Low-Carb No-Bake Buttermint Cheesecake Mousse

Low-Carb No-Bake Buttermint Cheesecake Mousse is a delicious keto treat.

My hubby and I went to London for a quick getaway over Valentine’s weekend last month. We had our fill of local fare, including fish and chips, steak and ale pie, scones, and local cheese, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed.

We tried to keep some semblance of balance, and walking between 10 to 12 miles a day (really! We used a pedometer to measure) definitely helped. But when we got back home we were both eager to get back to our normal eating habits.

For me, this typically means 80/20 paleo eating, but lately I’ve been incorporating some keto recipes as well. If you’re not familiar with a ketogenic diet (also known as low carb high fat), in a nutshell, restricting your carbohydrate intake forces your body into a state of ketosis where your body burns fat as fuel instead of carbs. (You can read more about the keto diet on ruled.me, Ketogenic Diet Resource, and Paleo Leap. As a side note, in addition to weight loss, something I find very interesting about the ketogenic diet is that it has been found to help control seizures in some people with epilepsy.)

So, about this recipe. It was inspired by buttermints I had in London, which were basically fancy little peppermint patties. (Love.) I took those same flavors (butter, vanilla, and mint) and transformed them from a sugar-laden candy into an equally delicious (and infinitely more satiating) mousse with just 2 grams of carbohydrates per serving.

The really fun thing about this recipe is that the flavors scream St. Patrick’s Day to me (apparently I’ve been conditioned to equate St. Paddy’s Day sweets with mint, lol). I just happened to have some finely powdered dried mint in my pantry (a gift from my sweet mother-in-law) and it made a cute and festive garnish on top and also bumped up the minty factor, which I loved. If you want to take it one step further, you can make a little four leaf clover stencil and use that to sprinkle the mint on top in a decorative way. Or you can go with fresh mint leaves to class it up a bit.

And here’s a tip: if you add a sprinkling of stevia-sweetened chocolate chips this mousse tastes just like a peppermint patty.

Low-Carb No-Bake Buttermint Cheesecake Mousse

 

Author: Faith

Nutrition Information

• Yields: 5 servings

• Serving size: 1/5 of recipe
• Calories: 303

• Fat: 32
• Saturated fat: 14
• Trans fat: 0
• Carbohydrates: 2
• Sugar: 2
• Sodium: 155
• Fiber: 0
• Protein: 3
• Cholesterol: 80

Prep time:  5 mins

Total time:  5 mins

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Low-Carb No-Bake Buttermint Cheesecake Mousse is a delicious keto treat.

Ingredients

• 8 oz (227 g) full-fat organic cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon unsalted grass-fed butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon granulated stevia (more or less to taste; or use your sweetener of choice)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon pure mint extract (more or less to taste; see Note)
• 3/4 cup (180 ml) heavy cream

Instructions

1. Unwrap the cream cheese, place it in a large bowl, and microwave on high for 30 seconds to soften it. Add the melted butter, stevia, vanilla extract, and peppermint extract, and beat with a handheld electric mixer until smooth.
2. Beat the heavy cream to stiff peaks in a medium bowl.
3. Beat 1/4 of the whipped cream into the cream cheese mixture until smooth. Use a rubber spatula to fold in the remaining whipped cream 1/4 at a time.
4. Transfer to 5 individual glasses or bowls. Serve or cover and keep refrigerated up to 3 days before serving. (Note that the mousse will stiffen a bit as it chills, but isn’t too stiff to eat cold.)

Notes

Mint Extract: You can use either peppermint or spearmint extract here, based on your preferences or what’s available.

Salt: I normally add a pinch of sea salt to most recipes I make (even dessert), but I find that this recipe doesn't need it because most commercially-available cream cheese is slightly salty.

Garnish Ideas: Finely powdered dried mint (or mint tea) and/or stevia-sweetened chocolate chips.

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