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Plan Z Phase: This is a Z3.5 (ZReboot 3.5) recipe. The design of this recipe was a challenge. I don’t mind admitting it. A lot of things went through my head so I will share them with you here, in case it means making adjustments to the recipe for your own tastes. If you are making this recipe to share with friends and family who have not experienced Plan Z, it might have an effect on how you put this together. I’ll explain near each ingredient.

Servings: Yields 12 servings or more

Ingredients:

For the Filling

• 32 ounces cream cheese
• 8 tsp of Truvia (I always try to keep the Truvia down as much as possible. Reason is when heated Truvia can end up with a metallic aftertaste.  It’s not the perfect sweetener but it’s the best we have. I started with 5 tsp and ended up with 8. You should know that with even 8 it’s still not a sweet cheesecake. It’s sort of sweet but if you are serving this to others you might add 3 or 4 more tsp. If you don’t need it, don’t put it in.)
• 4 large eggs
• 1/3 cup flaked, sweetened coconut (I wanted to keep the sweetened coconut to a minimum. You really need the sweetened stuff for this recipe cuz you are not adding a bunch of sugar. Unsweetened coconut is intense in flavor and I don’t mean that in a sweet way. So I opted for a minimal amount of the kind we are all used to. This won’t be enough for some. It’s designed to give you ‘essence’ of coconut; not full on coconut).
• 1 Tbl coconut extract ( you can add a bit more of this if you want to but it can start to taste fake and this is an artificial sweetener and I want you to get exposed to as little as possible now that it’s been cleaned out of your system with Plan Z).
• 2 tsp organic vanilla. Because I was not putting in a lot of coconut I put this in to smooth out the flavor. I was going for a creamy cheesecake mouth feel.
• 1 cup roasted and unsalted almonds

For the Topping

• 8 oz of dark chocolate (70% or 72% cacao), diced.  The more intense chocolate cuts down the carbs and tastes more authentic.
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 1/2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat your oven temperature to 325 degrees.

For the Filling

Lightly grease a 9” springform pan. I use butter spray.

Using your electric mixer, beat cream cheese and Truvia in large bowl until smooth. Add the eggs. Beat just until blended and then scrape down the sides so all of the stuff stuck to the sides gets to the middle of the mixer bowl. Now turn on medium high and let run until the mixture is smooth.  Add vanilla and coconut extract and mix a few seconds til it’s incorporated. Stir in coconut. Lightly grease your 9” round springform pan. (I use butter spray). Pour mixture in prepared pan. Bake until cake is puffed and no longer moves when pan is shaken, about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 325 degrees. Cool completely on rack.

For the Topping

You are going to make a ganache here. Very simple candy frosting that will taste just like the top of an Almond Joy bar.

In a small pan heat cream til just bubbling around the edges. Watch closely. Take off heat. Add diced chocolate and stir til smooth. Use a whisk.  Stir in vanilla and let cool down some. You want it cooler but not so cool that you can’t pour it. Then top the cheese cake with a scattering of almonds and pour chocolate topping over. You can pour it over the middle only or let some drizzle down the sides.  Let set in refrigerator. You want it to turn back to candy on top. Cool for hours or even overnight.

Take out 15 minutes ahead of serving time. Cheesecake always tastes better if you let it sit on the counter and warm up a tad before you cut it.

This recipe is designed for pieces that are maybe 1.5” wide at the back. Not a huge, regular American portion. Don’t plan to eat this every meal until you finish it off either. This is a TREAT. Not a regular thing. Moderation is called for with this recipe.

P.S. I had people at a dinner party rate this recipe. None of them except me and my husband had done Plan Z. Some thought it was perfect. They liked having a base of the cheese cake that was less sweet because they got enough sweetness from the chocolate topping. One person definitely protested that it was not sweet enough. You judge and be sure to rate the recipe.

Enjoy!

Cheers,