pantry friendly. But it’s seriously worth the effort. Especially if you’re confined to a limited diet, like I am.
I’m seriously so excited about this one, so if you make it, I’d love to hear how you like it either in the comments or on Instagram!
I’m so happy it turned out wonderful for you, after all. That Ben, what an angel!