Breaking the Vicious Cycle has a recipe for SCD Cheesecake. I made it when I first bought the book in 2000. I didn’t like it. I thought the dry curd cottage cheese made the texture too grainy and of course it didn’t taste anything like regular cheesecake, made with cream cheese and sugar (and is probably my favorite dessert of all time).
I never tried it again. I did try a couple of things using only dripped yogurt – from Cooking the Yochee Way, but it still wasn’t really what I wanted.
Flash forward several years and I no longer expect desserts to taste like their non-SCD counterparts. I’ve also found that Farmer’s cheese makes for a better texture than DCCC in many things, so I thought it was a great time to try out SCD cheesecake again. I did a lot of studying of different cheesecake recipes and came up with this one using a mixture of strained SCD yogurt and Farmer’s cheese.
I was also anxious to try out my new springform pan in my Instant Pot – after all cheesecake-making in Instant Pots is all the rage and I don’t like to be left out! The secret to getting a smoother texture is to strain your yogurt for at least 24 hours and to use a food processor to get everything really blended. Note – If you don’t have an Instant Pot you can still make this, I included regular baking instructions in the recipe notes.
I’m really happy with this recipe! It has a good solid texture, that’s not too gritty. Of course it doesn’t taste exactly like cheesecake – there’s no cream cheese or sugar, but I think this is a great dessert on its own!
What do you need to make SCD Cheesecake?
- Almond Flour
- Butter
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Famer’s Cheese
- Dripped SCD yogurt
- Honey
- Vanilla
- Lemon Juice
- Eggs
- 7″ Springform pan (to use in Instant Pot)
- Instant Pot
Do you have to use an Instant Pot to bake it?
No, you can also bake this in the oven. I included instructions in the recipe below.
Did you know Happy Gut For Life is now on YouTube? Check out my video for this recipe and be sure to subscribe!
SCD Honey Vanilla Cheesecake – Instant Pot
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 cup blanched almond flour
- 2 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp vanilla (make sure SCD – no added sugar)
Cheesecake filling
- 1 cup strained SCD yogurt strained at least 24 hours
- 1 cups Farmer’s cheese
- 1 tbsp vanilla (make sure SCD – no added sugar)
- ½ cup honey
- 3 large eggs bring to room temperature
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- ¼ tsp salt
Instructions
Crust
-
Preheat oven to 350 °F
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Lightly oil bottom and sides of 7″ springform or round cake pan with coconut oil or butter. I like coconut oil for this
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Add almond flour, honey, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla to a small mixing bowl
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Stir to combine
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Pour in melted butter
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Stir or whisk until mixture is crumbly
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Pat into bottom of pan
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Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until firm and golden brown
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Allow to cool at least 10 minutes before adding cheesecake filling
Cheesecake filling
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Add all filling ingredients to food processor
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Process for 3 – 4 minutes until mixture is very smooth
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Pour filling into cake pan on top of cooked crust
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Cover cake pan with aluminum foil
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Add one cup of water to Instant Pot
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Place trivet in the Instant Pot
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Place lid on pot and make sure it is set to sealing
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Pressure cook – high – for 30 minutes
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Allow to natural release for about 15 minutes – you can let it natural release until the pressure drops all the way. It shouldn’t take much longer than 15 minutes – when I flipped the switch on mine to manual release there was also no pressure left.
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Carefully remove cake from Instant pot. My trivet has handles that make it easy to lift out. If you don’t have that you can create a sling out of aluminum foil that the pan would sit on on top of your trivet – have the foil stick up so it’s easy to grab – there are tutorials online for this
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Remove aluminum foil cover
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Cool on wire rack until room temperature – 30 – 60 minutes
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Chill in refrigerator in pan for 24 hours (you can cover again or place the entire pan in another container so it’s not open in the fridge)
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After cake is chilled remove from springform pan. If using a regular pan – cut as normal
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
If you don’t have an instant pot you can bake the cake in the oven. After filling the pan with the cheesecake filling, bake at 350 °F for 30 – 40 minutes until just set – the middle can jiggle a little bit when tapped.
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Hi! Just wondering how much honey you add to the crust and to the filling. I think you left them out of the recipe. Thanks! Nancy
Hi Nancy, Thanks so much! I hate when I miss an ingredient in the list. The recipe is now updated. It’s 1 TBSP for the crust and a half cup for the filling.
Does this freeze well?
I didn’t try freezing it. I imagine since it’s cheese-based, it may not freeze and thaw with the same consistency.