Once upon a time, I used to say that I didn’t really like cake. And by cake, I meant the traditional sort of sponge cake with piles of frosting. I’d simply had too many of those out-of-a-box-with-canned-icing type cakes and they were virtually flavourless, except for being so sweet as to make my teeth ache. My husband caught on to this fact early on and proceeded to buy me a succession of ice cream cakes to celebrate birthdays and other major milestones. Since that time, I’ve discovered the joys of a good, moist homemade spongecake with rich homemade buttercream frosting. But I still have a strong penchant for other kinds of cake…cheesecake in particular. Cheesecake is never too dry, never too crumbly. It can be a little too sweet sometimes, but with care, cheesecake can be just the right amount of sweet while still maintaining that delightful tang of the cream cheese. And the choices of flavours and flavour combinations are virtually limiteless. You can see why it’s a beloved kind of cake for me.
And thankfully, cheesecake is easily made low carb. Obviously the traditional graham cracker or cookie crust has to go, but that’s easily replaced with a little nut flour, sweetener and butter. In fact, I daresay that you would have a hard time knowing the difference, if I didn’t tell you. The filling part is very much the same as with any cheesecake – cream cheese, eggs and your sweetener of choice. The toughest part is deciding what flavour of cheesecake you want to make!
I found myself in the mood for something rich and gooey over the weekend. I declared to my husband that I was going to make some sort of cheesecake, I just didn’t know what yet. But I knew I wanted it to have a drizzly chocolate sauce, the sort that makes you want to run each bite around your plate to get every little drop. But not plain chocolate, not this time. And not chocolate peanut butter either, because I am saving that heavenly combo for my birthday (oh yes, stay tuned for that. I haven’t even made it yet and I know it’s going to be good). Coffee is always a good bet when it comes to chocolate. So is alcohol. Better yet, coffee AND alcohol! So coffee liqueur was the next logical step.
The Results: There is simply no way this could NOT be good. Cheesecake? Good. Kahlua? Good. Gooey chocolate sauce? Goooooooood! So yes, it was good. Very good. My only very minor issue as follows: unsweetened chocolate is finicky to work with and doesn’t blend well with other ingredients. I know this, and that’s why I added it to the filling last, very slowly while my stand-mixer was running, in an attempt to beat it in smoothly. I still ended up with a somewhat flecked appearance to my cheesecake, but that hardly made a difference to the taste. However, I might consider leaving the chocolate out of the batter next time altogether, as I really did want a coffee/Kahlua flavour to the cake, and have the chocolate contained in the sauce. Either way, however, it’s still really good.
Kahlua Cheesecake with Chocolate Kahlua Sauce
Crust:
1 cup almond flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp granulated erythritol
3 tbsp butter, melted
Filling:
2 tsp instant coffee
1 tbsp hot water
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 tsp butter
1 lb cream cheese
2 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated erythritol
2 tbsp Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
25 drops stevia extract
2 tsp melted butter for brushing sides of pan
Sauce:
3 tbsp butter
1 oz unsweetened chocolate
1 tbsp powdered erythritol
1 tbsp cocoa powder
1 tbsp Kahlua or other coffee liqueur
For the crust, preheat oven to 350F.
In a 9-inch spring-form pan, whisk together almond flour, cocoa powder, and erythritol. Stir in melted butter until dough begins to clump together. Press evenly into the bottom of the pan and bake 10 minutes. Remove and let cool.
In a small bowl, whisk together instant coffee and hot water until coffee dissolves. Set aside.
In a small saucepan, melt butter and unsweetened chocolate together over low heat, stirring until smooth. Set aside.
In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until well combined, then beat in erythritol, Kahlua, vanilla and stevia extract, scraping down beaters and sides of bowl as needed. Beat in coffee/water mixture.
Slowly add melted chocolate while continuing to beat, until fully combined. Give the batter a final stir with a rubber spatula to make sure it is fully mixed.
Preheat oven to 300F
Taking care not to disturb cooled crust, brush sides of spring-form pan with melted butter. Pour filling over cooled crust and bake until set, about 40 minutes. Remove and let cool, then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours.
