Pomegranate Cheesecake

Welcome to the home of the best cheesecake ever. I'm referring to your home of course! As soon as you make this, you'll be famous. I'm fairly certain this pomegranate cheesecake is what Rachel and Chandler ate off the floor in season 7 of Friends. It's that good.

By the way, if you didn't get that reference you can watch the episode while this beauty bakes. Just don't drop this one on the floor. It doesn't add to the flavor. Take my word for it.

Our friends over at Skylake Ranch make some amazing sauces from their pomegranate orchards. This recipe is lucky enough to be drizzled with their Pomegranate Syrup! Be sure to pick up a bottle at the farmer's market if you live locally or order through the link above. I absolutely adore finding you great deals and great food. This is both. The natural sweetness of pomegranates means they don't add very much sugar to their sauces, making them lower on the glycemic index. Plus you get the benefits of pomegranates! I'm talking vitamin c, folic acid, vitamin e, and punicalagin just to name a few.

Let's jump right into this mouth-watering treat.

First I made the crust. This is my gluten free graham cracker recipe. I made the dough for the graham crackers, then used about 1/3 of the dough and pressed it on my greased spring form cake pan. I baked the crust at 350° for 9 minutes.

While that baked I grabbed 2 glass bowls; one large and one medium.

In the medium bowl I poured 4 egg whites. Then I beat them with a hand mixer until they were like a thick foam. It took me about 3 minutes, so be patient.

In the large bowl I mixed the cream cheese with the egg yolks, coconut sugar, vanilla and tapioca flour.

Gently folding in the egg whites can be tricky in the sense that you want to completely mix it in, but not over mix. My trick is to count. I counted 20 folds, then checked to see how the filling looked.

Everything checked out so I poured the filling into the cake pan, which had just come out of the oven a moment before.

The magnificence that is cheesecake took 45 minutes to bake. If you aren't sure, wiggle it slightly. The middle will be cooked all the way through and have minimal to no wiggle when it's done.

Now for the best part! Once the cheesecake has cooled, drizzle the pomegranate syrup over it. The red really pops here. This will make a great dessert for Valentine's Day!

Pomegranate Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1/4 of the [graham cracker recipe|http://sweetestlemonade.com/paleo-graham- crackers/] uncooked

2 packages cream cheese, room temperature

4 eggs, separated

1 T lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup [tapioca flour|http://amzn.to/2kzECjR]

1/2 cup [Skylake Ranch Pomegranate Syrup|https://www.skylakeranch.com/]

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread approximately 1/4 of the graham cracker batter into the greased cake pan.

You can easily use the rest of the batter for graham crackers or just make less of the dough by cutting the amounts in half or quarters. As you press the dough into the pan, make sure it is about 1/2 inch thick.

Bake for 8-9 minutes.

While the crust is baking, set out a medium bowl and a large bowl.

In the large bowl combine the cream cheese, coconut sugar, vanilla, lemon juice, and tapioca flour.

Mix well. Now add in 4 egg yolks. Keep the whites of the eggs and put those into the medium bowl. For a perfect texture, use a hand mixer or kitchen aide.

In the medium bowl blend the 4 egg whites on high for 2-3 minutes, just until peaks form.

Fold the egg whites into the cream cheese filling. Stir with a rubber or wooden spatula.

Once the crust is done, pour the filling over it and bake for 45 minutes at 325°.

Check to make sure it's cooked through.

Once cooled, pour the pomegranate syrup over the top.

Serve immediately or chill in the fridge.

Prep Time: 25 minutes Cook Time: 53 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 18 minutes