[Recipe] Almond & Blackberry Cheesecake

...cupcakes!

Super easy. Super delicious. Super adorable. :3
Over the last few months I've been trying to ease into a low-carb lifestyle. It's actually not as bad as it sounds, but it definitely hasn't given my sweet-tooth much playing time. Extra helpings of savory things can only go so far to fill that hole in my heart, so lately I've been venturing into small-serving, carb-conscious desserts territory. It can be a scary place for people who hate the taste of  fake sugar, but it's definitely been fun experimenting. So far these baby cheesecakes are my favorite. Recipe makes 6  - make sure you've got muffincup liners!

FOR CRUST:
2 tblsp of butter
1/4 cup almond meal
(Things I may try next time: dash o' cinnamon or dollop of almond butter.)

FOR CHEESECAKE:
8 oz package of cream cheese (softened)
1/2 tsp stevia ~or~  3/8 cup of  sugar*
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1 egg

FOR THE BLACBERRY SAUCE:
8 oz of blackberries
1 tbls lemon juice
1/4 cup of sugar/stevia
3 tbls of water

FOR PRETTY GARNISH: 
6 blackberries
6 almonds

*The recipe I was using called for Splenda but I'm not a big fan of artificial sweeteners. Ended up using waaaaaay too much Stevia for sugar-substitutin' because I didn't realize the conversion ratio wasn't 1:1. Check out this handy conversion chart on this website if you want to double check my math.

WHAT TO DO:
Preheat your oven to 350. Melt the butter a little so it's easy to mix together the crust ingredients. Then pat a little bit on the bottom of each muffin tin. For the filling, you can either use a mixer/blender or food processor to spin up the ingredients til they're smooth. Fill up each cup almost up to the top. Bake for 15 minutes, cool on the counter for a bit and then chill 'em for a few hours. (I ate one warm because, come on, seriously. It was fine, but definitely more solid when cold.)

WHAT TO DO FOR BLACKBERRY SAUCE:
Mix all ingredients in a food processor or blender for about a minute. Then, pour through a sieve to separate the seeds and chunks (I used one of my tea mugs!) Then, drip on the finished cheesecupcakes right before serving. Squish on a blackberry and an almond and you're done!

crack-a-lack-berriez

Overall stats per cupcake: 212 calories, 4 net carbs, 19g of fat, 5g of protein

And your useless fun fact for the day: Google-ing "blackberry" gives you zero results for the fruit. Surprise! Behold the power of search engine optimization.

[[Many recipe thanks go to T1D & Gluten Free and Nick Stellino]]