Spiced Apple Baked Cheesecake out the oven and past the knife test.
Spiced Apple Baked Cheesecake out the oven and past the knife test.
My Personalised Zoe Score: 76
Total Time: 2 hours approx
16 servings
Everyone's gut microbiome is different, so you are unlikely get the same ZOE score as me.
See the nutrition and dietary guidance below.
Baked cheesecake is ideal for people who struggle with blood sugar management..
This low sugar recipe has a spicy, crunchy, crumbly cookie base, a tangy apple layer, and a luscious creamy cheese topping with just a hint of aromatic sweetness. The cookie base layer is a spiced up version of our Christmas Crumble Cookies.
Each slice is high in fats and fibre which will keep you full for a longer and help you to balance your blood glucose levels. I score a massive 92 points on Zoe due to the good fats... but this score is for a single portion and will reduce if I overindulge or fail to manage my fats during the day.
This is most definitely one of my most complex recipes and it takes around 2 hours to complete. Do check you have everything you need in your cupboards. Please click on the links to buy any missing ingredients as this helps me pay to keep this blog going.
1/4 cup sunflower seeds
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup rolled porridge oats
1/4 cup almond flour
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup mixed nuts
2 tbsp dark jaggery
1/2 lemon juiced
1/4 cup tahini
1 tsp celtic salt
2 cinnamon stick
2 inch of fresh ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
Zest of 1 lemon
One Cooking Apple
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
2 tsp Ghee (optional)
225 grams of ricotta cheese (1 and 1/2 tubs)
185 grams of mascarpone cheese (3/4 tub)
4 eggs
2 tbsp of psyllium husk (rising agent)
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/2 tsp Mace
2 tsp of Vanilla essence
2 tsp Maldon salt flakes
Parchment paper
Coconut butter (or oil)
A large baking tray
Oven temperature: 150 degrees
Cooking Time: 10 -12 minutes or until brown
Click here to download a PDF with ingredients and dietary guidance.
Each serving
199 cals per serving
Carbs 8 g
Fats 14.7 g
Protein 6.8 g
Fibre 2.9 g
Vegetarian: Contains eggs and dairy products
Blood sugar management: I am hypoglycaemic and this recipe works well at balancing my blood glucose giving me an Excellent score. You can find out more about blood sugar management here
Fats: Despite being high in fat, this recipe balances HDLs and LDLs well and gets and "Excellent" score for me on Zoe. Daily fat intake should be limited to the RDA. This means it is important not to overindulge in this cake, and to manage fat content in other meals throughout the day. Find out about managing high cholesterol here
Gluten Free: Some sugars may irritate. Otherwise this is suitable for celiacs provided you buy brands that guarantee no cross contamination. Find out more about a celiac diet here
FODMAP: Jaggery, maple syrup, lemon juice and cranberries contain sugars which may be irritants. However, these are at quite a low dose per cookie so hard as it may be... don't eat them all in one sitting! Find out more about FODMAPS here.
Low in ultra-processed ingredients: Tahini, cheese, maple syrup, jaggery, psyllium husk, almond flour, porridge and vanilla essence all require a moderate level of processing. The rest you do in your food processor. Find out about ultra-processed foods here
Please credit me if you use any of my recipes for educational or commercial purposes. Traffic to this site helps me immensely!
©2024 Morna Simpson low-sugar-recipes.com
I do not offer medical or dietary advice and I am not qualified to do so. I recommend everyone to get support from a qualified health practitioner for their own personalised advice. If you have symptoms of a health condition you may benefit from understanding your
Blood fat control (full cholesterol check)
Blood sugar management
Gut microbiome (poop test)
I got these tested and it was life changing for me. I put my personal ZOE score as guidance for anyone who may have the same health issues as me.
