Light Lower Fat New York Cheesecake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Wrap the outside of a 9-inch springform pan with foil to prevent leaks. Coat the inside of the pan with cooking spray.
• Pulse the graham crackers in a food processor until crumbled. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons water and the butter; pulse until moistened. Press the crumbs onto the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake until browned, about 8 minutes. Let cool, about 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, beat both cream cheeses and the sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until smooth, about 5 minutes. Beat in the sour cream on low. Lightly whisk the 3 egg whites in a bowl, then add to the cheese mixture along with the 2 whole eggs, flour, vanilla and lemon zest. Beat on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Pour over the crust.
• Place the cheesecake in a roasting pan and add enough warm water to come one-quarter of the way up the sides of the springform. Bake until the cake is set but the center still jiggles, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Turn off the oven; keep the cheesecake inside with the door closed for 20 minutes.
• Remove the cake from the water bath and transfer to a rack. Run a knife around the edge, then cool completely. Chill until firm, at least 8 hours. Top as desired.

Steps:

• Move oven rack to lowest position. Heat oven to 425°F. Lightly grease side only of 9-inch springform pan with shortening.
• In small bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs, margarine and 2 tablespoons sugar; press evenly on bottom of pan.
• In large bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 3/4 cups sugar, the flour, orange peel, lemon peel and salt with electric mixer on medium speed about 1 minute or until smooth. Beat in egg product and egg yolks, beating on low speed until well blended. Pour over graham cracker mixture.
• Bake 15 minutes.
• Reduce oven temperature to 200°F. Bake 1 hour longer. Cheesecake may not appear to be done, but if a small area in the center seems soft, it will become firm as cheesecake cools. (Do not insert a knife to test for doneness because the hole could cause cheesecake to crack.) Turn off oven; leave cheesecake in oven 30 minutes longer. Remove from oven and cool in pan on wire rack away from drafts 30 minutes.
• Without releasing or removing side of pan, run metal spatula along side of cheesecake to loosen. Refrigerate uncovered about 3 hours or until chilled; cover and continue refrigerating at least 9 hours but no longer than 48 hours.
• Run metal spatula along side of cheesecake to loosen again. Remove side of pan; leave cheesecake on pan bottom to serve. Serve with berries, if desired. Store covered in refrigerator.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees, with rack set in lower third. Assemble a 9-inch springform pan with the rimmed side of the pan facing down. Coat pan with cooking spray; line side with a long strip of waxed or parchment paper.
• In a food processor, grind graham crackers until fine crumbs form. Add oil, and pulse to moisten. Transfer crumbs to prepared pan, and press firmly into the bottom. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet; bake until crust is lightly browned, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, wipe bowl and blade of food processor. Blend cottage cheese and cream cheese until very smooth and glossy, scraping down bowl as necessary, 4 to 5 minutes. Add 3/4 cup sugar, sour cream, eggs, flour, vanilla, and salt; blend just until filling is smooth.
• Pour filling onto crust (crust can be hot or warm). Bake until barely set in center, about 1 hour. Turn oven off; let cake cool in oven 1 hour. Transfer to a wire rack, and let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 2 days.
• Make topping: In a large skillet, combine cherries and remaining 2 tablespoons sugar. Boil over high heat until liquid is thick and syrupy, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
• To serve, unmold cheesecake (peel off and discard paper). Transfer to a serving platter; top with cherry topping.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 20cm loose-bottomed or springform tin with baking parchment and stand it on a baking sheet. Melt the butter and stir in the biscuit crumbs. Press the mix into the base of the tin, then bake for 10 mins. Remove from the oven and raise the temperature to 240C/fan 220C/gas 9.
• For the filling, beat the soft cheese just until smooth with an electric hand mixer on low speed. Gradually add the sugar, also on a low speed, then the cornflour without overbeating. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Slowly whisk in the lemon zest and juice, the vanilla, then the eggs. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then finally whiskin the fromage frais. The mixture should be smooth and quite runny.
• Pour the filling over the crumb base. Jiggle the tin to level the mix and squash surface bubbles with the back of a teaspoon. Bake for 10 mins, then lower the heat to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼. Bake another 25 mins and, if you are using an electric oven, leave the oven door slightly ajar for the first 3 mins. After the 25 mins, shake the tin and there should be a wobble in the centre of the filling. If left until firmer it is more likely to crack later. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed and leave the cake in for 2 hrs. Open the door, loosen the top edges of the cake with a round bladed knife, then leave in the oven to cool gently for another 1-1½ hrs.
• Meanwhile, put the sugar for the topping in a small pan with 3 tbsp water. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then let it bubble for 1-2 mins to make a thin syrup. Tip in the blueberries, gently stir and cook for about 1 min, just to slightly burst the fruit and release the purple juices. Stir in the lime zest, then leave to cool.
• Spread the fromage frais over the top of the cooled cheesecake. Cover with foil and chill for at least 4 hrs (or overnight). Remove from the fridge 1 hr before serving, loosen the sides of the cheesecake completely, remove from the tin, then slide onto a plate, peeling off the paper as you do. Slice with a sharp knife and serve each wedge topped with a spoonful of syrupy blueberries.

