Creme brûlée and cheesecake come together in these adorable Keto Mini Cheesecakes! They have a tender crust, a rich creamy filling, and a delightful caramelized topping. This post is sponsored by Swerve Sweetener.
If you love creme brûlée and you love cheesecake, then these little mini keto cheesecakes have your name written all over them. Look closely! Can’t you just see your name in tiny letters, right on top of the sweet caramelized topping?
Creme Brûlée Cheesecake really is a fabulous marriage of two beloved desserts. The creamy filling contrasts delightfully with the crispy hard topping.
I loved these so much, I only wish I’d made more. And made mini cheesecake style, they have built-in portion control.
Sugar Free Brûlée Topping
Before I let you loose to make these, we have to discuss the sweeteners. Because it is imperative to use erythritol-based sweeteners such as Swerve for this recipe.
If you follow me and read my work, you know that I have tested many sweeteners in many applications. And no other sweeteners will produce a crisp texture like Swerve or erythritol. Even a small amount of allulose or BochaSweet will prevent the topping from hardening the way creme brûlée should.
You can read my Guide to Keto Sweeteners for a better understanding of these properties.
I did test the topping with Swerve Granular, Swerve Brown, and a mix. And I found that I liked the mixed topping the best. I didn’t have to hold the torch over it so long to get a beautiful golden brown topping that caramelized quickly and evenly.
But you can use just granular or just brown, depending on what you have on hand.
Ingredients
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- Almond flour: I used almond flour the crust of these mini keto cheesecakes but you could use other nut or seed flours as well. Pecan flour would be delicious, and sunflower seed flour makes a great nut-free alternative.
- Sweetener: The cheesecake filling can take either granular or powdered Swerve. I found that the topping was best with a little Swerve Brown mixed in with the granular. But if all you have is granular, you can use that as well.
- Cream cheese: Allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature before beating it. If you live in a cooler climate, or your house is less than 70ºF, you may want to soften it a little more in the microwave. About 8 to 10 seconds really helps.
- Sour cream: This adds additional creaminess to the recipe. If you don’t have sour cream, try adding 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream.
- Kitchen staples: Butter, egg, vanilla extract.
Step by step directions
1. Prepare the crusts: Stir the almond flour, sweetener, and butter together until it begins to clump together.
2. Bake the crusts: Divide evenly between 6 lined muffins cups and press firmly and evenly into the bottom. Bake 7 minutes to help firm them up.
3. Prepare the filling: Beat the cream cheese, sweetener, sour cream, and vanilla until creamy. Add the egg last and beat until just combined.
4. Bake the filling: Divide the mixture between the prepared muffins cups and bake until the edges are firm but the center still jiggles ever so slightly. Remove and let cool completely, then chill 2 hours.
5. Sprinkle on the sweetener: Remove the cheesecakes from their liners (so you don’t burn them!). Sprinkle the top of each with a mixture of Swerve Brown and Swerve Granular.
6. Brûlée the topping: Run a kitchen torch over the tops of the cheesecakes until the sweetener melts and caramelizes.
Expert tips
When sprinkling the tops of the cheesecakes with sweetener, try to get as even coverage as possible. I found that smoothing it out with a small spoon helped me. This ensures an even caramelization of the topping.
The heat of the kitchen torch makes the keto mini cheesecakes soften quickly, so do one at a time while keeping the other cakes in the fridge. You can also place them in the freezer for 30 minutes or so to really chill them beforehand.
Frequently Asked Questions
I highly recommend using Swerve Sweetener for the hardened, caramelized topping. Erythritol based sweeteners are the ONLY ones that will harden properly for these Keto Creme Brûlée Cheesecakes.
These easy and elegant mini cheesecakes have 3.7g of carbs and 1g of fiber. So they have 2.7g NET CARBS per serving.
Store these cakes in the fridge in a covered container for up to 5 days. You can also freeze them for up to two months. I recommend wrapping them up tightly for the freezer so that they don’t suffer any freezer burn.
Keto Creme Brûlée Cheesecake Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
Crust
- ½ cup almond flour
- 2 tablespoon Swerve Sweetener (granular or powdered)
- 2 tbsp melted butter
Filling
- 7 ounces cream cheese softened
- ⅓ cup Swerve Sweetener (granular or powdered)
- 2 tablespoon sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg room temperature
Topping
- 1 tablespoon Swerve Granular
- 1 tablespoon Swerve Brown
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line a muffin pan with 6 parchment or silicone liners.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the almond flour and sweetener. Stir in the melted butter until the mixture begins to clump together.
- Divide among the prepared muffin cups and press firmly into the bottom. Bake 7 minutes, then remove and let cool while preparing the filling.
Filling
- Reduce the oven temperature to 300F. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese until very creamy, about 90 seconds. Beat in the sweetener until well combined and smooth.
- Beat in the sour cream and vanilla, then beat in the egg at the very end, until just incorporated. Do not over-beat the mixture.
- Divide the filling evenly between the cups and bake 15 to 20 minutes, until the edges are set but the centers still have a little jiggle to them. Remove and let cool completely in the pan, then refrigerate 2 hours to set.
Topping
- Remove the cupcakes from the muffin lines so you don't burn the liners. In a small bowl, whisk the granular and brown sweeteners together.
- Sprinkle about 1 teaspoon of the sweetener mix on top of each cheesecake and press down lightly to adhere. Light a kitchen torch and run the flame over the tops of the cheesecakes until the sweetener caramelizes.
- Return to the fridge for another 30 minutes to allow the topping to harden.
Joe Hess says
Thank you for the recipe. We tried this last night. The filling was great, but the crust flavor seemed a little off. Are there different types of almond flour? Have you tried making the crust more like a graham cracker flavor with brown swerve, cinnamon, and some keto honey alternative or maple extract? I’m not sure if that will work, but I may give it a try.
joy says
can i use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
Carolyn says
No, it won’t work in this recipe. If you need to be nut free, try sunflower seed flour.
Vanessa says
Would this work as a regular size cheese cake?
Carolyn says
Yes, but… you need to double the crust, and triple the filling. You will probably need to triple the topping as well. Check my other cheesecake recipes for bake time.
Kendra says
If you were to freeze or refrigerate these, would you take the torch to the top before doing so or torch them just before you serve?
Carolyn says
Torch before serving if freezing. The topping does stay hard in the fridge though.
Mark says
Hi Carolyn,
Can’t wait to make this recipe. Just wanted to confirm, these are made in a regular sized cupcake tin, not a mini tin, correct?
Thank you!
Mark
Carolyn says
Yes, standard size! They are individual serving size.
Mark says
Thank you!
Elaine Davis says
I absolutely love your recipes!! I have made many of them from desserts to side dishes so main meal. Thank you so much.
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
PDX Girl says
I do. see my name, in little tiny letters:)
Elizabeth says
Can we double this recipe with reliable results?
E says
Could one use Xylitol instead of Swerve?
Love your cookbooks (especially Easy Keto Desserts)! Thanks for generously sharing additional recipes online!
Carolyn says
Please read the blog post and my guide to keto sweeteners.