Description
Cheesecake is one of the easier desserts to make low carb. If looking to make low carb, eliminate the graham cracker crust, chocolate and marshmallows and replace the sugar free options as linked below!
Ingredients
Scale
Equipment:
- Springform cheesecake pan (2 parts)
- Smoking wood (oak or any fruit)
Crust:
- 12 oz (1 1/2 cup) graham crackers, pureed in food processor. If Keto, skip or use almond flour instead.
- 3 tbsp light brown sugar. If Keto, swap with Swerve Brown Sugar.
- 6 tbsp melted butter – coconut oil could also be used
Filling:
- 4 to 8 oz (block) Neufchatel cheese, room temperature
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar, or if keto, swap with Swerve Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp maple syrup. If keto, swap with Choc Zero Maple Syrup.
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp butter, melted
- 5 large eggs
- 2/3 cup cold smoked 70% cocoa dark chocolate (cold smoking part is optional). If Keto, swap with no sugar chocolate, such as Choc Zero Dark Chocolate.
- 1 cup small marshmallows. If Keto, use sugar free marshmallows or skip this ingredient.
- Additional 1 tbsp butter or coconut oil for coating the pan
Instructions
CRUST
- Preheat your oven oven to 400 degrees to bake the crust.
- Lightly oil your springform pan with a bit of coconut oil or butter. Pulse the graham crackers in the food processor until they have turned into crumbs. Add the brown sugar and gradually add the melted butter until mixed.
- Press the graham cracker crust into the pan; it will go up the side of the pan about 1/3 of the way, trying to make as even in thickness as possible. Bake for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned.
FILLING
- In a food processor or stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, lemon juice and zest.
- Gradually add the eggs slowly one by one until everything is well combined.
- Pour the batter in the springform pan.
- Smoke the cheesecake for 30 minutes at 250 degrees. During this time, the top will become golden from the smoke.
- Meanwhile, turn the oven to 350 degrees. Remove the cheesecake from the smoker and place in oven and cook for an additional 45 minutes or until the middle no longer ripples when touching it. While cooking in the oven, the cake will expand much more and gain volume on the top that will eventually go back down as the cake continues to cook.
- Remove from the oven and let cool on the counter for 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator and let the cake cool for a few hours until ready to serve.
Notes
- The chocolate in this recipe was cold smoked with the cold smoker attachment for a Masterbuilt Electric Smoker. If using a pellet smoker, you can create a cold smoke environment by using a smoker tube filled with pellets or wood chips. Cold smoke for approximately 4 hours — the chocolate can be stored in the refrigerator sealed in plastic wrap until ready to use.
- Affiliate links have been used in this post, these are all products I personally use and recommend. Affiliate links mean if you purchase anything on amazon my site will make a small commission. Thanks!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1:15
- Category: Dessert, Cheesecake, Keto Cheesecake
- Method: Smoked, Grilled, Baked
- Cuisine: American