Recipe Makeovers

Cheesecake

A luscious, creamy cheesecake with less calories and half the saturated fat of the regular version.

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:

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.)

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).

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.

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.

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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