Delicious Gluten-Free Cheesecake Pie Everyone will LOVE!

Perfect Summertime Dessert

Attending a summer picnic or gathering?  

This  Strawberry Cheesecake recipe is a perfect dessert to share with everyone!

Our family recently attended a picnic and as I was looking for items that the girls could have, someone said, "That's Gluten-Free!", pointing to a delicious cheesecake on a dessert table.  As always, I was skeptical and wanted to talk to the person who made it to ensure no cross-contamination. To my surprise, one of the guests also is a celiac and made this delicious dessert.  Not only was it Gluten-Free, it was also SUGAR free.  The person who prepared this cheesecake used alternative natural sweeteners.   

Interested in eliminating refined sugar from our diets, I began a search for alternatives.  I found the following substitutes for refined sugar:  Stevia, Truvia, Purevia, Xylitol, Raw Honey, Agave Nectar, Maple Syrup, Brown Rice Syrup, Evaporated  Cane Juice, Black Strap Molasses, Organic Sugar.

I also found the following link:

Alternatives to refined sugar:
http://www.organiclifestylemagazine.com/healthy-sugar-alternatives/

Everyone truly enjoyed the Strawberry Cheesecake and the other guests did not even know it was Gluten-Free!

Strawberry Cheesecake Pie

Ingredients

Pie Crust

2 cups pecans
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 small pinch of kosher or sea salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

 

 

Filling

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about ½ an average sized lemon)
1 teaspoon lemon zest (from about ½ an average sized lemon), finely grated
2 cups heavy cream

 

Topping

2 pounds fresh strawberries, rinsed and dried
2 tablespoons seedless strawberry (or other berry) jelly

 

 

 

Directions 

Pie Crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9 inch pie plate with non-stick cooking spray.

Put nuts, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse until ground up. Pulse in the melted butter. Press evenly into the prepared pan. Make sure you even it out. Bake 12 – 15 minutes or until browned, fairly set (will firm up as it cools) and it smells like roasted nuts. Cool while preparing the filling.

Filling

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add the lemon juice and zest and mix well.

In a clean bowl, whip the cream using the whisk attachment until stiff peaks form. Take a big scoop of the whipped cream and stir it into the cheese mixture to lighten it up and then gently fold in the rest of the cheese mixture. Spoon into cooled pie crust. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Can be made 1 day ahead.

Topping

Cut the stems off the strawberries so that the berries will lie flat, pointed side up on the top of the filling. Arrange the berries in concentric circles starting in the middle and working out.

Melt the jelly for about 30 seconds in the microwave. With a small spoon, drizzle the melted jelly over the strawberries. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to a few hours.

Servings

This Gluten Free Recipe Serves 8 People

For Kids.....

Make it fun and put it in a cupcake paper.....of if kids don't like cheesecake, top a cupcake with fresh strawberries and low-sugar icing.