Our biscuity base is made using oats and sunflower seeds to make it gluten free but still packed with flavour! And we’ve avoided refined white sugars to make it that little bit healthier.
With this cheesecake there’s no messing about with water baths. You just whip up the gluten free crust, add the cheesecake filling, bake and leave it to cool slowly.
Summary
Prep: 15 minutes
Cooking: 45 minutes
Resting: Overnight
Ages: Toddler to Teens
Difficulty: Intermediate
Makes: 1 large cheesecake (15 servings)
Why we love Classic Cheesecake
Cheesecake is one of the ultimate comfort foods. It’s luxurious creaminess is a firm favourite with many people!
Our gluten free cheesecake recipe has all the creaminess you want from a cheesecake without all the nasties you can get in the crusts using prepackaged biscuits.
Our gluten free cheesecake crust
Our cheesecake crust is made using sunflower seeds, gluten free oats and coconut sugar.
That way we kept it free from refined white sugars as well as gluten.
By using only natural, wholesome ingredients our biscuity base also has the added benefits of being high in magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium, protein and vitamin E.
Tips for the perfect cheesecake
We have some hard-learned tips for our classic New York cheesecake to keep in mind when you start baking:
- Room temperature is best. It’s recommended that all the ingredients for the filling, such as the cream cheese, sour cream and eggs, are all at room temperature when you begin cooking. So it’s a good idea to take them out of the fridge 20 minutes before beginning.
- Egg whites give the fluffiness. Beating the egg whites until they make stiff white peaks is very important to keep your cheesecake light and fluffy. So take care not to skip this step.
- Try not to overcook it. Cheesecake is very sensitive to heat so when it’s in the oven you have to take care not to over cook it. You should turn the oven off when the sides are firm but the centre is still wobbly. If it looks undercooked don’t worry. It’s going to sit in the oven with the heat off for a further 30 minutes so it will cook a little more during that stage. Your cheesecake should not go golden or brown in the oven.
- Let your cheesecake cool gradually. If it doesn’t cool slow enough it can crack, which can be a real bummer after all the effort to make it. So after cooking first leave it in the oven for 30 minutes, then leave it at room temperature until it’s cooled completely. After that you can put it in the fridge to cool overnight.
Ingredients
For the gluten free cheesecake crust:
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds (60 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free jumbo rolled oats (150 grams)
- 1/3 cup butter melted (80 ml)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 50 grams coconut sugar
- 1 1/4 tablespoons water, if needed
Ingredients
For the gluten free cheesecake crust:
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds (60 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free jumbo rolled oats (150 grams)
- 1/3 cup butter melted (80 ml)
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 50 grams coconut sugar
- 1 1/4 tablespoons water, if needed
For the filling:
- 550 grams cream cheese, or other full-fat soft cheese
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated zest of 1 lemon
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 3 tablespoons corn starch
For the topping:
- 120 mls sour cream
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
For the crust:
- Grease an 12 inch loose bottom cake tin or springform pan. Set it aside and preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Place the sunflower seeds, gluten free jumbo rolled oats and salt in a food processor. Blend them all together until the texture is sandy and fine.
- Add the coconut sugar and melted butter to the sunflower seed mixture and pulse until it begins to hold together. Add 1 tablespoon of water if it looks too dry.
- Sprinkle your mixture into a springform pan. Working from the centre press the dough firmly into the base of the pan.
- Add more dough to cover the edges of the pan and compact everything with your fingers until it makes a thin layer about ½ cm depth.
- Poke the biscuity base a few times with a fork to allow the steam to escape during cooking.
- Bake in the middle of a preheated oven for 12 minutes at 180°C or until it starts to go slightly golden.
- Remove your base from the oven and put it to one side to allow it to cool before adding in the filling.
For the cheesecake filling:
- When you’re ready to begin, preheat the oven to 170°C.
- Take the eggs and separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
- Beat the egg whites with a handheld mixer or food processor until stiff peaks form. Put them in a bowl and set them to one side.
- Add the cream cheese and maple syrup to a blender. Mix until smooth.
- Add in the egg yolks, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract and corn starch to the mixer and blend until just combined. Remove and spoon into a bowl.
- Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Don’t over mix as you want to keep those air bubbles, just slowly stir until combined.
- Pour the mixture on top of the precooked cheesecake base. Fill your cake tin to about half cm below the top of the sides.
- Cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 170°C or until you see that the cheesecake is ready.
- Timing is everything with cheesecake so keep a close eye on it as it’s cooking. You want to take it out when the sides are firm but the middle is still wobbly. It will continue cooking afterwards so don’t worry if it doesn’t look completely done when you first turn off the oven. The cheesecake should also not start to brown on top.
- When you see your cheesecake is ready, turn off the heat but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 30 minutes with the oven switched off. If you remove it from the oven too quickly, cheesecake can crack from the rapid cooling.
- After 30 minutes, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely to room temperature before putting in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to set.
For the topping:
- Mix the sour cream with the maple syrup and lemon juice in a bowl.
