Gluten/grain and sugar free cheesecake

Gluten/grain and sugar free cheesecake (serves 1-2 - makes 4 slices)

Got a craving for cheesecake out of the blue yesterday, so I made up this recipe (adapted from various online recipes for normal sized cheesecake) which surprisingly turned out really well on the first try! It's perfect if you live by yourself (like me), or just with one other person. Cut into 4 slices it's around 200 cals per slice, 8 g carbs, 8.5 g protein, and 15 g fat. If you want it to be low carb and completely sugar free, just leave out the dates from the base. You need a very small pan - I've got an 11 cm springform pan which I've bought for the purpose of making small cakes just for one or two people. Alternatively you could perhaps use ramekins and make 3-4 mini cakes.

Base:

30 g hazelnuts
25 g cashews
25 g dates

Pre-heat oven to 175 degrees. Grind nuts and dates in a food processor/coffee grinder and mix with a tiny bit of water to make a paste. Press paste into a small (10-12 cm) springform pan, buttered or lined with baking paper. Bake in lower part of oven for 5-10 mins, until it's got a little colour.

Filling:

160 g cream cheese w. approx 10% fat (minimum)
50 g cottage cheese
1 egg
1-2 tsp xylitol (or other sweetener of choice)
Zest from 1/2 lemon, plus a tsp of lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Beat everything with an electric mixer until smooth, pour into pan and bake in lower part of oven for 35-45 mins (insert fork to check when it's done). Allow to cool, then transfer to fridge for a few hours.