Steps:

• To make the crust: Butter a 9-inch springform pan - choose one that has sides that are 2 3/4 inches high (if the sides are lower, you will have cheesecake batter left over) - and wrap the bottom of the pan in a double layer of aluminum foil.
• Stir the crumbs, sugar and salt together in a medium bowl. Pour over the melted butter and stir until all of the dry ingredients are uniformly moist. (I do this with my fingers.) Turn the ingredients into the springform pan and use your fingers to pat an even layer of crumbs along the bottom of the pan and about halfway up the sides. Don't worry if the sides are not perfectly even or if the crumbs reach above or below the midway point on the sides. Put the pan in the freezer while you preheat the over. (The crust can be covered and frozen for up to 2 months.)
• Center a rack in the over, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the springform on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Set the crust aside to cool on a rack while you make the cheesecake.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
• To make the cheesecake: Put a kettle of water on to boil.
• Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese at medium speed until it is soft and creamy, about 4 minutes. With the mixer running, add the sugar and salt and continue to beat for another 4 minutes or so, until the cream cheese is light. Beat in the vanilla. Add the eggs, one by one, beating for 1 full minute after each addition - you want a well-aerated batter. Reduce the mixer speed to low and stir in the sour cream and/or heavy cream.
• Put the foil-wrapped springform pan in a roasting pan that is large enough to hold the pan with some space around it.
• Give the batter a few stirs with a rubber spatula, just to make sure that nothing has been left unmixed at the bottom of the bowl, and scrape the batter into the springform pan. The batter will reach the rim of the pan. (If you have a pan with lower sides and have leftover batter, you can bake the batter in a buttered ramekin or small soufflé mold.) Put the roasting pan in the oven and pour enough boiling water into the roaster to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan.
• Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour 30 minutes, at which point the top will be browned (and perhaps cracked) and may have risen just a little above the rim of the pan. Turn off the oven's heat and prop the oven door open with a wooden spoon. Allow the cheesecake to luxuriate in its water bath for another hour.
• After 1 hour, carefully pull the setup out of the oven, lift the springform pan out of the roaster - be careful, there may be some hot water in the aluminum foil - and remove the foil. Let the cheesecake come to room temperature on a cooling rack.
• When the cake is cool, cover the top lightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, although overnight is better.
• At serving time, remove the sides of the springform pan - you can use a hairdryer to do this - and set the cake on a serving platter.

Steps:

• For the crust: Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, and sugar together in a medium bowl. Transfer the mixture to a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly into the pan bottom. Bake the crust until fragrant and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack while preparing the filling.
• For the filling: Increase the oven temperature to 500 degrees. Line a medium bowl with a clean dish towel or several layers of paper towels. Spoon the cottage cheese into the bowl and let drain for 30 minutes.
• Process the drained cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth and no visible lumps remain, about 1 minute, scraping down the work bowl once or twice. Add the cream cheese and yogurt cheese and process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping down the work bowl once or twice. Add the salt, sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla and continue to process until smooth, about 1 minute, scraping down the work bowl once or twice. With the processor running, add the eggs, one at a time and process until smooth.
• Being careful to not disturb the baked crust, spray the sides of the springform pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet. Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake 10 minutes. Without opening the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and continue to bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the cheesecake reads 150 degrees, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
• Transfer the cake to a wire rack, and run a paring knife around the edge of the cake. Let cool until barely warm, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, running a paring knife around the edge of the cake every hour or so. Wrap the pan tightly in plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours.
• To unmold the cheesecake, wrap a hot kitchen towel around the springform pan and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove the sides of the pan and blot any excess moisture from the top of the cheesecake with paper towels. Let the cheesecake stand at room temperature about 30 minutes, then cut into wedges.
• For the Topping: Toss the berries, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl and let stand until the berries have released some juice and the sugar has dissolved, about 30 minutes, tossing occasionally to combine.
• Process the jam in a food processor until smooth, about 8 seconds. Transfer the jam to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Simmer, stirring frequently, until dark and no longer frothy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice, then gently stir the warm jam into the strawberries. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to 12. To serve, spoon a portion of sauce over individual slices of cheesecake.

Steps:

• Grind the pecans, mix with butter and flour (just helps to hold together, but you don't need it). Put into a 9 inch springform pan.
• In a bowl beat cream cheese, sour cream, vanilla, stevia until fluffy (this is the point I do the tasting to see if it may need more stevia, everyone's taste is different so add a little at a time til you find what " tastes good to you. I use the stevioside which is stronger then regular stevia).
• Beat in eggs, egg whites and cornstarch. pour mixture over crust into springform pan. bake at 300°F until firm in center (45-60 minutes) refrigerate overnight.
• Variations: using above recipe.
• Key Lime-.
• Zest and juice 5 key limes ( they a smaller then regular limes) plus another 3 tbsp of lime juice, omit the vanilla beans if you like. Add at the beginning, at tasting for stevia see if you need more juice.
• Chocolate-.
• Use almonds instead of pecans for the crust.
• Omit the egg whites and increase eggs to three total. Add 1/3 cup Dutch cocoa.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch springform pan.
• Mix graham cracker crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press onto the bottom of the prepared springform pan.
• Combine Neufchatel cheese and sugar in a large bowl until smooth. Blend in milk, then mix in eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in sour cream, vanilla extract, and flour until smooth. Pour cream cheese mixture into prepared crust.
• Bake in preheated oven until center sets, about 1 hour. Turn oven off and let cake cook in oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours; this prevents cracking. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.