It is that time again: Pumpkin Spice Time.
This year, I have your show stopping Thanksgiving Day dessert. My people, I give you my ketofied Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake; a rich, pumpkin spiced cheesecake with a snickerdoodle cookie crumb crust, topped off with a maple pecan praline drizzle. It’s a little sharp, a little sweet, and a lot silky smooth cheesecake deliciousness. Your guests will never know it’s not the sugar-filled “real” thing.
Notes: I used a bit over a bag of Benton’s Snickerdoodle Keto Cookies, all crushed up and mixed with butter for the crust. If you have an Aldi in town, that’s where they may be found. If you can’t find this brand, that’s OK. Feel free to use another keto compliant snickerdoodle cookie instead. Fat Snax makes one that is delightful. High Key does as well, and it appears those are carried in some Walmart locations.
If you can’t find the cookies, that’s OK, too. You could easily mix up the crust from my Celebration Pie and add some cinnamon, to your taste!
This delicacy has more total carbs than I generally like to share in a recipe. It is, however, almost Thanksgiving here in the US, and so I classify something like this- where the ingredients are all compliant, but it’s not something you want to eat frequently because of quantities- as a special occasion food. I’d personally make this for Turkey Day, or maybe even Christmas (in fact, the plan is for this to be our Christmas dessert this year), but otherwise I’d probably stay out of it. My best advice here is that while this is great for special occasions for most ketonians, if you’re particularly sensitive to sweets and/or need to count total carbs pretty strictly, I’d keep it to only those special occasions, and preferably ones with lots of guests with whom to share!
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PinIngredients
For the crust:
- 4 oz (a little over one bag) Benton’s snickerdoodle mini-cookies, crushed finely
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
For the cheesecake:
- 24 oz (680 g) cream cheese, softened
- 4 oz (113 g) brown sweetener (I used Swerve Brown)
- 2 1/2 oz (71 g) granulated sweetener (I used Allulose)
- 1/4 c (2 fl oz/59 ml) liquid Allulose sweetener
- 1/2 tsp maple extract
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 tsp glucomannan powder
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp Spice Islands pumpkin pie spice blend
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1 (15 oz/425 g) can pumpkin purée (not pie filling!)
For the topping:
- 1 c (8 fl oz/237 ml) heavy whipping cream
- 3/4 c (6 fl oz/177 ml) liquid Allulose
- 1 tsp maple extract
- 2 oz (57 g) pecans, roughly chopped
Instructions
Make the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325° F.
- Wrap the bottom of a 9” springform pan very tightly with two layers of heavy-duty aluminum foil. You are going to bake this in a shallow water bath, and you don’t want any of that to seep into your cheesecake. Make sure you have a large roasting pan or something similar into which your springform pan will fit.
- In a small bowl, add the crushed cookies and butter and stir until well combined.
- Turn the buttered crumbs out into the springform pan, and press evenly into the bottom to form the crust. Set aside.
Make the cheesecake:
- On medium speed, beat the softened cream cheese together with the brown sweetener, the granulated sweetener until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the liquid allulose and maple extract until just combined.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl well in between additions.
- Sprinkle the glucomannan powder evenly over the top of the mixture and beat until just combined.
- Add the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and sea salt, and beat one last time until its just combined.
- Stir in the pumpkin purée by hand (you don’t have to be gentle).
- Once it’s all well mixed, pour the cheesecake batter into the springform pan over the crust.
- Shake the pan gently from side to side to make sure the batter is evenly distributed in the pan. You can smooth the top with the back of a spatula if necessary.
- Put the well-wrapped springform pan into a large roasting pan (or similar) and make sure it sits properly in the bottom.
- Pour a good inch of water into the bottom of the roasting pan to make a water bath.
- Gently transfer the whole thing to the oven and bake at 325° F for 70 minutes.
- When the time is up, open the oven and look at the cheesecake. If the center is set you can take it out. If not, give it another ten minutes. Don’t bake it the extra 10 minutes if you don’t have to. If you bake it too long, it cracks.
- Let the whole thing stand out of the oven for 10 minutes.
- Gently remove the springform pan from the roasting pan, and then remove the foil from the bottom. Gently loosen the cheesecake from the sides of the pan with a thin knife.
- Let the springform pan (and the cheesecake) cool for an hour on a cooling rack, then put it in the fridge to chill completely (a minimum of 4 hours, but preferably more like 8 or overnight)
Make the topping:
- When the cheesecake is almost completely chilled, lightly toast the pecans in a dry skillet over low heat until they’re fragrant. Set them aside to cool completely.
- Heat the heavy cream and the liquid Allulose in a large/tall saucepan over medium heat.
- Let the mixture come to a boil stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from scorching.
- Continue boiling the sauce for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep the bottom from scorching. It will be very bubbly and a light, caramel color.
- Remove from the heat and stir in the maple extract and cooled pecans.
- Let the mixture stand off the heat for 10 minutes, then transfer to a lidded container and let it chill in the fridge for an hour. It will thicken a bit as it chills.
- Once the cheesecake and praline sauce are all chilled, remove the springform pan from the fridge and gently remove the sides of the pan to release the cheesecake.
- Cut the cheesecake into 16 equal slices then drizzle the top with the pecan praline sauce.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Per slice (1/16 of the recipe): 300 cal, 5.9 g protein, 28.4 g fat, 31 g carbs, 2.1 g fiber, 23.6 g sweetener (sugar alcohols and allulose), 4.7 g NET carbs
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/16 recipe
Keywords: Pumpkin praline cheesecake, pumpkin spice, pecan praline, cheesecake keto, low carb
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