Low Carb Chocolate Cheesecake ( Strawberry Topping Optional)

Crust :
1 & 1/4 cup, finely chopped Walnuts
1/4 cup Ghiradelli Chocolate 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chip
2 1/2 Tbsp margarine (melted)

Cheesecake :
2 - 8 oz packages of cream cheese (room temp)
6 tbsp- Heavy Whipping Cream
6 tbsp - Sour Cream
2 - large Egg, fresh, whole, raw
4 tbsp - Vanilla Extract
2 tbsp - Stevia Sweetener
1/2 cup - Ghiradelli Chocolate 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chip
5 - tbsp Margarine (melted)

Topping :

2 oz Cream Cheese
2 tbsp sour cream
3 tbsp heavy cream
1/2 cup - strawberries ( finely chopped)
1.5 tsp - stevia sweetener

Crust :
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
- In a food processor (or chopper) chop walnuts until very very fine
- In a small ramekin place your chocolate and margarine. Melt 10 seconds at a time in microwave - stirring between - until chips are fully melted and you have what appears to be a chocolate sauce or topping.
- Combine nuts and chocolate - mix with hand or rubber spatula.
- Press into cheesecake pan evenly
- Bake 10 minutes - leave oven on.
- Set aside

Cheese cake:

- Once cream cheese is to room temperature place in mixing bowl ( I recommend a stand mixer as this is a lot of mixing but it certainly can be done with a big bowl and hand mixer.)
- Add Heavy cream , sour cream, and eggs - mix until well combined and smooth
- Add stevia and vanilla .. mix.
- In a medium sized ramekin place your chocolate chips and margarine. Follow the same steps as above for the crust. Once your chocolate is melted add this to your mixture and mix thoroughly.
- Pour this over your crust.
- Baking : Wrap pan in aluminum foil to top edge ( not over top - to be clear). Place pan in a water bath. A water bath is setting your cheesecake pan into a larger pan with water filled up about halfway around the outer edge of the cheesecake. Please this in the oven. If you have a convection oven use 350 degrees on convect for about 40 minutes until middle is not jiggling when you touch the edge of the pan. IF you do not have a convection oven place cheesecake in oven on bake at 350 degrees and it should take approximately 60 minutes.
- Once cheesecake is done and no longer liquid-like in the middle take out of the oven to cool. Let cheesecake cool in waterbath then when cool enough to touch take cheesecake out of waterbath and place in refrigerator overnight.

Topping :

- Your cheesecake is almost done! In your mixing bowl add cream cheese, heavy cream,and sour cream. Mix until well combined.
- Add strawberries to your mixture until well combined.
- Add Stevia and mix.
- Place this mixture on top of your cheesecake and then place back in the fridge for about 30 minutes so your topping can set properly.

Note : You can add any kind of topping to this cheesecake I just personally love chocolate and strawberries. Please leave me any comments with how it went ! Thanks !

Serving Size: Makes 10 small slices

Number of Servings: 10

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user SSTRUBLE052015.