Strawberry Cheesecake with Gluten Free Crust & Naturally Sweetened with Honey {GF, RSF}

If you google anything with word "cheesecake" in it, the search results will undoubtedly return several articles with cheesecake tips and tricks. Make sure everything is at room temperature. Whip well, but not TOO well. Use a water bath. Don't use a water bath. Bake. No bake. Let the middle jiggle. If the middle jiggles, its not finished cooking. Blah blah blah.  Let me give you my tip: make this cheesecake. I've made it many times and either the batter seemed clumpy, or the middle jiggled, or it didn't jiggle, etc. Regardless, every time it has turned out DELICIOUS! And, its refined sugar and gluten free. Bonus.

What makes this recipe so foolproof? I'm not sure. Maybe its the super simple ingredients...

Creeamcheese

Honey

Greek Yogurt

Vanilla

Eggs

Done. Plus the crust and the topping (which is really just cooked strawberries). I know, creamcheese isn't exactly a "superfood" - but when you buy high quality dairy from grass fed cows, it does become a lot easier for you to digest and has higher quality nutrients. If you are interested in the other benefits of grass fed meat/dairy, I HIGHLY recommend the book The Dorito Effect. Its packed with scientific studies and super fascinating nutritional information; it totally blew my mind regarding things like meat quality, fortified foods, and how animals choose which plants to eat.

OKAY, back to this Cheesecake. You pulse all the crust ingredients together, par-bake that, hand mix the filling, swirl in some cooked fruit, bake, cool, and enjoy! DONEZO.  It is fairly important that your filling ingredients are all at room temperature before you bake this. The creamcheese won't get smooth if it's straight out the fridge. That said, I've made this when the cream cheese was somewhere in between room temperature and fridge - and it did get a little clumpy and resemble cottage cheese when I tried to blend it.  I baked it anyways, and it seemed to resolve itself.  Not saying its guaranteed, but I would risk it rather than throw out the batter...

Anyways, make this tonight or PIN this Gluten Free Cheesecake for later!

Strawberry Cheesecake with Gluten Free Crust & Naturally Sweetened with Honey {GF, RSF}
By The Granola Diaries 

Ingredients 

• 20 oz creamcheese (2.5 8oz packages)
• ¾ C Honey
• 1 C Plain Greek Yogurt (I used 2%)
• 1.5 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 3 Eggs
• Optional: Squeeze of fresh lemon or a bit of lemon zest

For the crust

• 1 C Oat Flour
• ½ C Almond Flour
• ¼ C Cocoa Powder
• 1 - 2 Tbsp Maple Syrup
• 2 Tbsp Melted coconut oil/butter/ghee

For the topping

• ~1 cup Strawberries
• Lemon zest
• Optional: 1 - 2 tsp honey

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and brush a 9" springform pan with butter/oil or cooking spray.
2. For the sauce, blend the berries in a blender or food processor until mostly liquid/mush. Add to a sauce pan with a touch of lemon zest and honey (if desired), bring to a boil, and then let simmer for a few minute while you prep the rest. Stir occasionally. Make sure to remove from heat and bring the temperature down slightly before topping the cake.
3. Combine all the crust ingredients in a food processor or blender. Or, mix well with your hands. Mixture should be wet but still crumbly. Press into bottom of springform pan with your hands or the bottom of a cup and bake for 9 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, use a handheld mixer to soften the creamcheese on a low speed. Make sure it is at room temperature! (See notes). Next, slowly mix in the honey, and then the yogurt, then vanilla, and then the eggs, one at a time!  Add lemon juice or zest too for a nice flavor boost, if desired.
5. Pour cheesecake onto crust. Top with a few dollops of strawberry sauce, and use a knife to swirl around. Reserve the rest of the sauce for serving. Place pan on a baking tray to ensure nothing leaks. Bake for 45 minutes, then turn oven off and leave cake in for 10 more minutes. Remove, bring the cake to room temperature (this can take 2 - 3 hours), then cover tightly and store in fridge for at least a couple hours, or overnight. Enjoy directly from fridge or let it cool for 10 - 20 minutes if you prefer a more room temperature slice! (How many times can I say "room temperature" in one recipe?!)
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Notes:

1. If the creamcheese is not at room temperature, it will get lumpy and look like cottage cheese. Stop, and wait until it reaches room temp, then continue! If your eggs and yogurt are cold, they will turn your cream cheese cold too when you add them. EVERYTHING AT ROOM TEMP, PEEPS!