Many people follow a low carbohydrate diet. This may be to help lose weight or to control diabetes. Cheesecake is the perfect dessert to make low in carbs. These are mini cheesecakes, which also help from overindulging. Stevia replaces the sugar in this recipe. It is a natural sweetener that has zero carbohydrates. Besides being low carb there are no calories in this sweetener. Stevia is all natural and comes from a plant of the same name. A typical cheesecake crust is made with the crumbs of cookies or graham crackers. This cheesecake crust is replaced with almonds. For this version I used cocoa covered almonds, however, regular almonds are great too.


Chocolate Low Carb Mini Cheesecake Recipe

Makes 18

Ingredients:

1.5 cups cocoa covered almonds

5 tbsp. butter, melted

2 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

1 cup Stevia

1 tablespoon vanilla

1/4 cup baking cocoa

3 eggs

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (for a gluten free diet make sure you choose a chocolate that is gluten free)


Directions:


1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners.

3. Crumb the almonds in a blender or food processor.

4. Mix with the melted butter.

5. Spread 1 tbsp. of mixture in the bottom of each liner.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

7. While the crust is baking, cream together the cream cheese, stevia, and vanilla with a hand mixer.

8. Beat in the 3 eggs, one at a time.

9. Beat in the cocoa.

10. Stir in the chocolate chips.

11. Pour the batter into each individual cupcake liner, filling about 2/3 full.

12. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until firm.

13. Allow to cool for an hour.

14. Store in refrigerator for at least another hour or until ready to eat.

Optional: Low Carb Whipped Cream

Ingredients:

1 pint heavy whipping cream

1 tsp. Stevia

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine the heavy cream, Stevia, and cream of tartar.

2. Beat on a low to medium speed until it starts to thicken.

3. Increase to high until stiff peaks start to form.

4. When ready to serve spoon whipped cream onto each cheesecake.



Enjoy and sweeten the soul with chocolate!