A velvety smooth gluten free Blackberry Swirl Granola Cheesecake with a buttery granola crumb crust. Serve with fresh blackberry puree and whipped cream for a rich and decadent dessert.
Holy yumminess!
Okay, the end. I could just give you the recipe right now without a story or description or anything else, but simply this marvelous picture. It speaks for itself. Heaven, pure heaven.
But where is the fun in that? I enjoy making you listen to me before I offer up my recipes. It’s a symbiotic relationship here; you do something for me, and I do something for you.
In my case I get a good 20 mins (or however long it takes me to type) of your undivided attention and you get a yummy recipe.
Actually, now that I think about it, this relationship is not symbiotic at all, nor is it very fair. I’m just realizing that you don’t really even need to read all my jibber jabber in order to get the recipe at the end. Dang! Looks like I got the short end of the stick. Oh well, I’m going to just keep on pretending that you intently focus on the script preceding the recipe.
But in other news, can we please talk about this Blackberry Swirl Granola Cheesecake?!
Now I am a cheesecake fanatic. I LOVE cheesecake. If I could eat at the Cheesecake Factory every night, I would. Okay, well I probably wouldn’t because let’s be honest, a cheesecake every night cannot be good for either your hips or your heart. But, a girl can dream.
Cheesecake is one of those things that you can’t just whip up when you have a craving. You have to predict your craving in order to consume cheesecake at just the right time, since it takes a day to chill and become the perfect texture. But boy, oh boy, 24 hours has never been so promising!
My first attempt with making cheesecake was when I baked this Pumpkin Spiced Swirled Cheesecake and it turned out divine. So, of course, when I was craving something fruity in my cheesecake, I immediately adapted the recipe. It was a good call, because this fruity sensation is truly sensational!
I didn’t have any gluten free graham crackers on hand when the idea of making a blackberry cheesecake popped into my head. So what was I to do? Improvise, that’s what. I decided to use granola in place of graham crackers. I few pulses in the food processor, and I had the perfect crumb to use as a crust.
And let me tell you, this improvisation was pure inspiration because this crust turned out delicious!
The granola crust bakes into this buttery, slightly chewy, but crisp crust with all kinds of granola flavor. It tasted like a crisp oatmeal cookie on the bottom of my cheesecake. It was perfect!
And the filling? Wait, let me take a breath. I’m fantasizing over it right now. That’s the problem with posting things a week after you make them. You start writing about how good they are and all you want is a bite. But, the treats are always long gone.
Okay, I’m back. The filling, right? Yes, the filling! This filling is sweet, tangy, light, and smooth. The addition of honey pairs perfectly with the fruity blackberry swirl. For some reason I just think honey tastes amazing with berries.
As rich as this cheesecake is (what cheesecake isn’t?) it doesn’t leave you feeling sick or overly full. The texture is so light and creamy that you can eat an entire piece without even knowing it. Okay, I’m just now realizing that may not be a good thing. Maybe I should just say, “Caution: Eat at a Slow Pace”. Otherwise the entire cheesecake may be gone before you find the willpower to stop.
And there you are folks. One of the most delicious cheesecakes you will ever try. Now get on it. Go ahead and bake one. By the time it’s done, I can assure you there will be a craving.
What are your cheesecake baking tips?
- For Crust:
- 3 cups gluten free granola (I used Udi's Crunchy Original)
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- For Filling:
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 packs cream cheese, softened
- 3 eggs, room temperature*
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup nonfat Greek yogurt, room temperature*
- 1½ tablespoons honey
- For Blackberry Puree:
- 2 cups blackberries
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease (if not using nonstick pan) a spring form pan. Wrap bottom of pan and halfway up the sides with a double layer of foil. Set aside.
- In a food processor pulse gluten free granola until small crumbs form. Add melted butter and sugar and process until butter and sugar are completely incorporate. It will resemble a dough at first, but as it sits the oats begin to absorb some moisture. No need to wait for this. Just pour the mixture into the spring form pan and evenly press mixture over bottom and 1" up the sides of the pan. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes until crust is browning and beginning to set. Remove from oven and set aside.
- While crust is cooking, begin making filling. Beat the sugar and cream cheese together until pale and smooth. Add eggs, one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Add vanilla and salt and beat until combined. Add Greek yogurt and honey and beat until thoroughly combined. Pour half of mixture over crust.
- Make blackberry puree by pureeing blackberries, lemon juice and sugar in a food processor until smooth. Reserve ⅓ cup puree for drizzling after cheesecake is cooked. Of the remaining puree, use half to drop random tablespoon size scoops on top of the cheesecake filling. Pour remaining half of cheesecake filling on top. Use remaining half of blackberry puree to drop scoopfuls on top of filling. Using a knife, swirl filling of cheesecake to create blackberry ribbons throughout the batter.
- Place pan, with foil still on in a deep pan filled 1" with water. Bake in oven at 325 for 60-70 minutes. Filling should not be glossy and should slightly jiggle when shaken. Remove from oven and allow to cool on cooling rack for 1 hour. Chill in fridge overnight and serve the next day.
- Before serving, release spring form pan and gently slide a spatula under the cheesecake. Loosen by circling the spatula around the entire cheesecake. Gently lift spatula and pull to slide to serving platter.
- Serve cheesecake with whipped cream and blackberry puree.
This looks amazingly delicious and beautiful!! Love your descriptor at the top too – I need to add something like that to my posts more often. 🙂 Drooling over here btw! xo
Thanks! I just started doing that. Kristen says it helps SEO if your title is mentioned in your first paragraph. We’ll see…
Oh wow this looks so delicious!
Thanks Marie!
This recipe looks delicious and I plan to make it this evening.
Did you use just one 12 oz. bag of granola or a bit more?
Looking forward to the results!
Melanie, you’ll love this cheesecake! It is so delicious! A 12 oz bag should be about right. If you need a tad more, you could add in a few gluten free oats to make up the difference, or just have extra granola on hand. I can’t quite remember what size bag I used. You could look at the serving size and amount of servings on the back of the package to see how many cups the bag equals. Enjoy the recipe!
Okay, so I just did the math with my bigger bag of granola, and I think you’ll need a bit more than 12 oz. A 12 oz bag may only yield a little over 2 cups.