I have a recipe for an extremely low-carb lime cheesecake I found online that I tried, and enjoyed. I'm having trouble finding it now, but from memory the recipe is pretty basic:
For crust, melt butter with stevia, blend it with some almond meal and unsweetened coconut flakes, and press the mixture into a pie pan
For filling, mix some lime jello at about x2-x3 concentration (compared to if you were following the label), then mix it with 1lb of cream cheese, some lime juice, and some vanilla (I use a stand mixer for this)
Pour the filling into the pan and chill, and you've got a sugar-free cheesecake.
I like this cheesecake, but I think I can make it better. It's dense, and I don't think the cheese flavor comes through the jello enough. I'm considering trying again, with some modifications:
First, use 1/2 lb of cream cheese, but add: 4oz Ricotta, 3oz sour cream, 3oz mascarpone. This adds more dairy for some more flavor, and also adds some curds and some creaminess in there to interrupt the flan-like consistency of the final product.
Second, maybe reduce the water in the jello even more and substitute some heavy cream in, or maybe leave the water the same and add some egg-whites? The idea here is to make the cheesecake "fluffy" and/or "creamy" (as opposed to rubbery and jello-y) preferably by adding a component like eggs or cream, and setting the stand mixer to a high enough speed that it will introduce some air in there.
Third, hit the crust in the oven before I put the filling in. This is mostly just because I think a toasted almond/coconut crust sounds tasty.
My concerns about my ideas are:
- I kinda just pulled the ratios out of thin air, and have no idea if the quantities I'm planning seem reasonable. Particularly, I don't know if it makes sense to add both sour cream and heavy cream and/or egg white, or how much of any of those to add
- I'm not sure about introducing boiling jello water into a bowl with the cheese or cream that I'm adding–I'm worried about the water causing curdling. I don't want a curdled mess
- I'm not sure if any of the ideas to make the filling more airy will last through chilling the cheesecake, or if it will flatten by the time it sets up. Maybe I should set it up in the freezer?
- I have no idea what the bake time or temperature should be to toast the crust
- I'm not sure how much I can reduce the water while still having the jello dissolve in it
- I'm wary about adding egg whites to a no-bake recipe. Is it safe?
- Maybe I'm over-complicating my recipe–part of the nice about this dessert is that it's super simple; just toss all the ingredients in the mixer and you're done. Maybe there's an easier way to accomplish what I want?
Best Answer
In order to make the texture not " rubbery and jello-y" let your gelatin mixture cool down and set up a little bit. By adding it while boiling hot you are melting the cream cheese, effectively making cream cheese jello. Make sure to whip well after the addition, not just to blend, but to incorporate some air and increase volume.
As far as flavor goes, I suggest that you use unflavored gelatin instead of lime Jello, you may want to up the amount of lime juice you are using and maybe adding a little lime zest. Adding at the end of the mixing process, tasting as you go. (If you do this, you will need to make up for the sweetener in the Jello. You can use your prefered sweetener mixing into the cream cheese along with the gelatin)