Gluten Free Cheesecake Crust?  YES.

 

It’s not often that I reach for a boxed product in my kitchen.  I prefer to make things from scratch so that I can control ingredients and additives.  It’s cheaper and often just as easy to work from scratch anyway so it just makes sense for me.  This cheesecake, however, is an exemption.  It’s cheesecake afterall so I’m not going to fuss over sugar content….it needs to be sweet.  Besides, this is one of those ‘save the day’ recipes where you can keep the ingredients on hand and whip one up at a moments notice.  I know as much as the next person that the need for a gluten free cheesecake can sneak up on you!

I started with a box of brownie mix.  I used the Our Compliments Gluten Free Brownie mix from Sobeys and Safeway and made it according to the instructions on the box.  Then I made a  cherry cheesecake batter, sprinkled in the chocolate chips that came in the brownie box and layered that over top.  The brownie compresses down a bit to form a crust – it even gets sort of crispy like a graham cracker crust would.  I loved the texture.

If you have a spring form pan I would use that for sure, but I didn’t so I made this in an 8×8 glass baking pan layered with parchment.  It worked really well, we just ended up with square pieces instead of wedges.  If you were making this for a special event and wanted that gorgeous presentation moment I’d absolutely go for a spring form instead.

Look at how perfectly pink that cheesecake is!  It would be perfect for a Valentine’s Day treat. And the gluten free crust was a wonderful compliment to the cake.  Cherry and brownie?  YES!  So good.  I wish I had a piece right now but sadly it didn’t stick around these parts for very long.

Cherry Chip Cheesecake with Easy Gluten Free Brownie Crust

Yield: 8-10

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Ingredients

• 1 box Our Compliments Gluten Free Brownie mix
• 1 egg (for the brownies)
• 2 TBSP water (for the brownies)
• 1/4 cup butter (for the brownies)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil (for the brownies)
• 2 blocks cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 can cherry pie filling (1/2 cup for the cake, the rest for topping)

Instructions

Make the brownies according to the instructions on the box, reserving the packet of chocolate chips. Lessen the baking time by 5 minutes.

When brownies are baked, remove them from the oven and set aside to cool slightly.

While the brownies are cooling, mix the cheesecake batter.

In a large bowl whip eggs, sugar, vanilla and cream cheese with a hand mixer until well blended and smooth. Using a spoon, mix in 1/2 cup of the cherry filling and packet of chocolate chips from the brownie mix.

Pour cheesecake batter evenly over the top of the brownies (it's ok if they're still a bit hot) and smooth it out with the back of your spoon.

Bake at 350 for 45 min until the center is nearly set (it will still jiggle a little.)

Let cool completely. Slice and serve with remaining pie filling on top.

Nutrition Information:

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 300

I hope you make this Gluten Free Cheesecake for someone sweet.  Enjoy