Keto Lemon Cheesecake Parfait

 

This recipe was a bit of a challenge. I needed to figure out how to make a baked crust that could be cooled and then transferred to a glass. The lemon curd needed to be cooked on the stovetop, cooled to room temperature, then refrigerated for a minimum of 2 hours. The cheesecake filling was the easy part. I simply hand mixed 2 parts cream cheese with 1 part Greek yogurt, and added a teaspoon of liquid stevia to sweeten.

I ended up doing the individual baked crusts in a muffin tin. Try to use a muffin or tartlet tin that is approximately the same diameter as the serving glass you want to use.

Baked keto tartlet crusts:

1 cup almond flour
1/6 cup butter (add a little at a time - you may not need all of it)
2 tablespoons sweetener of choice

Add sweetener to the almond flour. I used granulated erythritol. Melt the butter and stir it into the dry mixture a little at a time. Depending on the moisture content in your almond flour, you might not need all of it. I keep mine in the refrigerator, so the humidity level was pretty high. I did not need all of the butter. You want it to be solid enough that it keeps its shape when you press it into the molds.

I had enough to make 2 medium size tartlets and 3 smaller ones. Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 to 15 minutes. They should be just turning brown around the edges. Remove from oven, cool at room temperature, then store (covered in plastic) in refrigerator until you are ready to use them. I waited to pop mine out of the molds until after they had been in the fridge overnight, simply because I didn't have time to finish this project the night before.

Lemon curd topping:

I actually made this first because it needs 2 hours in the refrigerator to set up completely. Prepare all of the ingredients before you turn on the burner. You need them to be ready immediately when called for.

2 large eggs + 2 egg yolks
3/4 cup granulated sweetener of choice
1/3 cup butter, melted (measure first and then melt it)
juice of 2 large lemons, strained (to remove pulp & seeds)

Add first 3 ingredients to small/medium saucepan. Whisk together and place on low heat. Add remaining ingredients. Continue to whisk constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and continue to whisk as it cools a bit. Place in a glass bowl and allow to cool to room temperature. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

No-bake keto cheesecake filling:

2 cups cream cheese (see my instructions for making your own cream cheese here)
1 cup Greek yogurt (see my instructions for making your own Greek yogurt here)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or other flavor - I used lemon extract)
liquid sweetener to taste (about 1 teaspoon stevia drops)

Place ingredients in a small bowl. Stir with a spoon until smooth.

Assembling the parfaits:

Put the tartlet crusts into your chosen serving cups or glasses, top with cheesecake filling, and then the lemon curd as a topping.

How they tasted:

Everything tasted fine except the lemon curd had an odd aftertaste. Not bad, just odd. I can't decide what it reminds me of, but whatever it is I didn't care for it with the lemon. I suspect the granulated erythritol that I used does not behave well with lemon juice. I have used erythritol for baking, and I have used it with both eggs and butter, so it must be the lemon. Next time I will try something else. Maybe I can try cooking the sauce without sweetener and stir in liquid sweetener as it is cooling.

If you live in the United States you have access to allulose, which is a sugar substitute that supposedly has zero aftertaste. A lot of keto cooks swear by it, but unfortunately we can't get it in Europe, because it has not yet been approved as a food in the EU.