Light and Fluffy Gluten-Free Baked Cheesecake

I’m a HUGE fan of cheesecake! Where else will you find a combination of flavors that are cheesy, creamy, tangy, sweet and salty all in one bite? Growing up in the “Land of Milk and Honey” (aka Israel), among many other dairy lovers, naturally made me one too. Cheeses of all kinds, yogurts, dairy pastries, desserts and especially cheesecake are very popular in Israel. However, being of a Tunisian family raises a slight conflict, since when it comes to the traditional Jewish Tunisian kitchen, dairy products and dairy dishes are quite rare. My Savta (grandma) who was known for her traditional Tunisian cooking, was also influenced by French cuisine and had a great love for baking. Her love for French baking inspired her to make some dairy baked goods such as cream puffs (Choux a La Crème), tarts and baked cheesecake…

It was last summer on our visit to Israel when I was reminded of my Savta’s baked cheesecake. My dear friend, who is a superb hostess with the most generous heart, invited us for the day. At some point she announced: “Dessert time!” kids came storming in of course… 🙂 and she lined up several fancy looking homemade desserts. The impressive line-up included Pavlova, Concorde cake, cookies …but for some reason my eyes locked on an innocent looking baked cheesecake. The cake was served in a simple rectangular tray with one layer of baked cheesecake and another layer of fresh whipped cream. The familiar look of the cake and my love for cheesecake signaled to me that this is going to be a wise decision… One little bite later and the fluffy flavors of cheesy, creamy, tangy, sweet and salty took me back in time to my Savta’s cheesecake. My friend shared the recipe with me and I had to make just a few adjustments replacing the soft Israeli cheese with dairy products that can be found easily in our markets. The result is the fluffiest yummiest bite a cheesecake lover could ever have!

You will need:

6 Eggs

1 cup Sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla Extract

8 oz. (225 gr.) Cream Cheese (whipped)

16 oz. (450 gr.) Light Sour Cream

½ cup (5 oz.) Greek Yogurt

3 tbsp. Cornstarch

3 tbsp. Vanilla Instant Pudding

(*Oil spray for tray)

For the Cream Topping:

2 cups (500 ml.) Heavy Whipping Cream

½ cup Powdered Sugar

2 tsp. Vanilla Paste

Let’s do this!

Start by separating the eggs. Eggs are easier to separate when they are cold, but best to work with at room temperature. I separate the eggs as soon as I take them out of the refrigerator and then I let them stand to get to room temperature before I handle them. (Great time to prepare the rest of your ingredients or have a cup of coffee…)

Another ingredient that MUST be at room temperature is the cream cheese. American cream cheese has a very dense texture and can cause some lumping problems to your mixture. You may use whipped cream cheese to make your life a little easier or use electric mixer to whip it into a lighter texture before adding to it the other ingredients. If you work with a whisk and a dense cream cheese like did here, get ready for a muscle workout…It takes a little while for the mixture to reach a smooth texture, but don’t give up, you’ll get there I promise!

I combine cream cheese, yolks and vanilla extract.

Just keep mixing… 🙂

Next, add the sour cream and Greek yogurt.

Keep mixing into a unified and even mixture. At this point, I replace the whisk with a spatula since we are about to add the dry ingredients.

When the mixture is well combined, add the cornstarch and the instant pudding.

Combine the two powders into the mix.

In a separate standing mixer bowl, beat the egg whites (in room temperature remember…). For a perfect cloudy stiffness, follow these important tips: 1. Make sure the egg whites are at room temperature 2. Separate your eggs well! No yolks in your whites! 3. Make sure the bowl and beaters are spotless clean.

4. Start on low speed to reach a foamy texture and gradually raise the speed as you gently stream in the sugar into the egg whites mixture.

The egg white grow in volume as they become light and airy.

Look at that!

Carefully incorporate the fluffy egg whites into the cheese mixture.

To keep the airy fluffy texture, do it in two batches and just gently fold the egg whites into the mixture. Make sure not to over mix in this stage.

The mixture is combined, but still light and airy.

Transfer the mixture into a cake tray that was lightly sprayed with oil. I used a 9.5x13x3 inches rectangular tray.

Level it carefully.

Bake the cake in a preheated oven at 300°F for about 50 minutes.

The cheesecake will rise and the top will turn golden brown. When baking time is up and the cheesecake is stable, turn off the oven and allow the cake to rest in the warm oven for additional 10-15 minutes.

Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool off completely before adding the cream topping.

The cream topping is as easy as can be: whip the heavy whipping cream, start on low speed and as the cream stabilizes, gradually raise the speed.

Add powdered sugar and vanilla paste and finish whipping the cream on high-speed right before the cream is completely stiff. I’d rather finish whipping the cream by hand than over whip it into butter (… yuck!)

Once the cheesecake has cooled completely, top it with the whipped cream and level it evenly.

This is looking good… Cover and store in the refrigerator until it is time to serve.

Everything will start moving in slow motion once you cut yourself a piece and just enjoy…

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Quick Recipe:

Flourless Baked Cheesecake-

Separate the Eggs to Yolks and Egg Whites.

Using an electric hand-mixer or a whisk blend together Cream Cheese (at room temperature) and the Yolks.

Add Vanilla Extract, Sour Cream and Yogurt and mix well.

Add Cornstarch and Instant Pudding and mix until unified.

Whisk Egg Whites and add Sugar gradually.

Fold in gently the fluffy Egg White mixture into the cheese mixture.

Transfer the light and airy cake mixture to a oil sprayed cake tray.

Bake in a reheated oven at 300°F for about 50 minutes.

Turn the oven off and allow the cake rest in the warm over for additional 10 minutes.

Whip up the Heavy Whipping Cream, Powdered Sugar and Vanilla Paste.

Allow the cheesecake cool off completely before topping it with fresh Whipped Cream.