# Cheesecake w/honey, agave, or maple syrup?



## Nosy (Feb 23, 2004)

Anyone ever tried this? I want to make a cheesecake for DH for Valentine's Day, but I'd like not to use a huge amount of refined sugar. If anyone has recipes, please share! We are gluten-free, so I'll just be making the cheesecake part w/o crust.


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

Sorry, I have no idea how to make a sugarless cheesecake--but if you want a GF crust, you could probably make one with crushed almonds, walnuts or peanuts. Use 'em just like crushed biscuits--mix in a little butter, some cinnamon or whatever and press into the bottom of the dish.


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## prettypixels (Apr 13, 2006)

I'm guessing you don't want to use splenda....









I would try agave of the three choices you give. Agave has the lightest taste. Yum!


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## Pinky Tuscadero (Jul 5, 2003)

I make a crust of finely chopped mixed nuts, maple sugar (or palm sugar) and coconut oil. I use 3 packs of cream cheese, 3 eggs, 2/3 C honey, 1/2 t salt and 2-3 t vanilla for the filling. Bake at 350 about 50 minutes. Tis Yummy!


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## SevenVeils (Aug 28, 2006)

Yep, I've been doing this for years (since the days of Mystic Lake fruit sweetener- anyone know what I'm talking about?







)

I adapted an amazing recipe that I had but that used sugar, to very successfully use a liquid sweetener. Maple, honey, agave, it will all work.

2 8-oz packages of cream cheese
1/2 C Maple syrup or honey
1 tablespoon cornstarch (this is optional, and I don't use it)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups sour cream or plain yogurt

I don't like things very sweet. If you want it to be more like a typical amount of sweetness in the cheesecake, use 3/4 cup of sweetener instead, and cut out the lemon juice altogether.

Bake this at 350 for 45 minutes, bain marie style. Then (without opening the oven) turn the oven off and let it sit in there for 1 hour. Take it out, let it cool on a rack (in the pan!) for 1 hour. Refrigerate overnight.

This is a super rich New York style custardy cheesecake. My friends who had huge sweet tooths and ate 'normal' foods didn't know that it didn't have sugar in it.


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

That sounds divine! I think I may try that. Thanks for posting.


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## Nosy (Feb 23, 2004)

Thanks for the suggestions. Skyastara, how lemony does it taste? I love lemon but DH does not. I'm thinking I might use lime juice instead (frankly they taste the same to me, but he likes lime and not lemon). We like stuff not very sweet, so this sounds perfect.


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## mommyoftwo (Apr 6, 2004)

I found one online for my dad who has diabetes. It uses agave nectar and it is fabulous. No refined sugar at all. Do a search for an agave nectar cheesecake and you'll find it. I'm not sure if I am allowed to post it because of copyright issues although it is on the internet for the world to see.

It has a nut crust and uses creamcheese for the filling. I honestly couldn't believe how yummy it was!

Agave nectar is wonderful but be warned, pretty expensive.


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

what does it mean to bake "bain marie" style? showing my ignorance, I'm sure...


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## leerypolyp (Feb 22, 2005)

"bain marie" means in a water bath. You can put the pan into a larger pan with an inch or two of water in it.

FWIW, I've made cheesecake with just stevia, and it was divine! Cheesecake is an immensely versatile recipe...one of its many good points.









Oh, and we make a nut crust with almond meal, butter, and a little sticky sweetener!


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

ok, that is what I thought it meant, but was not familiar with that term.


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## Smokering (Sep 5, 2007)

If you haven't made the cheesecake yet, I'll just stress that a bain-marie is important. It really helps keep the texture smooth and prevents cracking on top--which, if you're worried about, you can also help prevent by running a hot knife around the edge of the cheesecake when it's done, and leaving it to cool in the oven with the door ajar. That's assuming you're weird like me and consider it a point of pride to have a non-cracked-on-top cheesecake... if not, more power to you.









Oh, and if you use a bain-marie, make sure your cheesecake tin is watertight! If you're using a springform tin and the seal isn't quite right, use foil or something around it to prevent the water seeping in. I get nervous, so I just make my cheesecakes in a pie dish to avoid the problem.


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## gardenmommy (Nov 23, 2001)

I did make it! It turned out very well, super tasty. I think the texture needs a little help, as some of the cream cheese didn't seem to mix in as well as I think it should have. Maybe next time I'll bring it to room temp. first. I baked it in my Pampered Chef oval baker, set in a pyrex 9" X 13" pan. It was ever so slightly watery in the middle, although not to the point where it was inedible. I'm thinking this is partly because I used homemade yogurt, which isn't as thick as commercial yogurt. Oh, and I used honey to sweeten it. That was fine, except the honey was very cold, so I ended up with more than I really wanted in the cheesecake.


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