COFFEE & CREAM CHEESECAKE

1 packet unflavored gelatin

1/2 cup coffee, cold or room temperature

2 teaspoons instant coffee granules

2 cups heavy cream

16 ounces cream cheese, softened

1 cup granular Splenda or equivalent liquid Splenda, divided

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate shavings, optional (not included in counts)

In a medium bowl, whip the cream with 1/2 cup of the Splenda until stiff. Place the whipped cream in the refrigerator until needed. There's no need to clean the beaters. You can use them later for the cheese mixture.

In a small pot, sprinkle the gelatin over the cold coffee and let soften 5 minutes. Heat and stir over low heat to dissolve the gelatin completely. Do not boil. You can also dissolve the gelatin in the microwave by heating it about 30 seconds or so on HIGH. Stir until completely dissolved. Stir in the instant coffee granules until dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Add the remaining 1/2 cup Splenda and the vanilla to the cooled gelatin mixture.

Beat the cream cheese until creamy and smooth. Gradually beat the gelatin mixture into the cream cheese until well blended and slightly fluffy. Chill the batter until slightly thickened, about 20-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to prevent lumps. Very gently fold in the whipped cream a little at a time. Spread in a greased 9-inch pie plate and chill until set, about 5-6 hours. This makes a very high, fluffy pie.

Makes 8 servings

Freezing not recommended

With granular Splenda:

Per Serving: 421 Calories; 42g Fat; 6g Protein; 6.5g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 6.5g Net Carbs

With liquid Splenda:

Per Serving: 409 Calories; 42g Fat; 6g Protein; 3.5g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 3.5g Net Carbs

This is my first attempt at making a less salty no-bake cheesecake and I think I've succeeded. However, the coffee flavor is very weak and I don't know of any way to make it stronger without adding a lot more liquid. The cheesecake tastes very good, just not much like coffee. Next time I think I'll just make some other flavor using this basic recipe, such as lemon or lime, etc. I would use water or Da Vinci syrup in place of the coffee. It also doesn't seem to set up as well as the ones I've made with more cream cheese and less whipped cream but the texture is nice.

UPDATE: I've simplified the instructions a little and added 2 teaspoons of instant coffee for a stronger coffee flavor. I used vanilla flavored Taster's Choice coffee and it didn't really add much flavor so I suggest using plain instant coffee or even espresso powder if you like a strong coffee taste. You may also need to increase the sweetener a little to offset the bitterness of the extra coffee. I think I might add an extra 1/4 cup of Splenda next time.