Wednesday, November 12, 2014

a cheesecake for a birthday

My brother had a birthday the other day. No near-disasters, just a cheesecake, because that's always been his favorite.

He's a purist, and has insisted on the dense New York style and no other. But middle age comes along to soften you up and the low-fat version I found in Cooking Light years ago is appreciated now. So that's what I made.


 the crust    

  • half a stick of butter, melted
  • one and a quarter to one and a half cups gingersnap crumbs
  • one quarter cup sugar
Mix the dry, then combine with the butter and press into your pan and bake at 350 for ten minutes.


the cheesecake (from Cooking Light magazine)

Mix together:
  • 2/3 c. sugar
  • 1/3 c. flour
  • 1 T. cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 8 oz. block of cream cheese (the 1/3-less-fat kind)
  • an 8 oz. tub fat-free cream cheese
  • 2 large eggs
Beat on high till smooth. Add 1/2 cup of milk and 1/3 cup fat-free sour cream. 

Separately, beat 3 egg whites till you get the soft peaks, than add 1/4 cup sugar, one tablespoon at a time, till the peaks get stiff. Fold this into your cream cheese batter; then into the pan and bake at 300 degrees 55 minutes till it's almost set. (I kept mine in longer - it wasn't nearly set, plus I wanted it very slightly browned on top.)

Let cool an hour and then refrigerate at least eight hours.  It will probably get a big gash on top, but the topping will cover that up.


the cranberry topping (not sure where I got this recipe)
  • one cup of sugar
  • 4 tsp. cornstarch
  • one and a third cups water
  • 4 cups cranberries
Boil this mixture for five minutes. Stir it often. Chill before using. This makes plenty to cover this cheesecake.

Enjoy!  It's a delicious recipe.

3 comments:

  1. how lovely! My husband loves cheesecake and would love that for his birthday...if only it were not during Great Lent! So nice to find a 'healthy' version of it too... Many years to your brother!

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  2. I love a New York style cheesecake, but this sounds good to me!
    Thanks for the recipe.

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  3. Thank you both - it's a nice, creamy cheesecake. I like to make the gingersnap crust for this time of year, and the cranberry on top, too.

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