This is a great and easy gluten-free dessert to make for Thanksgiving!

I like to make food from scratch, but I also enjoy the convenience of pre-made products. I found the Mi-Del certified gluten-free graham flavoured pie crusts at my local Safeway and thought I would give it a try. Here is a link to Mi-Del's website to learn more about the company and their products.

My family really enjoyed this gluten-free baked cheesecake. I have altered the recipe provided on the back of the pie crust to suit my family's tastes. This is a great gluten-free dessert for holidays. It is simple and easy to make and tastes delicious. Easy to adapt to your tastes. Use any fruit you like. Berries such as raspberry, strawberry, blueberry or even blackberry work well. Peaches and kiwi fruit work well. Another flavour combination would be banana slices with a caramel sauce.

Above is the recipe that comes with the Mi-Del gluten-free graham cracker pie crust for a strawberry cheesecake. Below is their recipe and then in brackets what I did. I did try it first with the 3/4 cup of sugar, but that was too sweet for us. Also I used blueberries instead of strawberries.

Gluten-Free Mi-Del Baked Cheesecake Recipe (Altered to my tastes)

Ingredients

• 1 Mi-Del gluten-free graham cracker pie crust
• 3/4 cup sugar (Note: I use 1/2 cup of sugar)
• 2 - 8 ounce (227 gram) packages of cream cheese (Note: I used 2 x 250 gram packages)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup or more of fruit puree or jam (Note: I used my own blueberry compote)
• 1 - 2 cups fresh fruit (Note: I used blueberries)
• Whipped cream for decoration (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 Farenheit (175 Celcius).
2. In a large mixing bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla. (I used my mixer)
3. Then add your eggs, one at a time. Until just mixed together. Don't over mix.
4. Pour into the Mi-Del pie crust and bake for 40 to 50 minutes (depends on your oven, every oven heats slightly differently). The pie will still be a bit jiggly when removed from the oven and will deflate a little as it cools.
5. When cool you can top the whole pie with the fruit puree or jam and decorate with fresh fruit and whipped cream or serve the pie plain and let your family/guests decorate their own piece of pie to their preferences.

As I noted in the recipe I adjusted the amount of sugar. I first made one with the 3/4 cup of sugar, but it was too sweet for our tastes. I think 1/2 cup of sugar works fine.

In Canada the cream cheese comes in packages of 250 grams. I used Philadelphia Orginal brand cream cheese. It made a little more batter which did really fill the pie crust, but seemed to work ok. If you don't want to overfill the pie crust you could weigh out the exact amount needed or add any extra leftover cake batter to greased ramekins and bake with the pie. Just remember that they will not need as much baking time and to keep an eye on them and pull them out when the tops are dry and slightly browned. I would check the ramekins after 10 to 15 minutes.

I like serving the cream cheesecake plain and letting my family and guests add their own toppings. This way everyone gets the type and amount of topping they prefer. You can even have different fruits available, so they can personalize their piece of cake.

If you'd like to make your own fruit sauce, here is a link to my Strawberry Sauce Recipe. Always start with less water and sugar and then taste test and add as needed. Fruit can have different amounts of liquid and sweetness.

Mi-Del crusts are shelf stable, which is great as you can store them in your cupboard until needed. Don't worry if they are slightly cracked, the filling will bring the crust together when baked. Also, do keep the plastic cover to use to cover the cake after baking for storage, that is if you have any left! ^-^

Note: These are my personal experiences and opinions. Always seek out a medical opinion for medical concerns. Not sponsored. If sponsored I will always say so at the top of the post.