Greek Yogurt Cheesecake

I first encountered this recipe here, on Eat Live Run.  I thought it sounded good, and I’d been eating Greek yogurt lately.  But I tweaked and twiddled and really made the recipe my own.  First, I decided that I really wanted to commit to the whole healthy, nourishing food thing, so I didn’t want to make the crust with white flour.  And pate brisee doesn’t really lend itself well to soaking and I’m still stingy enough that I’m not about to shell out the $8 that a 2-lb. bag of sprouted flour costs at my store.  Maybe some day.

One thing I will say is that, in the future, I’ll make this with homemade yogurt cheese, rather than Greek yogurt.  I think it might even be cheaper.  And my store doesn’t carry full-fat Greek yogurt.  I made do with low-fat, since it didn’t have additives, but I bet it will be awesome with full-fat.  Also, I’m posting the recipe as I made it, but it would be even better with about 2/3 of the crust.  It comes out grain-free and gluten-free, as well as free of refined sugars.  And full of healthy fats and protein.

Each bite gets a blackberry. Perfect.

Yogurt Cheesecake

Crust:

1.5 cups whole hazelnuts

2 Tbsp. Rapadura

2 Tbsp. arrowroot powder

pinch of salt

6 Tbsp. cold butter, cut into chunks

1 egg white

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grind up the hazelnuts in a food processor, then add the sugar, arrowroot, and salt and process until combined.  Add the butter and pulse until it’s mixed in, then add the egg white and process until a lump of dough forms.  Press into the bottom of a parchment-lined, 8″ square pan.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until firm and slightly golden around the edges.

Filling:

16 oz. Greek yogurt (or 2 cups strained yogurt)

1 egg

2 egg yolks

1/2 cup heavy cream

2/3 cup Rapadura

1 tsp. vanilla

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp. arrowroot powder

Beat the filling ingredients together and pour into the warm crust.  Reduce oven temp to 350 degrees and bake for 50 minutes, or until jiggly but obviously set (mine had tiny bubbles that burst and left tiny craters all the way into the middle, like pinpricks).  Cool at room temperature, then refrigerate for 2-3 hours.  I stashed mine in the freezer for 30 minutes to accelerate this.  Remove from pan and peel away the parchment.  Cut into squares.  I got 9 generous squares, but it could easily be cut smaller.  Serve with fruit topping, if desired.

This post is part of Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade.