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Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries Recipe

March 30, 2015 by Jeanette 27 Comments

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One Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries has just 194 calories. This would make an elegant finish to any meal – you’ll love the chocolate crust, creamy filling and fresh berry topping. Sponsored by The Hershey Company.

Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries - less than 200 calories! You'll love the chocolate crust and the creamy filling and the fresh berry topping is the perfect finishing touch.

I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t love cheesecake. The only problem is that it’s usually loaded with fat and calories. You really only need a few bites to satisfy your cheesecake craving, but it’s hard to resist when you have an entire slice in front of you.

Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries - less than 200 calories! You'll love the chocolate crust and the creamy filling and the fresh berry topping is the perfect finishing touch.

So, I have the perfect solution! What about a mini cheesecake that tastes like what you’d expect in a cheesecake, but on the light side – one that has less than 200 calories? It’s something anyone can enjoy.

Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries - less than 200 calories! You'll love the chocolate crust and the creamy filling and the fresh berry topping is the perfect finishing touch.

I created this Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries just for you and me so we can indulge in something that tastes super rich and decadent, but is so much lighter than the traditional cheesecake. I think chocolate and strawberries or raspberries make a great combination, so I’ve incorporated these into this mini cheesecake too.

Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries - less than 200 calories! You'll love the chocolate crust and the creamy filling and the fresh berry topping is the perfect finishing touch.

So, what makes this cheesecake light? The secret ingredient is low-fat cottage cheese. I’ve used cottage cheese in place of cream cheese to lighten up all sorts of recipes, both sweet and savory, and it works wonders. The trick is to blend the cottage cheese up really well and remove as much moisture as possible.

These are really like a three layer cheesecake, with a chocolate crust, a light creamy cheesecake filling, and a fresh berry sauce on top.

Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries - less than 200 calories! You'll love the chocolate crust and the creamy filling and the fresh berry topping is the perfect finishing touch.

While you’re enjoying a bite of this mini chocolate-crusted cheesecake, let me share a few cool things that I learned about Hershey’s cocoa sustainability strategy during my visit to The Hershey Company last summer. I was really impressed by several of the company’s programs that have been helping raise living standards for cocoa farmers and their families (primarily in Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana).

Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries - less than 200 calories! You'll love the chocolate crust and the creamy filling and the fresh berry topping is the perfect finishing touch.

In particular, CocoaLink and Hershey Learn to Grow are two innovative programs that help provide farmers with educational and community resources, and information on best practices in sustainable cocoa farming. Hershey is also committed to sourcing 100% certified cocoa for all chocolate products by 2020. Certified cocoa ensures the highest international standards for labor, environmental and farming practices. Hershey-supported sustainability and certification programs will benefit more than 750,000 farmers by 2017. I think that’s very impactful and impressive.

Watch this video Our Story of Cocoa and other videos to learn more.

Now let’s eat cheesecake! I’ve served these to my kids and to guests and everyone raved about them – they had no idea that the little cheesecake they ate was actually on the light side.

Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries - less than 200 calories! You'll love the chocolate crust and the creamy filling and the fresh berry topping is the perfect finishing touch.
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Mini Gluten-Free Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake with Fresh Berries

Course Dessert
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 12

Ingredients

Chocolate Almond Flour Crust

  • 1 cup almond flour
  • 4 tablespoons HERSHEY'S unsweetened Cocoa powder
  • 4 tablespoons organic brown sugar
  • 4 tablespoons organic unsalted butter melted, cooled

Skinny Cheesecake Filling

  • 2 cups 16 ounces low-fat cottage cheese, strained
  • 1/3 cup organic sugar
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest
  • 2 eggs

Berry Topping

  • 2 cups fresh organic strawberries or raspberries
  • 2 tablespoons organic sugar

Garnish

  • fresh organic raspberries
  • organic powdered sugar

Instructions

Chocolate Flour Almond Crust

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place almond flour, cocoa powder and brown sugar in food processor and process until there are no more lumps. Add melted butter and process a few seconds until just combined.
  2. Line muffin tins with paper liners. Divide crust mixture among 12 muffin tins. Use fingers to press down on crust.
  3. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and cool. Reduce oven to 300 degrees.

Cheesecake Filling

  1. Place strained cottage cheese in food processor (be sure to wash out after mixing the chocolate crust) and puree until smooth. Add sugar, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest and process until just mixed through. Add eggs and process until just mixed through. Pour into muffin tins (I used a liquid measuring cup with a spout for less mess).
  2. Bake for 25 minutes or until center is almost set. Remove from oven, cool, then refrigerate for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.

Berry Topping

  1. Meanwhile, make berry topping by placing strawberries and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and cook 5 minutes. Let cool; place in food processor and process until smooth; put through strainer if you want to get rid of seeds.

To serve

  1. Gently remove paper liners from cheesecakes and place on serving tray. Spoon berry topping on top of each mini cheesecake. Decorate with a few fresh raspberries and sift a little powdered sugar on top.

