CHOCOLATE GANACHE CHEESECAKE





 CHOCOLATE GANACHE CHEESECAKE
An easy, beautiful and delicious cheesecake.  This is a great recipe for Chocolate Lovers!  The Ganache will not be too hard to cut through either. This cheesecake can easily be made into a Peppermint Chocolate Cheesecake, using 1 tsp peppermint extract in the cheesecake filling and use only 1 tsp vanilla extract as well.

Crust:
1 cup ground almonds (150 mL)
2 tbsp powdered erythritol (30 mL)
2 tbsp vanilla whey protein powder (30 mL)
3 tbsp butter, melted (25 mL)
1 egg yolk
Filling:
16 oz light cream cheese, softened, OR regular (500 g)
8 oz regular cream cheese, softened (250 g)
Liquid sweetener to equal 3/cup sugar (175 mL)
1/cup unsalted butter, melted (75 mL)
3 eggs
2 tbsp vanilla extract (30 mL)
Ganache:
1 cup (6 oz) sugarless chocolate chips, OR 70% Lindt chocolate bar, chopped (250 mL)
1 can Thick Cream, Carnation (25% M.F.) (170 mL) - basically heavy cream!

Crust: In medium bowl, combine ground almonds, erythritol and whey protein. Stir in butter and egg yolk. Spread out in 9-inch (23 cm) glass pie dish or springform pan. Cover with plastic wrap and press crust out evenly; remove plastic wrap. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven 10 minutes or until turning brown at edges.

Filling: In food processor with sharp blade, blender or in bowl with electric mixer, process cream cheese until smooth. Add liquid sweetener, erythritol, butter, eggs and vanilla extract; process until smooth. Pour over crust. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven 35 to 40 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Spread surface with Ganache.

Ganache: In cereal bowl, pour boiling water over chocolate chips. When they test soft and molten to the tip of a pointy knife, pour the water off. Stir in the cream.


12 servings/16 servings
1 serving
412.4/309.3 calories
10.0/7.5 g protein
36.2/27.2 g fat
0.9/0.7 g fiber
4.2/3.1 g net carbs


ALTERNATE CHEESECAKE FILLING
This makes for a very substantial cheesecake filling. I’ve used either of these fillings for the Ganache Cheesecake and both are nice.
24 oz regular cream cheese
3/cup sour cream
Liquid sweetener (sucralose or stevia) to equal 1 cup sugar (250 mL)
1/cup erythritol
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract

In food processor, process cream cheese. Add sour cream, SPLENDA® Granular and erythritol; process. Add eggs one at a time while processing and add vanilla extract while processing.
Bake in water bath at 325°F for 1 hour or until set.