This gorgeous Keto Cranberry Orange Cheesecake is subtly flavored with orange, and has a generous amount of cardamom in the crust. The jewel-toned cranberry gel on top makes this festive keto dessert a real show stopper!
This Keto Cranberry Orange Cheesecake is as beautiful as it is delicious!
Don’t be intimidated by the top layer, it’s super easy to execute, and the creamy keto cheesecake is perfectly complemented by that sweet-tart cranberry jelly!
Not your average low carb cheesecake, this lush keto cranberry orange cheesecake starts with a rich crust, spiced with cardamom and orange zest.
The super smooth cheesecake layer is lightly flavored with orange, cranberry, and vanilla, which pairs really, REALLY well with the sophisticated crust.
I baked this keto cranberry orange cheesecake without a water bath, and it turned out perfectly, with not a crack in sight.
I also blended this batter in my high powered Blendtec blender, but if you don’t have a large blender, I’ll also provide instructions to make with a mixer below.
The cranberry jelly gets added after the cheesecake is fully cooled (I did it the next morning) making this keto cranberry orange cheesecake a multi-step recipe.
I promise that it’s not difficult though, and is SO totally worth the effort!
After cooking and then straining the ingredients to make your juice, you’ll add unflavored gelatin as a thickener. Then you cool it until it’s no longer liquid but not quite set either, and then spread it onto the cheesecake.
After chilling for a few more hours, it will set into a firmer gel that slices without oozing, but still melts in your mouth and isn’t firm or chewy when eating.
I can’t say enough about how perfect a bite these three layers make together!
This is easily the fanciest keto cheesecake I’ve ever made, and definitely a new favorite in our house – even with the perennially picky Hungry Jr.
I just know that your tribe will love it too! 🙌🏻
Keto Cranberry Orange Cheesecake Notes:
It is imperative that your cream cheese be fully softened so that it will blend easily and not bog down the blender or leave you with chunks.
Frozen cranberries are fine (it’s what I used)
Be sure to only use the orange part of the zest, if you get into the white part (called the pith) it will turn bitter.
Don’t use the convection setting on your oven if given the option – if you do, the top of your cheesecake can dry out and form a brownish skin.
When you remove the cooked cheesecake from the oven it may still be a little jiggly. Don’t panic, it’s cooked and safe to eat, but it won’t set fully until completely chilled.
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Keto Cranberry Orange Cheesecake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 95 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 55 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Diet: Diabetic
Description
This gorgeous Keto Cranberry Orange Cheesecake is subtly flavored with orange, and has a generous amount of cardamom in the crust. The jewel-toned cranberry gel on top makes this festive keto dessert a real show stopper!
Ingredients
For the crust:
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- 2 cups superfine blanched almond flour
- 1/3 cup brown or golden sugar substitute (I used this one)
- 1/4 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
For the cheesecake layer:
- 4 eggs
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon orange extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
- 1/4 cup raw cranberries
- 32 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/2 cups granulated erythritol (I used this one)
- pinch of salt
For the cranberry gel:
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
- 1/2 cup granulated erythritol
- 2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (I used this one)
- 1 tablespoon cold water
Instructions
For the crust:
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Combine the melted butter, almond flour, sweetener, orange extract, orange zest, and cardamom in a medium sized bowl and mix well with a fork.
- Grease the sides of a 10 inch springform pan with butter.
- Spoon all of the crust mix into the pan and press down firmly and evenly with your hands to create a uniform bottom crust layer.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
- Remove (but leave the oven on) and cool.
To make the cheesecake layer in a large (64 ounce) blender:
- Break the eggs into a large blender cup, and add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla, orange extract, orange zest, and cranberries.
- Blend until smooth.
- Add 2 blocks of softened cream cheese and blend until smooth, scraping the sides down with a silicone spatula as necessary.
- Add the 3rd block of cream cheese and blend until smooth.
- Add the 4th block of cream cheese and blend until smooth, again scraping the sides of the blender cup with a spatula as necessary.
