Yes, I am showcasing yet another cheesecake.  But are you really so surprised?  With the holiday season underway, I felt like this was a great opportunity to continue with the experimental cheesecake flavors.  This dessert is also in one of the key Christmas colors!  How is that for some thematic fun?  For recipe #23, I decided to jump on the Matcha trend bandwagon.

This cheesecake is light as well as lightly sweet, the Matcha is subtle, the flavors bounce off one another and meld really well.  The cheesecake itself it sugar free.  You have the option of going with my traditional cookie crust (not sugar-free or gluten-free) or going with my alternative crust (sugar-free and gluten-free).  The crust featured in the photos is the traditional one.

 

Matcha Cheesecake

Traditional crust (you have two crust options here.  You can use this crust recipe, or my alternative crust option which is gluten-free and sugar-free)

9 ounces of graham crackers or gingersnap cookies

1 tablespoon of palm sugar

½ cup of butter, melted, slightly cooled

Alternative crust (sugar-free and gluten-free)

2 cups of ground almonds (you can purchase these already ground in the baking aisle at your local grocery store, or you can grind them yourself in a food processor)

½ cup of palm sugar (aka coconut sugar)

4-5 tablespoons of melted butter

Filling Ingredients

8 oz. of regular cream cheese

8 oz. package of Alpine fresh cream cheese (whipped cream cheese can be substituted)

1/3 cup of honey

2 tablespoons of Matcha

¼ cup of sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 eggs

Swirl topping

¼ cup of Greek yogurt

1 tsp honey

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/178 C.
2. For the traditional crust recipe: pulse graham crackers in a food processor until fine crumbs form (you should have about 2 cups).  Or, I smash them myself by hand in a large well sealed plastic bag.  Your choice which method to use.  But if by hand, make sure they are well crushed with no big chunks of uncrushed cookies left.  Add raw sugar and pulse to just combine (or, if smashed by hand, pour smashed cookies into a bowl and then mix in raw sugar).  Add butter and pulse (or mix by hand with a spoon) until mixture is the consistency of wet sand.  Transfer the mixture to spring foam pan and, using a large spoon, press crumbs firmly onto the bottom and 2 inches up the sides of the pan.  Bake the crust until fragrant and edges just start to take on color, roughly 10-12 minutes.  Take out of the oven and let cool.
3. For the alternative crust recipe: mix the crushed almonds, palm sugar and melted butter together in a bowl using a fork.  Upon being mixed thoroughly, the ingredients will form a course meal.  Press into the bottom of a 9 inch round cake pan.  Bake the crust for roughly 12 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool as you prepare the cheesecake filling.
4. Beat the regular cream cheese and honey together in a medium sized bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed.
5. Add in sour cream.  Beat just until smooth.
6. Add in Matcha and vanilla.  Beat until just combined.
7. Add in eggs and beat until combined.
8. Finally, mix in Alpine fresh cheese/whipped cream cheese by hand.
9. Pour cheesecake filling onto the crust.  Smooth the top over with a spoon.  Add a few small spoonful’s of the swirl topping mixture randomly over the surface.  Use a toothpick to swirl these a bit, making pretty little starburst designs.
10. Bake at 350 F/178 C for 35-40 minutes.  Center of the cheesecake will still be a bit wobbly.  That’s ok.  It will continue to cook when out of the oven.  Let cool.  Chill at least 3 hours before eating.

This is best enjoyed cold, just out of the fridge.

Yields 8-10 slices, depending on size you prefer to cut them.

Can be stored for up to 4 days, covered, in the fridge.