Keto Coffee Cheesecake – All Day I Dream About Food

September 8, 2024

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The creamiest, dreamiest coffee cheesecake with a chocolate crust and a rich chocolate glaze. Would you believe it’s low carb and keto-friendly? Oh, but it is!

I have been hard at work and I deserve a little treat. Actually, I deserve a big treat. And I deserve to take a moment for myself and enjoy not only the treat, but the process of making it.

Which is exactly what I did with this Keto Coffee Cheesecake, and I savored every moment. See, I’ve been super hard at work on the recipes and manuscript for an upcoming cookbook. And as always, I hit that point where I am ready to be done with it.

So I decided to take a break and make something I really want to make. I’ve had this idea for chocolate and espresso cheesecake for ever so long and it was time to execute.

It was just what my mental health, and my tastebuds, needed!

Keto Coffee Cheesecake on a white cake stand with chocolate ganache dripping down the sides.

Why you will love this recipe

Cheesecake can come in so many delicious flavors and formats. And despite its reputation, it really isn’t that hard to make. It is a bit time consuming, but much of that time is inactive, while it’s baking or chilling.

Over the years, I have learned a few tricks for making super creamy keto cheesecake, so make sure you read all my tips and take the time to do it right. I’ve used these same tricks in recipes like Keto Dulce de Leche Cheesecake and Keto Chocolate Cheesecake and they work their magic every time.

And while this cake may look like a sugary, high carb confection, rest assured that it fits nicely into your keto diet. Each slice has only 3.6g net carbs per serving. How dreamy is that?

Ingredients you need

Pecan flour: You can really use any nut or seed meal for this crust. You can also make your own sunflower seed flour for a nut-free version.
Cocoa powder: Dutch process cocoa imparts a deeper, richer chocolate flavor.
Sweetener: The crust really requires an erythritol based sweetener, but the filling and topping can be made with your favorites. Check out the Tips for Success section for more information.
Heavy whipping cream: A little heavy cream smooths out the filling and makes the cheesecake even creamier. You also need it to make the chocolate glaze.
Espresso powder: I really like the espresso powder from King Arthur Baking. You can also use Starbucks Via Packs, and the decaf packets works well if you don’t want the added caffeine.
Full fat cream cheese: Good organic cream cheese such as Organic Valley has only 1g carbs per serving (1 oz), and the USDA listing for cream cheese indicates that it has 1.2g carbs per ounce.
Eggs: Make sure they are room temperature to keep the cream cheese mixture from clumping up.
Sugar free chocolate: You can also use Lily’s or ChocZero chocolate chips.
Pantry staples: Butter, vanilla extract, and salt

Step by step directions

A collage of 6 images showing how to make Keto Coffee Cheesecake.

1. Prepare the crust: In a medium bowl, whisk together the pecan flour, cocoa powder, sweetener, and salt. Stir in the melted butter until well combined. Press the crust mixture firmly into the bottom of a greased 9-inch springform pan that has been lined with parchment.

2. Bake the crust: Bake at 325ºF for 10 minutes, and then remove and reduce the oven temperature to 300ºF. Once cool wrap the bottom of the pan in tin foil so that the foil reaches about halfway up the sides of the pan.

3. Prepare the coffee: In a small bowl, whisk together the cream and espresso powder until well combined.

4. Beat the cream cheese. In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese on medium for 1 to 2 minutes, until super creamy. Beat in the sweetener and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the cream and espresso mixture and beat in until combined. Taste the mixture and adjust sweetener and coffee flavor as desired.

5. Add the eggs: Beat in the eggs one at a time until just barely incorporated, scraping the beaters, and the bottom and sides of the bowl in between. Pour the filling into the pan and gently shake from side to side to even it out. Tap lightly on the counter to release any air bubbles.

6. Bake the cheesecake: Place the whole pan inside a large roasting pan and fill with hot water to reach partway up the sides of the pan (do not allow it to go over the foil). Bake 70 to 90 minutes, until the cheesecake is mostly set but still jiggles slightly in the center when shaken. Remove and let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours to set. Run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to loosen and remove the sides.

7. Prepare the glaze: In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk the cream and allulose together and bring to just a simmer. Remove from heat and add the chopped chocolate. Let sit 5 minutes to melt, then whisk until smooth.

8. Glaze the cake: Let sit a few minutes to thicken, then pour over the top of the chilled cheesecake, spreading to the edges and allowing some to drip down the sides. Return to the fridge for 30 minutes to help set the glaze.

A slice of Keto Coffee Cheesecake on a white plate with more of the cake in the background.

Tips for Success

I have several tips for you to make your cheesecake super smooth and creamy. The first, and perhaps the most important, is to have all of your ingredients at room temperature. It does no good to get the cream cheese all smooth and then add cold eggs and see it clump up again.

My second tip is to beat the cream cheese on its own for 1 to 2 minutes first, until it’s super creamy and smooth. Don’t add anything else until this is done.

My final tip is to add the eggs at the very end, one at a time. Beat each one until just combined. Before you add them, you can taste and adjust the filling for sweetness and flavor.

Sweetener options

I highly recommend an erythritol sweetener for the base, so that it firms up properly. But for the filling, you can use allulose, erythritol, stevia, or a combination. I don’t recommend stevia on its own, as it can be quite bitter. I used half a cup of allulose and ¼ cup of erythritol. Then I added a touch of extra sweetness with some stevia extract.

The topping takes sugar-free chocolate such as Lily’s or ChocZero. But to keep the glaze nice and shiny, I added 1 tablespoon of allulose to the cream before simmering.

Keto Coffee Cheesecake on a white plate with a cup of coffee in the background.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make sugar-free chocolate ganache?

It’s easy to make a rich, sugar-free chocolate ganache. You simply simmer some cream and add chopped sugar-free chocolate. However, the glaze can go a little dull in the refrigerator, especially if the chocolate is made with erythritol. I like to use a little allulose to offset this and keep the glaze glossy.

How many carbs are in Keto Coffee Cheesecake?

This keto coffee cheesecake recipe has 5.6g of carbs and 2.0g of fiber per serving. That comes to 3.6g net carbs per slice.

How do you store coffee cheesecake?

Store the cheesecake in the fridge, tightly wrapped, for up to a week. You can also freeze it for several months. If you plan on making it ahead for a party, I recommend leaving the ganache off until a few hours before you serve it, so it stays glossy.

Keto Coffee Cheesecake with a forkful taken out of it.

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