- Spoon and spread it out over the top of the cooked cheesecake. Smooth with a spoon before putting your cheesecake in the fridge to set.
Gluten free, perfect cheesecake – our step by step guide:
Start the gluten free cheesecake base
Place your sunflower seeds, gluten free oats and salt in a food processor and blend until the texture is sandy and fine.
Add in the remaining ingredients
Now add your melted butter and coconut sugar and pulse until everything is combined.
If you need to you can add 1 tablespoon of water to make it stick together slightly.
Cook your gluten free cheesecake biscuity base
Pat your crust mixture into the bottom of a well oiled loose bottom pan.
Poke a few holes in the crust to allow the steam to escape.
Pop your crust in to bake for 12 minutes in a preheated the oven at 180°C.
Whip the egg whites
While your crust is baking, start making your cheesecake filling.
Start by separating the eggs.
Put the whites in a large mixing bowl (set aside the yolks) and whip with a handheld mixer on high speed for about 7-8 minutes. You can also use a blender.
Your eggs should be stiff enough to form peaks.
Start mixing ingredients for the filling
In your blender or food processor, mix together the cream cheese and maple syrup. Blend until smooth.
Add in the egg yolks, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla extract to the mixer, together with the corn starch and blend until just combined.
Add in the egg whites
Gently fold in your egg whites.
Try not to overstir, just gently fold the egg whites into the mixture until just combined.
Bake your cheesecake
Pour your filling into the pan with the crust base and pop the cheesecake in the oven for 30 minutes at 170°C.
You’ll know the cheesecake is done when the edges are firm and the centre is still a bit jiggly. The top should not be browned.
After 30 minutes turn the heat off but leave the cheesecake for a further 30 minutes in the oven with the heat switched off.
Then remove from the oven and leave at room temperature to cool completely.
Add the cheesecake topping
Mix the sour cream with the maple syrup and lemon juice.
Spoon and smooth it out over the top of the cooked and cooled cheesecake.
Then place it in the fridge to set for several hours or overnight.
Enjoy your gluten free, perfect cheesecake, New York style!
Creamy gluten free cheesecake
Ingredients
Gluten free crust
- 1/3 cup sunflower seeds (60 grams)
- 1 1/2 cups gluten-free jumbo rolled oats (150 grams)
- 1/3 cup butter melted (80 ml)
- 1/4 tsp fine salt
- 50 grams coconut sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp water or as needed
Cheesecake filling
- 550 grams cream cheese or other full-fat soft cheese
- 2/3 cup maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp lemon zest finely grated
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 3 tbsp corn starch
Cheesecake topping
- 120 mls sour cream
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp lemon juice
Instructions
Gluten free crust
-
Grease an 12 inch loose bottom cake tin or springform pan. Set it aside and preheat the oven to 180°C.
-
Place the sunflower seeds, gluten free jumbo rolled oats and salt in a food processor. Blend them all together until the texture is sandy and fine.
-
Add the coconut sugar and melted butter to the sunflower seed mixture and pulse until it begins to hold together. Add 1 tablespoon of water if it looks too dry.
-
Sprinkle your mixture into a springform pan. Working from the centre press the dough firmly into the base of the pan.
-
Add more dough to cover the edges of the pan and compact everything with your fingers until it makes a thin layer about ½ cm depth.
-
Poke the cheesecake crust a few times with a fork to allow the steam to escape during cooking.
-
Bake in the middle of a preheated oven for 12 minutes at 180°C or until it starts to go slightly golden.
-
Remove your base from the oven and put it to one side to allow it to cool before adding in the filling.
Cheesecake filling
-
When you’re ready to begin, preheat the oven to 170°C.
-
Take the eggs and separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.
-
Beat the egg whites with a handheld mixer or food processor until stiff peaks form. Put them in a bowl and set them to one side.
-
Add the cream cheese and maple syrup to a blender. Mix until smooth.
-
Add in the egg yolks, sour cream, lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract and corn starch to the mixer and blend until just combined. Remove and spoon into a bowl.
-
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Don’t over mix as you want to keep the air bubbles, just slowly stir until combined.
-
Pour the mixture on top of the precooked cheesecake base. Fill your cake tin to about half cm below the top of the sides.
-
Cook in the oven for 30 minutes at 170°C or until you see that the cheesecake is ready.
-
Timing is everything with cheesecake so keep a close eye on it as it’s cooking. You want to take it out when the sides are firm but the middle is still wobbly. It will continue cooking afterwards so don’t worry if it doesn’t look completely done. The cheesecake should also not start to brown on top.
-
When you see your cheesecake is ready, turn off the heat but leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 30 minutes with the oven switched off. If you remove it from the oven too quickly, cheesecake can crack from the rapid cooling.
-
After 30 minutes, take it out of the oven and let it cool completely to room temperature before putting in the fridge for a few hours or overnight to set.
Cheesecake topping
-
Mix the sour cream with the maple syrup and lemon juice in a bowl.
-
Spoon and spread it out over the top of the cooked cheesecake. Smooth with a spoon before putting your cheesecake in the fridge to set. Enjoy!
