Yes, this recipe contains dairy and sugar. I’m going to own that upfront, because I usually steer clients away from dairy during the gut repair phase of working on histamine intolerance. But there is a time and a place for a proper dessert, and this is it.
One of the things that makes a restricted diet unsustainable over the long term is the relentless absence of anything that just tastes good. This cheesecake is for birthdays, for dinner parties, for the moments when you need to take something along and not feel like the person with the problem diet. It is rich, it is creamy, and if you use my homemade gluten-free flour blend it is completely wheat-free.
The other thing worth mentioning: on a low oxalate diet, dairy is actually one of the recommended foods, because the calcium in dairy binds to oxalate in the gut and reduces the amount absorbed. So for anyone managing both histamine intolerance and oxalate issues, this is one of the unusual cases where cream cheese has a legitimate argument for being on the plate.
Originally developed at cafe La Vina in San Sebastian, Spain, I have used homemade low histamine gluten-free flour. So this adaptation of the classic is gluten free friendly.
Dairy is usually a nono when working the gut healing required to resolve dietary restriction. It’s inflammatory properties and addictive casomorphin compounds put it on the avoid list. However, restricted diets can sometimes be too restricted, too rigorous. And let’s face it, sometimes just no fun!
A word on dairy and histamine intolerance
Dairy is one of those ingredients that sits on the ‘use with caution’ list during the early stages of working on histamine intolerance, particularly when there is active gut inflammation. Dairy is mildly inflammatory for many people and contains casomorphins, the compounds that make it genuinely difficult to stop eating cheese. So I don’t recommend it as a daily staple during gut repair.
But dairy is not high in histamine. And cheese, while aged cheese is very high histamine, fresh cream cheese is one of the lower-histamine dairy options available. For a special occasion recipe where the goal is to have something genuinely enjoyable, this cheesecake is a reasonable choice for most people once they are past the initial elimination phase.
If you are highly sensitive and want to test dairy tolerance, this is not the recipe to start with. Something simpler with a smaller serving is a better first test. But if you know you tolerate dairy reasonably well, this is a very good cheesecake.
Learn more about which foods are low and high histamine in the Happy Without Histamine – Low Histamine Foods Guide.
Low histamine burnt basque cheesecake
- Prep time: 20 mins
- Cook time: 50 mins
- Total time: 70 mins
- Serves: 8
- Gluten free
- Low histamine
- Low oxalate
Ingredients:
- 600 grams cream cheese (full fat cream cheese)
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup caster sugar (superfine sugar)
- 300 ml double cream (heavy cream)
- 1 tbsp gluten-free flour
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 200°C.
- Grease and line the base and sides of a 23cm springform cake pan. Grease pan with butter first then line with one sheet of baking paper, then line with the second piece of baking paper draped the opposite way. You want the paper 2 cm above the rim of the pan.
- Beat the cream cheese with electric beaters until smooth, this takes about 2 minutes. Then add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well before adding in the next egg. Next, beat in the sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Then mix in the cream, then add the flour and beat until smooth.
- Pour the cheesecake batter into your prepared pan. Tap the pan gently on a flat surface to remove any air bubbles
- Bake for 50 minutes or until the top is dark brown, and cake is set with a slight wobble in the centre. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool completely before removing from the pan.
- Serve and enjoy!
This cake is very soft when eaten within a few hours and firms up after being stored in the fridge. Both ways are delicious. Will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Frequently asked questions
Is cream cheese low histamine?
Fresh cream cheese is lower in histamine than aged cheeses and is generally better tolerated by people with histamine intolerance. The key is fresh: processed cream cheese with added thickeners or preservatives is a different matter. Full-fat, plain cream cheese with minimal ingredients is the best choice here.
Can I make this dairy-free?
Not really, and have it taste like this. The cheesecake is built entirely around cream cheese and double cream, and there is no substitute that produces the same texture and flavour. If you need a dairy-free dessert, the gluten-free flour blend in this recipe works well in other baked goods that are easier to adapt.
What is the low histamine gluten-free flour in this recipe?
It is a homemade blend using brown rice flour, sorghum flour, arrowroot, and tapioca starch. The standard commercial gluten-free flour blends often contain potato starch or bean flours, both of which can be aggravating for people with histamine intolerance. The full recipe is at [link to flour post].
Does this cheesecake freeze well?
Yes, though the texture changes slightly on thawing. Slice it before freezing and thaw individual pieces in the fridge rather than at room temperature, which helps preserve the texture.
Is this suitable for MCAS?
For most people managing MCAS who tolerate dairy reasonably well, this recipe is fine as an occasional treat. The flour blend is low histamine and gluten-free, and cream cheese is one of the lower-histamine dairy options. Use it as a special occasion recipe rather than a regular rotation item.
Want more low histamine recipes?
This recipe works beautifully after a low histamine dinner like the cauliflower and kale soup or sweet potato and chicken soup on this site. For a full four weeks of meal plans with shopping lists and prep guides, the Low Histamine Reboot is and easy way to get started.
About the author
Luanne Hopkinson (GradDipHumNutr, BSc, ADipNutrMed, MRC Healthy Gut Practitioner) is a clinical nutritionist and neuroplasticity coach specialising in histamine intolerance and MCAS. She is the founder of Happy Without Histamine and creator of the 5R Histamine Modulation Protocol. She works with women across Australia and internationally, drawing on 20 years of background in IT project management to treat histamine intolerance as the systems problem it actually is. nutrition + neuroscience
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