This Turtle Cheesecake is such an easy cheesecake recipe! Do not be intimidated! I had always thought that cheesecakes were too hard to make, but not this one. Yes, my cheesecake was too brown after I baked it, but it was still so good! Yes, it did fall some after baking, but that didn’t matter, because it was still good! So, do not be intimidated, because this recipe is too easy and even a beginner cook can bake a beautiful Turtle Cheesecake like this one!
Cheesecakes are so decadent and are a special treat for those special events and people in our lives.
The Story Behind This Turtle Cheesecake
This Turtle Cheesecake recipe came from a Keto version that I had baked the day before Thanksgiving. Usually on Thanksgiving and Christmas I make a variety of desserts and they are mostly real sugar. I will cheat those days and then regret eating so much sugar! LOL. But, this year the day before Thanksgiving I was talking to my mom, who is a diabetic, she tries to eat no sugar at all and she was wanting a no sugar or keto dessert for Thanksgiving.
In the past I had made my mom plain keto cheesecakes, but this was Thanksgiving and I wanted to make a different kind of cheesecake. So, I got to thinking about what ingredients that I had on hand (the evening before Thanksgiving) and I realized that I had pecans, sugar free chocolate syrup and sugar free caramel syrup. Now, I know that these sauces can be handmade and I’ve made them in the past. So, this recipe can be made with store bought sauces or you can may make your own chocolate and caramel sauce.
So, what I changed on that cheesecake recipe was that I exchanged the sugar free sweeteners and sugar free sauces with regular sugar and sauces. However, you can make this cheesecake either way, a regular cheesecake or a sugar free cheesecake. Here is the recipe for the sugar free, diabetic or keto version – Keto Turtle Cheesecake
TIPS!
- Spray the springform pan, bottom AND SIDES
- Remove cheesecake from oven when it slightly jiggles and is browning. Mine actually browned quite a bit, but that was ok because I covered it up with toppings!
- While still hot remove the springform sides, BUT before you do this take a butter knife and run it around the edges to loosen any cake that could be sticking. VERY slowly remove the sides.
- Wait until the cheesecake completely cools before adding toppings, I actually placed mine (after it slightly cooled) into the freezer, because I was in a hurry, lol!
- Cheesecake leftovers can be frozen and ate at a later time!
- Add a different topping. I love strawberries, so I would cut up some strawberries and place them into a bowl with some sugar. Let the strawberries soak for a couple of hours and then pour the strawberries and the juice on top of the cheesecake. If you don’t like strawberries, add blueberries, blackberries or a cherry pie filling to the top of the cheesecake. Any type of berries would be delicious.
- Add no toppings at all. This recipe makes an awesome plain cheesecake too.
My Secret Ingredient!
I’m going to let y’all in on my secret ingredient. It is very hard to find, but so worth the hunt. The first time that I had tasted this secret ingredient was about 20 years ago when my mother went to old Mexico and came back with it. What is really surprising is that we baked with one bottle for a good 20 years and it never did spoil. I have never seen it in any of my local supermarkets and everything written on the bottle is in Spanish, but I’ll always recognize the bottle.
So, this past Spring I was at a small greenhouse nursery buying plants for my garden, a nursery, in a town of less than 2K people and there it is for sale on their shelf, the BEST VANILLA ever! I couldn’t believe it! I figured that I would have to go to old Mexico to find it. Amazing!
Turtle Cheesecake Ingredients (scroll down for a printable recipe)
Cheesecake:
- Cream cheese
- Sugar
- Vanilla
- Sour Cream
- Eggs
Toppings:
- Pecans
- Chocolate syrup
- Caramel syrup
Graham Cracker Crust
For the graham cracker crust we have a recipe that you will need graham crackers, butter and sugar. Here is the recipe – Graham Cracker Crust
Cheesecake Directions:
Add the cream cheese to a glass bowl and with a mixer beat cream cheese for about 3 minutes.
Then, add the sugar, sour cream, vanilla and eggs. Beat mixture with a mixer until creamy.
Pour cheesecake filling over the almond flour crust.
Cook in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for approx. 40 minutes until center is a little jiggly and the cheesecake is beginning to brown.
Once, the cheesecake is finished baking remove the springform while the cake is hot. Before removing the sides of the pan run a butter knife around the edge to unstick any of the cake from the sides of the pan.
Then, add your pecans, caramel sauce and chocolate sauce
Refrigerate and chill, because cheesecake is best eaten cold! YUMMY!
Remember, that if you have any leftovers that this cheesecake freezes perfectly.
Turtle Cheesecake
This is the most decadent cheesecake ever! Here is a recipe that easy to follow even for the beginner cook.
Ingredients
Cheesecake Filling
- 3 - 8oz packages of cream cheese
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 3 eggs
Toppings
- 1 cup chopped pecans
- Chocolate syrup
- Caramel syrup
Graham Cracker Crust
- 1 Sleeve Graham Crackers (9 pieces)
- 1/2 C (1 Stick) Butter
- 1/4 C Sugar
Instructions
Cheesecake Filling
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Beat cream cheese for 3 minutes with a mixer
3. Add sugar, sour cream and vanilla and combine
4. Add eggs and beat until creamy
5. Pour cheesecake filling on top of almond flour crust
6. Place into oven and bake for approx. 40 minutes until cheesecake is slightly jiggly and beginning to brown. Mine did brown quite a bit, but that's ok because I covered it with toppings!
7. Once cheesecake is done baking remove from the oven.
8. Take a butter knife and run it around the edges between the pan and cake to loosen any stuck on cake.
9. Slowly remove the sides of the springform pan and allow cheesecake to completely cool before adding toppings.
8. Once cheesecake is completely cooled add the pecans and syrups
Graham Cracker Crust
- Place graham crackers in a plastic bag and smash until fine crumbles
- Pour graham crackers into baking dish
- Mix in the sugar
- Melt butter, add and mix all the ingredients
- Spray pan with oil
- Press crumbs into a 9" springform pan, going up the sides slightly. Bake in the center of a conventional oven at 350˚F for 7 minutes then cool to room temperature.
Notes
Be sure to check out our other dessert recipes
- Red Velvet Poke Cake
- Maple Pecan Cream Pie
- Butterfinger Caramel Cake
- Lemon Pie Bars With Lemon Glaze
- Granny Eppler’s Peach Cobbler
- Easy Key Lime Pie
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
We would love to see what you bake using all of our recipes! So, snap a picture and tag us. Be sure to tag us @TheLazyKKitchen on Instagram!
Perfect Pie For Your Next Party or Event:
- New Year’s Day or New Year’s Eve
- Valentine’s Day for your sweetheart
- Memorial Day
- 4th of July
- Thanksgiving’s Day
- Christmas
- Wedding Showers
- Baby Showers
- Bridal Showers
- Anniversary parties
- Graduation parties
- Kid’s birthday parties
- Birthday parties