Keto Chocolate Hazelnut Cheesecake
A decadent keto chocolate hazelnut cheesecake that is impressive enough for entertaining, but easy enough to make any time Low carb, gluten free, Atkins friendly.
A decadent keto chocolate hazelnut cheesecake that is impressive enough for entertaining, but easy enough to make any time Low carb, gluten free, Atkins friendly.
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 tablespoons butter melted
- 4 large eggs
- 1 cup superfine blanched almond flour
- 1 cup blanched and roasted whole hazelnuts
- 1/2 cup granulated erythritol sweetener
- 2 tablespoons premium unsweetened cocoa powder
- 32 ounces full fat cream cheese room temperature
- 1 cup powdered erythritol sweetener
- 3 tablespoons premium unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 teaspoons liquid hazelnut flavoring/extract
- Carbohydrate 7.28870760227419 g
- Cholesterol 198.388091878249 mg
- Fat 11.7877994921609 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 19.338210808079 g
- Saturated Fat 6.19654897392 g
- Serving Size 1 1 inch cheesecake (139g)
- Sodium 741.894586939427 mg
- Sugar 7.28870760227419 g
- Trans Fat 1.19466740242807 g
- Calories 214 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the hazelnuts and sweetener in a food processor or Magic Bullet.
- Pulse until fully granulated, but do not overmix or you’ll have hazelnut butter.
- Pour into a medium sized bowl. If there are a few chunky pieces that’s ok, but remove any whole hazelnuts, and blend those again until powdered and add them back in.
- Add the almond flour, melted butter and cocoa powder to the hazelnut mixture.
- Blend with a fork until a uniform dough forms.
- Press into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan.
- Bake for 8 minutes.
- Remove and reduce oven heat to 325 degrees.
- While the crust is pre-baking, combine the softened cream cheese, eggs, sweetener, cocoa powder, hazelnut extract and vanilla extract in a large blender.
- Blend until smooth. This may require you to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula a few times until it’s smooth enough to blend easily.
- Once a uniform batter is reached, set aside until the crust is ready. Once the crust has been par-baked and cooled for five minutes, pour the batter into the pan over the crust.
- Return to the oven and bake for 1 hour.
- Turn off heat and leave in the oven for an additional 30 minutes with the door cracked open about 10 inches - make sure no pets or toddlers can get near it as it will be hot.
- Remove the cheesecake and chill at least 6 hours, preferably overnight, before cutting and serving with optional whipped cream and chocolate/hazelnut garnish if desired.
Dense ribbons of roasted nut butter merge with bitter cocoa solids inside a pale, structural matrix of heavy dairy fats. Room temperature cream cheese behaves predictably under mechanical blade shear, incorporating whole eggs without trapping excess air that causes surface cracking. Using a food processor fitted with a steel blade prevents nut meals from overheating during the initial crust pulverization stage. Watch the roasted hazelnuts closely during pulsing; stopping before oils separate keeps the base crumbly rather than pasty.
Adjusting Volume for Alternative Pans
Scaling down a ten-inch formulation requires proportional adjustments to thermal mass. A six-inch springform pan needs its baking duration reduced by roughly twenty minutes while maintaining the initial 350-degree crust phase. Smaller pans concentrate the conductive heat load from metal walls, risking over-baked edges before the center sets. Lowering the secondary oven phase to 325 degrees prevents the outer ring of proteins from tightening too quickly.Fat Crystals and Flavor Release
Cocoa butter and milk lipids coat the tongue slowly, prolonging the perception of roasted hazelnut extracts long after swallowing. Erythritol provides bulk necessary to mimic sugar crystal networks, though high concentrations demand thorough blending to eliminate gritty mouthfeel. Chill the finished dessert for a full eight hours to allow triglycerides to fully solidify.
