Low Carb Matcha Cheesecake

This delicious low carb Japanese matcha cheesecake is creamy, dense, and oh so delicious.  Completely sugar free and gluten free, it’s a healthier take on the popular Japanese dessert.

Japanese Matcha

Matcha is made from high quality green tea leaves.  It is in powdered form and can be used to make a variety of drinks and desserts like this green tea ice cream recipe.

It’s healthier than green tea as the whole leaves are ingested, whereas we only drink the liquid from steeped green tea.  One serving of matcha equals to about 10 cups of brewed green tea.

I recommend getting organic matcha powder from either [easyazon_link identifier=”B074TQ24SY” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Matcha Konomi[/easyazon_link]or [easyazon_link identifier=”B06XXMQH5R” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Encha[/easyazon_link]. I like using their matcha powders because they source them directly from Uji in Kyoto, Japan.

Uji matcha is renowned for its superior quality and taste, and has been cultivated since the 11^th century.  Matcha green tea from Uji is the most popular green tea in Japan and can be bough everywhere around Japan.

Make sure to get pure matcha powder and not just powdered green tea as they taste completely different! Your package should say matcha.  You’ll also notice that matcha powder and green tea powder are different in colour.

Matcha has a light and bright green colour (on the left) and green tea powder is a darker green colour (on the right).  Green tea powder is also weaker in taste, so you would need to add more powder to matcha dessert recipes.

My Matcha Cheesecake Recipe

This green tea cheesecake recipe features a matcha crust that’s made with almond flour, chopped pistachios and matcha powder.  The pistachios give the crust a good nutty and fatty texture with a beautiful green colour.

The matcha cheesecake batter is made with a combination of cream cheese, sour cream and heavy cream.

This matcha cheesecake is so creamy and delicious. It has the perfect matcha umami flavor.   After you’ve tried making a matcha cheesecake, you’ll definitely want to try making a lemon low carb cheesecake or some lemon cheesecake bites too! You can eat this matcha cheesecake recipe as is, or you can top it with the following low carb toppings:

• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B00H2AAXMQ” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Sugar Free Chocolate[/easyazon_link]
• Whipped Cream
• More Matcha Powder
• Sugar Free Ice Cream

You’ll also want to serve this matcha cheesecake with some low carb drinks like a matcha latte, keto hot chocolate, or bulletproof coffee.

What Sweeteners Can I Use?

You have a couple of options that you can use for low carb sweeteners.  My favourite sweetener combination has always been erythritol and stevia powder, but here are a few other options that you can use.

• ½ cup [easyazon_link identifier=”B007XA49BG” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]erythritol[/easyazon_link] (120g) + ¾ tsp [easyazon_link identifier=”B005F9XFN0″ locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]stevia extract powder[/easyazon_link]
• ½ cup [easyazon_link identifier=”B007XA49BG” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]erythritol[/easyazon_link] (120g) + ¾ tsp [easyazon_link identifier=”B01DMCMO7O” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]monk fruit powder[/easyazon_link]
• ½ cup [easyazon_link identifier=”B077SPTP4Z” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Lakanto Classic[/easyazon_link]
• ½ cup [easyazon_link identifier=”B07H8QHD7Z” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]So Nourished Monk Fruit Blend[/easyazon_link]
• ½ cup  [easyazon_link identifier=”B011550972″ locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Sukrin:1[/easyazon_link]
• ½ cup [easyazon_link identifier=”B0089HCXG0″ locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Sukrin+[/easyazon_link]
• ½ cup [easyazon_link identifier=”B01LLMUG22″ locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Swerve[/easyazon_link] (leaves a cooling sensation)

You’ll need to use ½ cup for all bulk sweeteners but if you use erythritol alone, then you’ll need to add either stevia powder or monk fruit powder to make up for the loss of sweetness.

Lakanto, Sukrin, SoNourished and Swerve all add either stevia or monk fruit to their mix so you don’t need to add more stevia or monk fruit powder.

How to Make a Green Tea Cheesecake

Making a green tea cheesecake is pretty simple as you only need to prepare the matcha crust and matcha cheesecake batter.  The hardest part is the waiting, since you need to bake the cheesecake for 70 minutes and wait for it to cool down in the fridge overnight.

Matcha Crust

The first thing you’ll want to do is make your matcha cheesecake crust.  For this crust we’re using some pistachios for some green colour, almond flour, matcha powder, melted butter and stevia powder.

