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There's
something very special about cheesecake. The palate
feel, the richness, and the depth of flavor make it
one of the most uniquely delicious desserts.
But
it's obvious that any dessert with the word "cheese"
in the title isn't going to be light on calories or
saturated fat. And that's what makes cheesecake a
naughty indulgence, to be enjoyed only on special
occasions.
In
a perfect world there would be a way to make a delicious
cheesecake that was also good for you. Unfortunately,
cheesecake is one of those recipes that can never
be made truly healthy—if you still want it to
taste good. That said, with a few tweaks here and
there it can certainly be made healthier.
And
this recipe, while not exactly health food, contains
a lot less calories and saturated fat, and more nutrients
than a regular cheesecake.
Making
cheesecake healthier
The
way we're going to reduce the calories and saturated
fat in the cheesecake is by using low fat cream cheese
instead of full fat. Instead of using sour cream we'll
use ricotta cheese (which is naturally far lower in
fat than sour cream, but has a delightful taste and
texture). We're also going to use egg whites instead
of regular eggs, and to make the crust pliable we're
going to use a mixture of heart-healthy canola oil
and melted butter instead of just melted butter. Finally,
instead of using a really sugary topping (like cherry
pie filling), we're going to use sliced fresh strawberries
macerated with a little sugar and lemon juice. This
not only helps lower the calories, it also ups the
nutrients and fiber.
Lets
have a look at how these changes have impacted the
nutritional content:
The calories have been reduced by a third and the
saturated fat content has been halved—yet I can
assure you that our healthier cheesecake is still
very rich and delicious. Here's how to make this recipe
at home:
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Combine
the cheesecake base mixture
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Mix
together 1 cup of Graham Cracker crumbs, 3
tablespoons of superfine (caster) sugar, 1½
tablespoons of canola oil and 1½ tablespoons
of melted butter in a bowl. (If you live in
a country where Graham crackers aren't available,
simply use Digestive biscuit crumbs instead
and omit the sugar.)
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Bake
the mixture in the bottom of a spring-form pan
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Press
the crumb mixture firmly and evenly onto the
bottom of a 9-inch (23 cm) non-stick spring-form
pan. Bake in a preheated 160C/320F oven for
10 minutes. Remove from oven (keep the oven
at same temperature).
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Thoroughly
mix the cheesecake filling
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Place 16 oz (500g) ricotta cheese, 8 oz (250g)
light cream cheese (chopped into pieces), 4
egg whites, ¾ cup superfine (caster)
sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence in a food
processor or blender and process until thoroughly
blended and smooth.
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Pour
on the filling over the base and bake
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Pour
the filling mixture over the crust. Bake in
the preheated oven for 1 hour. Remove from the
oven and run a knife around the pan rim to loosen
the cake, then allow to cool before removing
the rim of the pan. Refrigerate for at least
4 hours or overnight.
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Serve
with macerated strawberry topping
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For
the cheesecake topping, remove the stems from
2 cups of ripe strawberries and cut in half.
MIX together 1½ tablespoons each of
superfine (caster) sugar, lemon juice and
water in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.
Toss with the strawberries to coat and refrigerate
for at least 1 hour. Top the cheesecake with
the macerated strawberries and cut into pieces
to serve.
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