Between writing about cheesecake yesterday and baking one today, I have cheesecake on my mind. Ergo, here’s another recipe, this time sugar-free. I came up with this recipe for a friend who loves cheesecake but can’t eat sugar or artificial sweeteners (which I refuse to use anyway).
The entire cake is sweetened with honey. This crust can be a little hard to work with, but the taste is worth the extra effort. The first time I baked this, the crust stuck to the bottom of the pan and people were scraping it off to eat by itself. The filling has a really nice texture, even smoother than a regular cheesecake, and the honey taste isn’t overpowering.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a photograph of this cheesecake. I found a picture on Google, though, which looks similar to mine. Most other recipes top honey cheesecakes with honey or caramel before serving, but I’ve never done that with mine. I think it would be way too sweet.
Honey Cheesecake
Crust
- 1 cup walnuts, ground
- 2 Tablespoons honey
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
- add flour as needed to hold it together (about 1/2 cup)
Mix crust and press into 9-inch spring-form pan. (crust is sticky, so I line the pan with aluminum foil). Bake at 325°F for 5-10 minutes.
Filling
- 3 (8-oz.) packages cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup honey
- 3 eggs, at room temperature
- ¼ cup heavy cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
While crust is baking, beat cream cheese and ¾ cup honey with a mixer in large bowl at medium speed until smooth, scraping down bowl’s sides occasionally, about 3 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time; beat in cream and vanilla. Beat in flour, cinnamon and salt. Pour into crust.
Bake at 325°F for about 1 hour or until lightly browned and a little puffed. Cheesecake will jiggle in the center but will set as it cools. Cool on a wire rack 2 hours. Once cool, you should be able to lift the cake and peal off the aluminum foil. Cover and refrigerate.
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