Mini Chocolate Crusted Cheesecake Nutrition Label

Disclosure: This blog post and my trip to Hershey, PA were sponsored by The Hershey Company as part of my participation in their Food Ambassador program. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

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Filed Under: Clean Eating, Desserts and Cookies, gluten-free Tagged With: chocolate crust, gluten-free cheesecake recipe, light cheesecake, low calorie dessert, mini cheesecake, strawberry sauce, The Hershey Company

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Comments

  1. Stacy | Wicked Good Kitchen says

    March 30, 2015 at 7:22 am

    Jeanette, this is the perfect dessert! I love that these mini cheesecakes are gluten free, but I especially love that you made them with a chocolate crust and fresh raspberries on top!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 30, 2015 at 8:11 am

      Thanks Stacy – these little bites just kind of came together – glad you like them 🙂

      Reply
  2. TidyMom says

    March 30, 2015 at 7:31 am

    Oh how perfect is this recipe!! I’ve been obsessed with anything with raspberries lately! and cheesecake….well that is just a match made in heaven!!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 30, 2015 at 8:11 am

      Thanks Cheryl – I couldn’t agree more – raspberries + cheesecake just seem to go together naturally!

      Reply
  3. Lauren @ Eating with a Purpose says

    March 30, 2015 at 8:21 am

    Beautiful photographs! Pinning to make!

    Reply
  4. Shashi at RunninSrilankan says

    March 30, 2015 at 8:58 am

    I adore cheesecake but my stomach cannot handle cream cheese so I am always looking for alternatives! I cannot wait to try this version Jeanette – the texture on those gorgeous little beauties is phenomenal – I would never have thought these were made wit cottage cheese!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 31, 2015 at 6:13 pm

      Shashi – these are lighter than your typical cheesecake so I hope you can enjoy these.

      Reply
  5. Kelly says

    March 30, 2015 at 9:20 am

    These mini cheesecakes are beautiful, Jeanette! I love that you lightened them up with cottage cheese, they look so creamy and delicious. The raspberry topping with the chocolate almond crust sounds amazing together!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 31, 2015 at 6:14 pm

      Thanks Kelly – I was really happy the way these turned out, and even happier that everyone loved them 🙂

      Reply
  6. Neli @ Delicious Meets Healthy says

    March 30, 2015 at 10:01 am

    5 stars
    Jeannette, these mini cheesecakes look absolutely fabulous! They are definitely going on my to-try-soon-recipes list!
    Thanks so much for sharing this deliciousness! 🙂

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 31, 2015 at 6:15 pm

      Thanks Neli – I hope you have the chance to try these!

      Reply
  7. Francesca says

    March 30, 2015 at 10:57 am

    Divine little cakes! Must try…

    Reply
  8. Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits says

    March 30, 2015 at 12:05 pm

    I absolutely LOVE cheesecakes, especially when they’re topped with fruit. I’ve never thought of adding cottage cheese to make cheesecake before–thanks for the tip!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 31, 2015 at 6:16 pm

      Thanks Lisa – I started using cottage as a substitute for cream cheese a few years ago and it is great as a higher protein, low fat alternative.

      Reply
  9. Deborah says

    March 30, 2015 at 12:26 pm

    Love these!! Especially that you can have a treat and not feel badly about it!

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      March 31, 2015 at 6:17 pm

      Thanks Deborah – between the lighter ingredients and the mini size, these are definitely a treat you don’t have to feel guilty about.

      Reply
  10. Angie@Angie's Recipes says

    March 30, 2015 at 2:43 pm

    With less than 200 calories, these mini cheesecakes are definitely a winner! They look divine, Jeanette.

    Reply
  11. Kelsey @ Snacking Squirrel says

    March 30, 2015 at 2:56 pm

    Loving that they’re not only magnificent and yummy but they are gluten free. So cute and perfect in their mini form.

    Reply
  12. Alanna says

    March 30, 2015 at 3:20 pm

    My mom used to make these for the holidays, but of course they were the full fat version. Loving that cottage cheese in your recipe – YUM. Great info on the cocoa 🙂

    Reply
  13. Alice @ Hip Foodie Mom says

    March 30, 2015 at 4:07 pm

    low-fat cottage cheese?!!!! Can’t wait to try this!!! Brilliant!!!

    Reply
  14. Brian @ A Thought For Food says

    March 30, 2015 at 5:50 pm

    Anything cheesecake is my favorite. And, really, the most wonderful way to eat it is with fresh berries on top.

    Reply
  15. Judy says

    March 30, 2015 at 8:07 pm

    These little cheesecakes look so good, and I would have never thought to substitute cottage cheese for the cream cheese. Also a nice bonus that they are gluten free so my niece can enjoy them 🙂

    Reply
  16. genevieve @ gratitude & greens says

    March 30, 2015 at 8:28 pm

    I have to admit that I find Hershey’s to be pretty awful- I just think their chocolate tastes way too sweet- but this cheesecake sounds delicious and I LOVE the chocolate crust you did 🙂

    Reply
  17. Angie | Big Bear's Wife says

    April 2, 2015 at 12:00 pm

    I love how low the calorie count is for a cheesecake dessert! Plus one that looks this good would be great for an Easter dessert too!

    Reply
  18. April @ Food n' Focus says

    May 27, 2015 at 8:33 am

    These sound and look amazing!

    Reply
  19. Judy says

    January 25, 2016 at 10:06 pm

    This looks delicious. My son is allergic to nuts. Can I substitute gluten-free flour in place of almond flour for the crust?

    Reply
    • Jeanette says

      January 29, 2016 at 7:44 am

      Thanks Judy – gluten free flour should work fine, although I’m guessing that you might need a little more moisture to hold it together since there is natural fat in almond flour.

      Reply

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