- Add the erythritol and pinch of salt and blend until smooth. The batter should be thick and uniform in color with a slightly pink tint form the cranberries.
- Spoon the filling into the pre-baked and cooled crust, and smooth the top.
- Bake the cheesecake (still at 325 degrees) for 80 minutes.
- Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake inside for one hour, with the door cracked open to release the heat.
- Remove the cheesecake from the oven and chill for at least 6 hours before topping with the cranberry gel.
To make the cranberry gel:
- Combine the cranberries, water, orange zest, and erythritol in a small saucepan.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then turn the heat down to medium and simmer for 5 minutes, or until the cranberries are bursting.
- Using a spoon or potato masher, smash the cranberries until a paste is formed (do not blend with a blender!)
- Strain the mixture through a fine strainer and discard the solids.
- Whisk the gelatin into the tablespoon of cold water in a small bowl – it will have a paste-like consistency.
- Whisk the gelatin mixture to the hot cranberry liquid mixture until it’s fully dissolved.
- Chill for 1 hour, or until it is no longer liquid, but not quite firm either. You want it to be soft enough to spread out, but not so liquid that it will soak into the cheesecake layer.
- Spread the cooled cranberry gel onto the cheesecake to about 1/2 inch from the edge (give or take.)
- Chill the cheesecake for at least 2 additional hours – total chill time for the cake should be a minimum of 8 hours before serving.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
ALTERNATIVE INSTRUCTIONS:
To make the cheesecake layer batter with a stand or hand mixer:
- Mix the cream cheese and sweetener together until fluffy and smooth.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, blending after each.
- Add the heavy whipping cream, vanilla extract, orange extract, orange zest, and salt and mix until smooth.
- Use a small blender like a magic bullet to puree the cranberries.
- Add the cranberry puree to the batter and mix well.
- Bake as directed in blender instructions above.
Notes
Approximate net carbs per slice = 5g.
- Category: Keto desserts
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/12th of cake
- Calories: 460
- Fat: 42g
- Carbohydrates: 7g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 11g
Keywords: keto cranberry cheesecake, keto cheesecake, low carb cheesecake
Lisa says
I am really pleased with how this recipe turned out. The orange and cranberry flavors are lovely without being over bearing, and it has a beautiful presentation. A great choice for a special holiday moment (or any time).
Tips I would offer:
Unless you have a very large capacity blender, it may be difficult to accommodate 32oz of cream cheese. I used a Cuisinart Pro Custom 11 food processor for the blending and the recipe took every bit of the food processor bowl’s capacity.
I’m not someone who uses a food processor very much and feared liquefying the batter, so I blended carefully and frugally. Next time, I will alternate adding the cream cheese w the sweetener to see if that will reduce the mouth feel of the sweetener in the finished cheese cake even more. (My attempt came out ever so slightly gritty.)
You definitely need a 10” spring form pan, which is recommended in the recipe. During baking the batter swelled right to the top of the pan. If I had used a smaller spring form pan, it would have over flowed. (After cooling and refrigeration, the cake fell as the author described, creating a shallow plateau to hold the cranberry jelly. )
The top of my cake was a deep golden brown at 80 mins. (As usual my attempts never look quite like the picture provided. sigh.) I was concerned a thick, chewy skin had formed or that it would taste burnt. Despite the dark color, neither of those things happened. The top of the cake is tender and smooth and did not crack after cooling.
The result is beautiful. Crust is tasty and the the cheese cake impressive. Like almost cheese cakes, making it isn’t hard but it is time consuming. It’s worth it. I will definitely make it again.
Thank you for a recipe that is easy to follow and results that are true!
★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Thanks for this detailed review Lisa! I have found in my oven that when I use the convection setting I get a brown crust on top because of the hot air moving over the top, but when I don’t use the convection I get a light top. So if you have a convection oven, try it with convection off next time and see if that makes a difference!