Serves 10. Each serving has a total of 10.5 g of carbs and 3.4 g of fiber. Total NET CARBS = 7.1 g
Gosh, this looks AMAZING, Carolyn!!! Yum, yum.
I agree, it is hard to find a good quality store-bought cake! And actually, I never loved cake and icing until recently so I used to always request an ice cream cake for my birthday:-)
This cheesecake looks amazing, I am pretty sure it would get devoured in my kitchen……. by me!
This looks delish. You don't have the instructions on how to make the sauce. I'm just asking because many times when making fudge sauce, I use the premelted unsweetened chocolate, it mixes much better and you don't have the "fleck" problem. Just an idea!! Thanks for sharing this yummy treat!
We are big cheesecake fans and I'm convinced that my husband wouldn't even notice that this is gluten free. The kahlua sauce will have him hooked! I love it!
This looks divine and I'm sure it would be hard to stop at one piece.
Not like cake?!?!? Blasphemy! 😀 I heart cake! Especially boozy cake!!!
These look delicious! I love anything with a good coffee/chocolate combination.
Hahaha your "Cheesecake? Good. Kahlua? Good. Gooey chocolate sauce? Goooooooood!", reminds me of Friends. There was an episode where Joey did that exact same thing haha.
This looks heavenly!
*splutter* Oh. Oh God. Oh, I want this. Now. All of it.
Looks amazing! And elegant, beautiful, indulgent, all of that 🙂
what a great decadent dessert! I like how your mind works. And I am very much waiting for that birthday treat!
Sounds and looks amazing! Cheesecake + kahlua = oh my!
wow, cheesecake and chocolate and kahlua? sounds delicious!!
Looks delicious, wish I had a piece right now!
All I needed to see was Kahlua! Yum. You're right…there's no way this couldn't be good.
you had me at Kahlua Carolyn. Awesome…just awesome. p.s. I licked my monitor. 🙂
You got it, that's exactly what the reference was. Wasn't it the trifle with the ground beef in it???
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
I'm usually a fan of cheesecake bases, but not so much the filling. Your pictures here make me think this cheesecake could be one where I like both bits!
This chocolate looks really hard to make but when you finish it whoo yummy, I will try this at home if I do perfect good for me..
Fab Defence
Your cheesecake looks awesome! I agree cheesecakes are different 🙂 they are always great 🙂
I was just like you until I started baking! My mom doesn't bake and so all we got was storebought cake. I totally went off cakes until I discovered homemade cakes ROCK! Cheesecakes are also SO much better made at home… This one is so delicious sounding! Love the neat slices with that fabulous sauce… Yum!
I have to bookmark this recipe, it's wonderful, your cheese cake looks so yummy, so perfect…!!!
Wow, Carolyn! That really looks amazing. It's got all the flavours I love. Bookmarked!
Looks wonderful – definitely "adult" flavors. Very pretty photos.
I have everything needed except 25 drops Stevia Extract. 🙁 Is there anyway around this? All these sugar substitutes confuse me. I do have Erithritol (haven't used it) and I have Truvia (haven't used it either).
I love coffee-flavured sweets. Your cheesecake looks wonderful.
I am not a huge fan of coffee flavored stuff, but this looks stunning!
What a yummy cheesecake! I wouldn't mind having an almond-flour crust all of the time.
Yummy! I love kahlua and I would be all over this cheesecake!!
You had me at Kahlua! I'm loving that luscious drizzle on top of your divine cheesecake.
Hi Dottie,
You could sub in some truvia, what sort do you have? Packets?
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Kahlua is one of my favorites! Your cheesecake looks amazing, I am loving the almond flour in the crust! Hugs, Terra
Your cheesecake looks amazing! I will have to try it. I have only made one cheesecake and the top had a big crack. I was wondering if you use a water bath when making cheesecake. Please let me know. Thanks!
I did not use a water bath with this one at all, and it had no cracks, nor did it sink in the middle. I was really pleased! I have used a water bath before, for a pumpkin cheesecake. That worked well. I think it really depends, recipe to recipe. If you make this one, skip the water bath.
