I see autumn as a great opportunity for new beginnings. Not only because it reminds me of going back to school; It is a time when the heat goes away, and temperatures are that much nicer for being more active. Especially after the second half of the summer, during which some seasonal treats were consumed, leaving considerable evidence around the butt region, to say it mildly. I think this year's vacation culinary journey and consequential weight gain deserve a special post. And a special recipe like this Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake.
Anyways, back to the new beginnings. This is the time to become productive, active, and to set some new reachable goals. Start a new workout regime and get at least a full month of strict clean eating and no alcohol. In the meantime, reward yourself occasionally with a pumpkin pie or a pumpkin cheesecake. By the time happy December comes, you'll be feeling way too well to seriously fall off a wagon. And with the actual New Year's you'll be laughing at the face of New Year's resolution because you will have been halfway done already!
Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake season
Autumn should never go by without an occasional sweet pumpkin indulgence. It's been a relatively nice season here and pumpkins, as opposed to apples, grow just about everywhere. My grandma keeps them stacked for me, and when I find enough time, I cut them, throw the pieces in the oven and make pumpkin puree. That's something that can be bought in some places but not here. In a way, I am happy, I get to use organic stuff, but on the other hand, I often wish that getting pumpkin puree could be way easier.
How to make Keto Pumpkin Cheesecake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a springform pan with parchment paper and grease it,
- Mix all crust ingredients in an S-blade food processor. Form a ball of dough and let it rest in the fridge.
- Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the crust turns golden brown. Cool on a rack.
- Bring the oven temperature down to 325°F (160°C). Wrap the springform pan in aluminum foil to make sure no water can get into the pan. Place the pan inside the roasting pan.
- In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs.
- In a bowl of a stand electric mixer, beat the cream cheese. Add erythritol and mix well.
- With the mixer on, slowly beat in the rest of the filling ingredients. Pour into the cooled crust.
- Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan.
- Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets, but the center is still wobbly; about 1 hour 45 minutes.
- When done, refrigerate the pie overnight.
Mmmmm, pumpkin spice ...
What is better than smelling pumpkin spice all over the house in October? If you fancy mini pumpkin pies, here's the recipe from last year. I must admit, I prefer going for the keto pumpkin cheesecake, though. It comes in bigger bites if nothing else. But there is no "nothing else" here. There's so much more when pumpkin and the spices get combined with dairy and slowly baked (for ages, I must warn you) to perfection. Take the time and do it, it's not complicated.
Keto-friendly Pumpkin Cheesecake
Ingredients
Crust
- 4 tbsp butter - melted
- 10 oz almonds
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup erythritol
- 1 dash salt
Pumpkin cheesecake filling
- 5 large eggs - room temperature
- 1 pound cream cheese - room temperature
- 6 oz sour cream
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 15 oz pumpkin puree
- 1 cup erythritol
- 2 ½ tsp Ceylon cinnamon - ground
- 1 tsp ginger - ground
- ¼ tsp cloves - ground
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 10-inch springform pan with parchment paper and grease it with butter.
Mix all crust ingredients in an S-blade food processor. Mix for a few minutes until you get sticky dough. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed. Form a ball of dough and let it rest in a fridge for 30 minutes.
Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the crust turns golden brown. Cool on a rack.
Pumpkin cheesecake filling
- Bring the oven temperature down to 325°F (160°C). Prepare all of the filling ingredients. Wrap the springform pan in aluminum foil to make sure no water can get into the pan. Place it in a roasting pan.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs.
In a bowl of a stand electric mixer, beat the cream cheese. Add erythritol and mix well. Scrape the sides of the bowl as needed.
With the mixer on, slowly beat in sour cream and heavy cream, then add the pumpkin puree, eggs, spices, salt, and vanilla extract until just combined. Pour into the cooled crust. - Place the roasting pan in the oven and pour boiling water into the roasting pan until it comes about halfway up the side of the springform pan.
Bake until the outside of the cheesecake sets, but the center is still wobbly; about 1 hour 45 minutes.
