No-Bake Keto Lemon Cheesecake
A delicious no-bake cheesecake with a perfect balance of lemon tanginess and sweet creaminess, topped with fresh strawberries and a vibrant strawberry-lemon glaze. Easy to prepare and perfect for summer.
Ingredients
Lemon almond crust
- 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour superfine, not almond meal
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter melted
- 3 tbsp powdered erythritol or a powdered monk fruit blend
- 1 tsp lemon zest finely grated
- 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
Lemon filling
- 2 tsp beef gelatin this is what carries the set
- 2 tbsp cold water for blooming the gelatin
- 16 oz full-fat cream cheese properly soft, room temperature
- 3/4 cup powdered erythritol powdered only, granular stays gritty
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream cold, straight from the fridge
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice about 2 lemons; bottled tastes flat
- 1 tbsp lemon zest zest before you juice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
To finish
- 1 cup fresh strawberries sliced
- 1 tbsp powdered erythritol for the glaze
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice for the glaze
Instructions
- Make the crust. Line the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan with parchment. Stir the almond flour, melted butter, 3 tablespoons of powdered erythritol, the teaspoon of zest and the salt together until it looks like wet sand and holds when you squeeze it. Press it firmly and evenly across the base and about half an inch up the sides — the flat bottom of a measuring cup does this better than your fingers. Chill it in the freezer for 15 minutes while you make the filling.
- Bloom the gelatin. Sprinkle the 2 teaspoons of beef gelatin over the 2 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl. Leave it for 5 minutes until it swells into a solid, rubbery pad. Do not stir it, and do not add it to anything yet.
- Beat the cream cheese smooth. Beat the softened cream cheese with the 3/4 cup of powdered erythritol on medium for a full 2 minutes, scraping the bowl twice. Every lump has to go now — once the cream is in, it is too late to fix them.
- Melt the gelatin and add the lemon. Microwave the bloomed gelatin for 8 to 10 seconds, just until it turns liquid and clear. Do not let it boil. Whisk it straight into the lemon juice, then pour that into the cream cheese with the zest and vanilla and beat until fully combined. The mixture will loosen and look thinner — that is expected.
- Whip the cream separately. In a clean, cold bowl, whip the heavy cream to stiff peaks. Fold it into the lemon mixture in three additions with a spatula, cutting down and turning the bowl rather than stirring. Stop the moment the streaks disappear.
- Fill and chill. Scrape the filling onto the chilled crust and smooth the top. Tent it loosely with plastic wrap so nothing touches the surface, and refrigerate at least 4 hours, or overnight for clean slices. Do not freeze it to speed this up; it sets grainy.
- Finish and serve. Whisk the remaining tablespoon each of powdered erythritol and lemon juice into a thin glaze. Run a knife around the rim, release the springform, then top with the sliced strawberries and drizzle the glaze over. Slice with a knife dipped in hot water and wiped between cuts.
Notes
Why there is gelatin in this one. A third of a cup of lemon juice is a lot of liquid and a lot of acid to add to a filling that is supposed to hold its shape. Whipped cream and cream cheese alone will set a plain no-bake cheesecake, but add this much juice and you get a soft, weeping center that slumps the moment you cut it. Two teaspoons of bloomed gelatin fixes that, and it is why this recipe can taste properly of lemon instead of politely of it.
Bring the cream cheese fully to room temperature. Cold cream cheese will not beat smooth, and lumps set hard overnight. An hour on the counter, not the microwave.
Make it ahead. It keeps 4 days covered in the fridge and slices better on day two than on day one. Add the strawberries and glaze just before serving so they stay bright.
Why the carb numbers do not subtract cleanly. The total carbohydrate above includes the sugar-free sweetener, because that is how it is declared on the packet. Erythritol and allulose pass through without being metabolized, so they come back out again in the net carb figure — which is why total carbs minus fiber does not land on the net carbs shown.