If your pistachio nuts are already pre-chopped, then you don’t need to use a food processor.  But if not, you can either chop them with a knife or run them through a food processor for about 10 seconds.

All all of the crust ingredients into a small bowl and mix until the melted butter has coated the nuts and formed an oily paste.

Add the crust into a 9 inch spring form pan and press evenly all around with your fingers.  Place it in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

Make the Cheesecake Batter

Add the cream cheese to a large bowl and mix with a hand mixer until nice and smooth.  It’s important that you mix it until nice and creamy to avoid getting cheese bumps into your batter.

Once the cheese is creamed, you’ll add the erythritol, stevia and vanilla to the batter and mix again.

Then add the heavy cream, a little at a time, and mix for a couple of minutes until the cream cheese batter starts to thicken.  Make sure to use cold heavy cream as warm heavy cream or room temperature heavy cream won’t whip.

Then, add the pure matcha green tea powder and mix until all of the batter is green.  Make sure there are no matcha bumps anywhere. The cheesecake batter will become pretty green.

You can taste test with your finger to see if you want to add more matcha powder for more green tea flavour. Personally, I thought that 2 tbsp of matcha powder was more than enough.

Don’t Over Beat the Eggs

The final step is to add the eggs, one at a time, into the cheesecake batter and mix evenly.  Make sure to not over mix the eggs as you don’t want to add unnecessary air into the cheesecake batter.  This will make the cheesecake crack.

Pour the matcha cheesecake batter into the prepared crust.

Make a Water Bath

To make a water bath, you have a couple of options.  You can either wrap the spring form pan in foil and add it to a large tray of hot water, or you can add a tray of hot water to the bottom rack of your oven and place the cheesecake on the top rack.

I personally prefer to add my spring form pan directly inside the tray of water because my Japanese oven is too small to add a tray of water at the bottom so the moisture doesn’t circulate properly, thus resulting in cracked cheesecakes.

If you choose to wrap the spring form pan in aluminum foil, make sure to wrap it in 2-3 layers to make sure no water leaks in the pan!

How Long Should I Bake this Matcha Green Tea Cheesecake?

The key to baking any cheesecake is to bake them at low temperatures for a good amount of time.  This cheesecake requires about 70 minutes of baking time at 150C/300F.

Try not to bake it longer than 70 minutes as the cheesecake will start to burn at the top.  Also, try not to bake it less than 70 minutes as the middle will still be raw.

Can this Green Tea Cheesecake be Frozen?

Yes, it can be frozen! You can freeze it whole, or cut slices and freeze them individually.  For thawing, just leave it in the fridge a few hours to thaw.

Tools Used to Make this Matcha Cheesecake Recipe:

• [easyazon_link identifier=”B000237FSA” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]9 inch springform pan[/easyazon_link]: This is incredibly useful to have for any type of cakes because it has a loose bottom so you can easily detach the sides and transfer the cake to a plate.  I suggest getting a non-stick one so that you cake batters never stick to it.
• [easyazon_link identifier=”B074TQ24SY” locale=”US” tag=”mypcoskitchen-20″]Pure Matcha Green Tea Powder[/easyazon_link]: Real matcha powder is much stronger in taste and more green in colour than green tea powder or instant matcha powder.

Final Tips & Recaps

Make sure to read the following tips in order to make the perfect green tea cheesecake!

• Use room temperature cream cheese and sour cream so that it’s easier to mix and so that it doesn’t leave any bumps in the cheesecake batter.
• Use real matcha green tea powder and not green tea powder.  The two are very different. Make sure your green tea powder says matcha on the package. Preferably from Uji, Kyoto in Japan.
• Instead of almond flour or pistachios, you can use any other nut flour or nuts that you want.
• Add the heavy cream, a little at a time, to avoid getting it splattered all over your and your kitchen counters.
• Use a water bath to avoid cracks and burned cheesecake tops.
• Here are all possible sweeteners that you can use for this recipe.
  • ½ cup erythritol (120g) + ¾ tsp monk fruit powder
  • ½ cup erythritol (120g) + ¾ tsp monk fruit powder
  • ½ cup Lakanto Classic
  • ½ cup So Nourished Monk Fruit Blend
  • ½ cup   Sukrin:1
  • ½ cup Sukrin+
  • ½ cup Swerve (leaves a cooling sensation)