LEMON DREAM CHEESECAKE
Cheesecake:
1 packet unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Lemon Curd (see recipe below)
Put the water in a small microwave-safe bowl; sprinkle the gelatin over the surface and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Microwave on HIGH about 1 minute or just until the water comes to a simmer. Stir until the gelatin is completely dissolved; set aside.
In another bowl, beat the cream cheese, Splenda and vanilla until creamy. Gradually beat in the gelatin. Pour into a greased 9-inch pie plate. Chill 3-4 hours or until set. Spread the chilled lemon curd over the completely set cheesecake. Serve with whipped cream, if desired (not included in the counts).
Charski's Lemon Curd:
2 cups granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda *
3 eggs
1 cup fresh lemon juice, you'll need 8-9 small lemons
2 tablespoons lemon zest, from 2 lemons
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut in 1/2" cubes
In a microwave-safe bowl, whisk the sweetener and eggs. Whisk in the lemon juice and zest. Add the butter and stir just to coat. Microwave on HIGH in 1 minute intervals, whisking after each minute. Do this until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of spoon. This will take about 3 minutes. Cool, then chill.
Makes 8 servings
* Charski's recipe called for 1 cup of sweetener but I didn't want mine quite so tart. I added another cup's worth of sweetener but it's still very tart.
With granular Splenda:
Per Serving: 369 Calories; 33g Fat; 8g Protein; 12g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 12g Net Carbs
With liquid Splenda:
Per Serving: 339 Calories; 33g Fat; 8g Protein; 4.5g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 4.5g Net Carbs
The cheesecake part of this recipe is the It's-a-Snap Cheesecake. The lemon curd recipe is from Charski at Low Carb Friends. The lemon curd is delicious and the recipe is super easy. It tastes like the filling in a lemon meringue pie. However, it didn't set up as thick as I'd hoped so it ran off the cheesecake a bit. Now that I know how messy this turns out, I think a better idea might be to layer the cheesecake filling, lemon curd and whipped cream in parfait glasses. I had to do quite a bit of clean-up on the piece in the photos so that you could actually see the cheesecake under the topping. I think that whipped cream really helps mellow out the tang of the lemon curd which could still use a little more sweetener. Click the photos to see close-ups.
UPDATE 7/3/11: The lemon curd seemed to set up quite a bit by the next day. It was much easier to get a slice of cheesecake out of the pan and the topping stayed put. I think that the trick is to make the lemon curd the day before you serve the cheesecake and spread it over it before serving.