If you are trying to lose weight, speak to a health practitioner to
Measure your BMI (body mass index)
Recommend a daily calorie intake to suit your diet and weight loss plan
Your health practitioner can also keep you up to date on Recommended Daily Allowances (RDA) for fat, sugars and other nutrients to ensure you get a balanced diet that works for your particular health needs.
You will notice I use the term "in moderation" a lot. Just like one glass of wine with a meal can be healthy, while binge drinking is harmful to your health, almost all nutrients can be harmful in large doses. It is really important you do your own research and take responsibility for managing your diet.
Find out more about the ingredients and figure out what works for you.
I am a big ZOE fan and will always recommend their podcast (on Apple or Spotify) and their video channel as a major source of up-to-date health information.
Information about my recipes will inevitably get a little outdated because nutritional science is moving forwards all the time. Sometimes there will be a broken link. Please do your own research and find resources that you trust.
Put a quarter cup each, of almond flour, porridge oats, sunflower and chia seeds into a mixing bowl and mix well.
Zest the whole lemon. I use a grater for parmesan cheese as I like it to be a little chunky in this recipe.
Juice half the lemon.
Put half the cranberries into the food processor along with the jaggery, half a cup of mixed nuts, the spices (two inch of ginger root, two stick of cinnamon stick) and juice of half a lemon.
Blend until it makes a thick and sticky paste. It should be quite chunky, you don't want it to be too finely processed.
Put the processed mix into the bowl along with the seed, oats, and almond flour. Add the lemon zest, the additional cranberries, a teaspoon of vanilla essence, an eighth of teaspoon of ground cloves and the salt. Measure out your tahini, add to the bowl and mix well.
Let the mix sit for fifteen minutes or longer to activate the chia seeds. The soluble fibre from glutinous seeds helps the dough to stick together. Add a little warm water if it needs it.
While the dough is resting get started on the apple puree.
Cut apple into small chunks and put in a pan. Add juice and zest of a whole lemon, and 2 teaspoons of ghee.
There should be enough moisture in the cooking apple and the lemon to make a puree. You can always add a little warm water if it needs it.
Put it on the stove at a medium temperature. Cook for around 10 minutes until the apple turns to mush. Then reduce the sauce until it is a thick tart paste. Be careful not to burn.
Cut parchment paper to fit a large cake tin with a removable base. Grease parchment up with coconut oil and line the tin.
Roll the cookie dough into a large ball and place in the centre of the cake tin. Press it flat with your hands until it covers the base and leaves a small lip going around the edges.
Place in a preheated oven at 150 degrees for 10 minutes or until it starts to turn brown.
Remove from oven and let cool.
Put all the topping ingredients into the food blender and blend well.
The mix should be roughly the consistency of a pancake mix.
It should taste creamy with a hint of vanilla and mace.
Pour into the cake tin, over the top of the cookie base.
Put into a preheated oven at 150 degrees.
Check this after about 50 minutes.
Keep checking regularly to make sure it does not go too brown. Lower the heat if it starts to go brown.
You will know the cheesecake is ready when the batter has pulled away from the sides and has raised slightly in the middle.
You can double check with a sharp knife to see if it has cooked in the middle.
Remove from the oven and place a clean dish towel over the top.
When cool, remove the side of the cake tin.
Decorate with creme fraiche, some slices of apple and a little lemon zest. Remember that creme fraiche will add to your fat content.
Refrigerate before cutting into 16 pieces for serving.
Note: I don't add optional decoration to the nutrient guidance
Orange and cinnamon baked cheesecake pulled in from the edge of the tine and tested using a sharp knife.
This is scrumptious! It is truly, truly scrumptious. The orange and cinnamon will fill up your home with a delicious scent. The mix of warm spice and citrus fruit makes me think Christmas... It's a great pudding for parties at that celebratory time of year... but I live in Scotland and I will eat it all year round.
Cheesecake is an ideal way for people with sugar intolerance to satisfy their sweet tooth. The sugars are balanced out by fats - giving me (a hypoglycaemic) a personalised Zoe score of 74.