Dessert but make it low carb and keto friendly? Yes please!
These refreshing lime and avocado cheesecakes are sure to impress with a combination of sweet, tangy, creamy and delicious!
I've often wondered at what point of my life I'd begin a food blog, after a few good years being a home baker and cake decorator. Well, its 2021, I'm 31 and we're currently in lockdown, so I guess this is it!
So without further ado, welcome to my blog, I'm super excited to be sharing this recipe for my lime and avocado cheesecakes!
Avocado in cheesecake? Sorry what?
Believe me when I say this is a perfect addition to a cheesecake. If you're following a keto or low-carb lifestyle, good fats are crucial for your everyday intake of food. Avocado is so versatile and a power house behind anti-aging; its rich, buttery, silky goodness making its way into our hearts - and our cheesecakes! Stay with me, I promise you there is a world beyond the humble guacamole!
Why lime and avocado?
Ah, mis amigas, if you're familiar with guacamole, you may already know about the magical romance that happens when avocado meets lime juice, and the way they dance the night away on your taste buds, a match made in heaven!
No? Whether you're a fan of avocado or not, you may be pleasantly surprised to know the avocado goes undetected in this cheesecake, hidden behind the tangy lime and creamy goodness!
I highly recommend making these cheesecakes in a silicone cupcake or muffin tray, or with paper liners, simply for ease of removal, however if you're making this in a pie dish and setting in the fridge, just be sure to grease well (and double this recipe!). I set mine in the freezer overnight and used a water bath to remove those puppies from the tray, and 10 minutes later ordered a silicone muffin tray from Stevens. I mean if you're not worried about presentation, be my guest!
This recipe will give you 5-6 cheesecakes depending on the size of your muffin tray or how much you fill them. Based off 5, each cheesecake is worth 9 net carbs, so save this for a dessert or breakfast treat!
Ingredients:
Almond flour: depending on where you are in the world, almond flour and almond meal can be used interchangeably, so whatever you understand as a bunch of almonds whizzed in a food processor and sieved to a present a fine crumb - that. You'll generally find almond flour down the baking aisle, next to the other flours or by the nuts - are you feeling nutty yet?
Sweetener: Keto for me generally means I try to stay away from sweeteners, so its only purpose here is to balance out the tangy lime juice and give a touch of sweetness, so any sweetener preference will do here, or none if you like! Our choice is monk fruit which is about 1:1 with sugar.
Butter: Salted, unsalted, grass-fed, plant-based, organic - whatever you like, just keep in mind it needs to be able to set firm in the fridge.
Sour cream: remember the story of our two lovers in guacamole? Well sour cream was the third wheel in that relationship, sometimes yay, sometimes nay. Use it for a more tangy flavour or sub for the same weight of cream cheese, you do you, boo.
Lime juice + zest: Unfortunately it seems limes are currently out of season for us in New Zealand, so I wasn't able to source any fresh limes for this recipe - However I did find real squeezed lime juice at the supermarket, and omitted the zest (just this time!)
Matcha powder: Not an absolute must! I've used it to give the cheesecakes a greener shade but it packs a punch with antioxidants so if you're a little extra like me, go for it. There's no limit to measurement either so add to suit!
Avocado: the star of our show - any type is perfectly fine, you'll need approximately 1/2 an avocado for this recipe.
Prep your muffin tray however you suit and start with the base of your cheesecake. Mix the almond flour with sweetener, a pinch of salt and add your melted butter until a soft dough forms.
Fill each muffin tray with equal amounts of the almond mix and press down on each one with the back of a spoon or your fingers to form the base of the cheesecake
Pop the tray into the fridge while you prep the cheesecake mixture.
You'll need a beater or a stand mixer for this part, you might like to cream your sweetener and butter before hand, but I just threw the butter, sour cream, cream cheese and avocado together first and mixed until combined, then added in my sweetener, lime juice and matcha afterwards. You want your butter to be soft - not melted in any way, otherwise you will spoil the taste!
Spoon your mixture into each muffin tray and smooth your tops - and if you have any left overs, they'd make great fat bombs!
And now you'll have to be patient while these set, either in the fridge or freezer!
(No bake) Lime and Avocado Cheesecakes
Serves 5-6
Base ingredients:
1 cup almond flour
1 tablespoon sweetener of choice
Pinch of salt
57g melted butter
Cheesecake filling:
45g avocado (you want it soft enough to be able to push your finger into the skin!)
60g sour cream
112g cream cheese, room temp
42g softened butter
1 tablespoon lime zest
37ml lime juice
3 tablespoons sweetener
(optional) 1/4 teaspoons matcha powder (or more if you desire!)
To make the base:
Grease or line your muffin tray or pie dish (double the ingredients above if you're making one big cheesecake or 10-12 mini cheesecakes).
Mix almond flour, salt and sweetener together in a medium sized bowl. Melt butter and mix into the flour mixture to resemble a soft dough.
Spoon equal amounts into each muffin cup and flatten with the back of a spoon or your finger tips until compacted.
Let set in the fridge until you're ready to fill.
To make the filling:
Beat together the sour cream, cream cheese, butter and avocado until creamy (about 2 minutes).
Add in sweetener, lime juice, zest and matcha powder and beat until combined.
Remove muffin tray from the fridge and fill each cup with equal amounts of filling, smooth and pop into the fridge or freezer to set overnight.
Remove each cheesecake from the tray and top with a dollop of cheese and some lime zest for extra pizzazz!
1 serving based off 5 cheesecakes:
Net carbs: 9g Protein: 7g Fat: 31g Calories: 319
Have you tried this recipe?
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