Carolyn
Blog: All Day I Dream About Food
URL: https://alldayidreamaboutfood.com
Oh my! I so want a slice of this beauty! Fantastic flavors…so delightful!
I sure do wish I could have Kahlua right now (pregnant), because this looks amazing!
Wow that was really yummy, thanks for the ingredients and instruction you share in here I will try this at home for my family..
baby eagle
This looks amazing! You are SO talented!!!
I am learning to expand my cheesecake love – as a while ago I was a traditionalist – Philly style or bust. But now that I have tasted so many new things, the idea of kahlua cheesecake has me excited and wanting my own slice to taste test.
Oh, sorry, I didn't see your reply right away. I have a 9.8oz container of Truvia. BUT, I got online and ordered EZ Sweetz and it has arrived, so I'm ready to make this yummy looking recipe. I would still like to know how to use the Truvia in place of the Stevia drops though.
Thank you!
#Omnomnom
Can’t wait to make this when I receive my order of DaVinci Sugar Free Kahlua syrup.
Thanks!!!
That sounds like a great way to do it!
what could i use to sub. coffee liquer?
Any liquid, I suppose.
It would be very helpful to have the nutritional data, as I have diabetes and I must count carbs. Thank you.
The carb count is right down at the bottom of the post. I have diabetes too. I did not do the full calculation for this recipe way back when but you can enter the ingredients into a software like MyFitnessPal and get the info.
I have made this twice!! We love it!! I made it for my Birthday cake.. Thank you ❤❤❤
I love cheese cakes, the whole recipe looks easy and tasty. My dr reciently took me off dairy. Ive been dairy free before and didiwell but missed all the cheeses. Im going to try this and for the cream cheese use the fat frpm the can coconut milk and some hemp cheese I made by first making hemp milk, making yogurt from it then straining it in a nut bag for 24 hr. Planning on mixing the two for the cream cheese. I’m hoping it will at least be close. Ill let you lnow. Im hopeful. Deb
Wow, be sure to let me know how it turns out. Good luck!
Well i did it! I made hemp milk ( did not strain the milk) made yogurt from that then strained the yogurt in a nut bag for 24 hrs. On its own the hemp was strong! So i made this recipe adding more coffee flavor in the form extract and coconut milk powder, coconut butter and cocoa butter. It was very creamy and set up beautifully. I used swerve only for the sweetness. It was really amazing. I wish i could post a picture.
Do you have a picture? Share it with me on Facebook and I will post it!
I dont know how to post a picture onto this site, and would that be ok with the designer of the original recipe?
Oh I see it you! Making another now from the rest of the hemp cheese…just tell me how to post a picture or several and I will.
Just come post it to my Facebook page and I will share it there. Or email it to me at alldayidreamaboutfood@gmail.com.
https://www.facebook.com/AllDayIDreamAboutFood
I emailed them to you. I have a second one I made last night. Now my hemp cheese is all used up. I would go through the trouble to make the cheese again for more of these cheesecakes. Debbie
You are so impressive! Got the emails.
Can you use ground coffee instead of instant coffee? (We don’t have the instant in the house right now. We would only use it for this and making low carb kahlua.)
No, it would not dissolve well enough. You could try the Starbucks Via packets if you wanted to just have a little instant coffee around.
My stevia just pours out! How much does 25 drops equal to? A teaspoon? Let me know. Thanks!
16 drops is about 1/4 tsp so I’d say about 1/2 tsp.
Where is the recipe to make the sauce? Help!!
It’s right there, with everything else.
Im sorry. I only see the ingredients, not the steps to make it. I tried to wing it, but it didnt come out too good…lol. So I ended up making your low carb chocolate sauce…and put in some kahlua. It worked! Came out delicious!!
This cheesecake is awesome! I tried it earlier this year with the erythriol in the crust and splenda in the filling. I’m glad I did it that because the crust left the cool sensation on our tongues, but the cheesecake part was awesome. I’m making 2 tomorrow for a party and one for the house this time just using splenda. Thanks for the awesome recipes and Happy holidays to you and your family.