Silas J, says
I made this with one alteration- I added two tablespoons cocoa powder, as I was craving chocolate. It makes for a light chocolate flavor, but also something that smells and tastes like a chocolate orange. Me and my household have already eaten like half of one of these cheesecakes in a day- it’s so good.
the only alteration I wish I could make was to make the gel layer on top closer to a jelly than to a gelatin- something a little oozy and less just sitting on top. Not quite sure how to do that but I’ll be damned if I’m not making this again and keen to try.
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Just back off on the gelatin a bit and it will be looser!
Terese says
Hi Melissa, is it possible to sub powdered erythritol for the granular in the gel topping? I used up my granular when making the cheesecake layer. Thanks in advance – can’t wait to serve this tonight after our New Year’s Eve dinner!
Beth says
Mellissa, thank you for this recipe, can’t wait to try it!!! It’s only my husband and myself, I am considering 1/2ing this recipe and putting into individual sized ramekins, ( 8 oz sized) how long do you think the bake time would be and do you think it would make 6???
Mellissa Sevigny says
Not sure you’ll get 6 out of it if you halve the recipe, it’s hard to say. I’m guessing you’ll need a 30-40 minute cook time in a porcelain ramekin, I’d definitely start checking at 30 minutes and take it out when it’s firm enough to only jiggle slightly
Beth Beck says
Thanks for getting back to me❤️❤️
Crystal says
I’ve made lots of cheesecakes, but I made quite a few mistakes putting this together. I got huge cracks, it was crumbly, and I had to make extra gel to fix everything. None of that mattered one bit- this is an exceptional cheesecake and is absolutely delicious! Perfect level of every flavor, thank you for this beautiful recipe! Everyone loved it- even my brother who notoriously hates desserts loved his and took plenty home so his roommates could try it. 😊
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
I gotta tell you that I was worried when I started reading this comment, thinking it came out terrible! 😂 What an emotional rollercoaster but I’m soooooo thrilled that this story had a happy ending ha ha! Whew! 🙌🏻🎉
Ted Hight says
Hi, could you give an approximate time between making the gel and having it set enough to put on the cheesecake? 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 2 hours? Thanks!
gjeanieg says
Excellent! Thank you, Mellissa! Made this for a crowd and nobody could believe it was sugar-free. 🥰
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So happy to hear it!!!!
Sara says
When this recipe showed up in my inbox, it was like it was meant to be. I had cream cheese that needed to be used in the coming weeks. I also had just made cranberry sauce (with brandy, Splenda brown sugar, cinnamon and orange juice) for some goat cheese/almond spread, had a lot of sauce left over..and was considering combining the two into a cheesecake the day before I saw this recipe. Rather than the fresh cranberries and gel, I used my cranberry sauce..other than that, I didn’t change anything. This is the best low carb cheesecake I’ve made to date. The crust is absolutely amazing with the cardamom and orange zest. Thank you so much for sharing!!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So happy to hear that Sara – thanks for reporting back!
Tati says
What is the measurement if you substitute for coconut flour? Thank you!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
Coconut flour won’t work the same as almond flour in this crust – I recommend finding a crust recipe that you like that is already made with coconut flour and subbing that in.
Gail G says
I made it crustless, I prefer it that way. I also couldn’t wait the 6 hours before adding the cranberry topping. I spooned it on as a sauce. So good!! Will definitely make again…and again!
★★★★★
Mellissa Sevigny says
So happy to hear it turned out great, even without the crust!
Gwen says
Hey Carolyn- have you tried making the crust with a gluten-free graham cracker base before?
Mellissa Sevigny says
This is Mellissa, Carolyn is a different blogger lol. I have not tried it with a GF graham cracker base, but honestly you can use any base for this recipe and it should work just fine.
Sheila Marie Williams says
How long should you cook it in a 6″ crust? Your recipe calls for a 10″ crust…so I’m concerned I’ll over bake it.
Mellissa Sevigny says
Sorry I missed this comment earlier but the amount of time won’t change much based on the size of the crust since you are just par-baking it to firm it up before adding the cheesecake layer.