To be more precise, this is an extremely smooth, gentle, meltable, orangey Low-Carb High-Fat Cheesecake.
Being in the mid of orange season here, I can’t help but use real oranges! This is the reason I’m naming this piece of delightfulness Low Carb Orange Ricotta Cheesecake instead of Keto or Keto-friendly Cheesecake. Yeah, I dare! Naturally, if you’ve been extremely cautious about your keto lifestyle, I suggest you replace the real juice in the recipe with orange oil or something similar. It should not ruin the smoothness or delightfulness of this Ricotta cheesecake.
Orange season
Admittedly, staring Winter in the eyes and having all these fruits of Autumn at hand at the same time, approaching Christmas, and so forth, is quite a challenge when it comes to avoiding sweets and junks. Don’t you agree? Just look at this ever inviting piece of orange heaven in the pictures.
Luckily, not avoiding fat but still staying low-carb and sugar-free, allows us to indulge in Holiday season flavors if we just take some time to pamper ourselves with a dessert like this one. Truth be told, I have no idea if oranges are actually supposed to have any connection with Christmas holiday season. My brain does make the association, though. But does it matter? Enjoy your holidays to the max with the flavors you most enjoy! And if you’re generally healthy, do not despair if a higher-carb day comes your way these days. On the contrary; relax, and indulge, mindfully.
Make sure all ingredients are at room temperature and full-fat. Do not use low-fat Ricotta cheese. If you decide to prepare this recipe or tweak it a bit, do share your thoughts and opinions. And if you don’t tell us why!
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup macadamia coarsely ground
- 1 cup almond meal
- 2.5 oz. erythritol
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 6 tbsp. butter melted
- 1 oz. 90% dark chocolate melted
- 1 large egg
Orange Cheesecake Filling
- 24 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 9 oz. ricotta cheese full-fat, room temperature
- 10 oz. erythritol
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 2 large egg yolks room temperature
- 2 tbsp. almond flour
- 2 tsp. orange zest
- 3/4 cup orange juice freshly squeezed, room temperature
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Prepare a lightly greased springform pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir together all dry ingredients.
- Add in soft butter, melted chocolate, and egg. Stir with a fork until well combined. Press into the pan and bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Orange Cheesecake Filling
- Keep the oven temperature at 350°F (180°C).
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer beat together cream cheese and Ricotta cheese.
- Add erythritol and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowl if needed. Add in eggs and yolks, Again, beat until smooth. On low speed, stir in almond flour, just until well combined. Stir in orange zest and juice just until incorporated into the batter.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Place the pan in the midsection of the oven.
Fill a large baking pan up with water, and put it on the bottom of the oven. Doing so will prevent the cake from cracking up while baking.
Bake for an hour. Turn the oven off and let the cake sit inside, undisturbed for another 45 minutes. It should remain slightly wiggly. Take it out of the oven and let it cool for another 15 minutes before loosely covering with some plastic wrap and refrigerating for at least 6 hours. Enjoy!
Video
Nutrition
Wow, this looks amazing! Going to make it for Christmas. My family is big on cheesecake. Might even try it using lemon.
Just wondering, what size springform pan did you use! I have a few different sizes. Thank you for these amazing recipes!
I used a 10-inch springform pan. I should have mentioned!
Enjoy your holiday desserts, Robyn!
Wonderful! Thank you so much!
You are more than welcome!
This looks delicious but if you were to tweak and make it lemon (using lemon zest, some juice, or lemon oil) and remove the chocolate from the crust, would you need to make any other tweaks? I’m assuming the car count would be lowered as well with the removal of the orange juice. Thanks!
I think this is a recipe that allows a lot of room for tweaking. I don’t see a problem leaving out the chocolate. If the crust seems too dry, just add another T of butter (or cocoa, coconut butter). Yes, for sure removing the orange juice will lower the carb (and sugar!) count. I don’t think any other tweaking will be necessary; the filling should be moist enough without the orange juice. Go ahead and try it out. Then let us know about the results! 🙂