Turn the oven off and open the door for a couple of seconds, just to let some heat out.
Leave the cheesecake in the oven for one more hour, then carefully remove from the roasting pan and cool on a rack.
Run a knife around the edges, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- Serve with some roasted almonds and a dollop of whipped cream.
Nutrition
MORE KETO PUMPKIN RECIPES TO TRY!
If you love this low-carb keto recipe, I recommend you also try my other recipes:
I’m baking this now, and I’m pretty worried that water will seep in, since the foil doesn’t reach very high up the pan. Oh well; we’ll see.
How did it turn out?
Recipe sounds really good and will be trying this soon. One thing for people with nut allergies is to use coconut flour for the crust. Would have to modify liquid content as coconut flour absorbs a lot more liquid.
True! Thanks for the comment, Desiree.
Mine is currently in the oven. I'm making this for work...just to ease into fall. I had to modify it...pecans for the crust as someone has an almond allergy. I also used Whole Earth Baking Blend (WEBB) as I don't use Erythritol.
I made my crust: 2 cups pecans, 2 T WEBB, 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/2 Tbl flax seed meal, 2 Tbl water, 2 Tbl melted butter --- food processor, parchment paper on pan, add ingredients & bake @350 about 12 mins.
For the cake I used 6 Tbl WEBB...the batter seemed delicious! I will post back tomorrow to let tou know how it went.
Thanks for shring the recipe!
Hey, Tania! Your modifications sound interesting. Please do let us know how it went.
Too bad the blend you mention is not keto-friendly. I've been looking for erythritol alternative but haven't been able to access monk fruit yet.
Hi..so we all just had some at work. I cut it into 16 slices and its around 8 - 9 carbs a slice...so it works out keto friendly...the blend is perfect for keto for me as I do 20 carbs or less a day and work this into my daily eating for today. It's what I choose to use for my keto friendly desserts when i make them. And diabetic friendly as simeone here is also diabetic! 🙂
Anyway...the recipe is amaaaaaazing! Definitely a hit with everyone! Ill be freezing a piece for later when I want a treat.
Thanks again for sharing!
Awesome! Thank you very much for sharing, and you are more than welcome! So happy that everyone at work liked it so much.
To many more delicious keto goods!
Great cheesecake. Followed recipe with only a few modifications.
Pecans for almonds in crust (didn't have almonds on hand).
Hint: Grind nuts in food processor before adding remaining ingredients for crust.
Granular Swerve in crust. Confectioners Swerve in filing.
Savory Spice Supreme Saigon Cassia Cinnamon (https://www.savoryspiceshop.com/herbs-spices/cinnamon-saigon-cassia-supreme-ground.html)
Added 1/3 cup vanilla egg white protein powder.
Springform pan measured 9½" (inside diameter) nominally a 9" pan.
Pan of hot water placed on rack below cheesecake. Foil not used. (Didn't have a pan large enough to hold springform in water.)
Followed procedures: ingredient mixing order, temperatures, times per recipe.
Came out perfect. Serving size - 16 pieces.
Looks delish! I finally made my first pumpkin cheesecake yesterday...with stevia. The recipe I used was dry, I think I overbaked but I'm going to try yours anyway. No crust, can't do tree nuts... 🙁 I made mine into large muffin size, lined with foil cups. Do you think this recipe is freezable? Thanks!
Hi, Marie!
Sorry to hear about the tree nuts. Maybe, at some point, you could try replacing the nuts with some sort of seeds (like poppy seeds for example) to get a crust. Can't promise it will work, but it's also an idea for me to try and come up with some nut-free recipes.
Anyways, yes, the pie is freezable. I've tried freezing piece by piece that I can later unfreeze in a microwave on low, and it came out fine.
Happy 2018!
Can you make this without the crust?
Of course, Michelle. I'd suggest using a fixed baking pan (not a spring-form) because you really don't want any water to leak in, and it will be much easier. On the other hand, the crust gives the cake a nice crunch and co-flavor. You can use another type of nuts if you wish.