Recipe Book

White Chocolate Candy-Cane Cheesecake

Inspired by Kraft Kitchens http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/white-chocolate-candy-cane-cheesecake-69121.aspx.

Crust:

¾ cup Chocolate baking crumbs

¾ cup Graham Cracker Crumbs

3 ½ tablespoons low fat margarine, melted

3 tablespoons white sugar

Cheesecake Layer:

3 packages (8 oz. or 250 g each) Light Cream Cheese

¾ cup White Sugar

3 whole eggs

4 square Baker’s White Chocolate, melted

¼ teaspoon Peppermint extract (no more than that!)

Garnish:

5 full size candy canes, crushed

2 Skor bars, crushed

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 325 F.

Mix cookie crumbs, graham crumbs, melted butter, and sugar. Press into greased springform pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with electric mixer until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each until blended. Stir in melted chocolate and extract.

Pour over crust and bake for 45 minutes. Turn oven off after 45 minutes and open door half way. Add crushed Skor bits to top and let cheesecake site in the oven for two hours with the door half open and the oven off.

Place in fridge for at least 5 hours to cool.

Add crushed candy cane pieces on top before presenting and serving.

Enjoy this holiday special treat!

Bailey’s Cheesecake with light Banana Bread Base

Inspired by the “Do the Cocoa Motion Cheesecake” recipe p. 151 from Crazy Plates by Janet & Greta Podleski

Banana Bread Base:

1/2 cup flour

¼ cup chocolate chips
3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 slightly beaten egg whites
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup Splenda Brown Sugar blend

3 tablespoons Olive oil
11/2 teaspoons vanilla
Non stick spray

Preheat oven to 325 °F.

In a bowl, mix together flour, chocolate chips, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

In a separate larger bowl, mix together bananas, egg whites, sugar, oil and vanilla.

Stir in flour mixture until moistened. Pour into sprayed springform pan.

Bake at 325 °F for 15 to 20 minutes until dough starts to solidify.

Remove from pan and let sit for 5-10 minutes prior to adding cheesecake mixture.

Cheesecake Mixture:

2 cups low fat (1%) cottage cheese

2 cups low-fat sour cream

8 ounces light cream cheese, softened

½ cup white sugar

¾ cup packed Splend Brown Sugar Blend

3 ounces of Bailey’s liquor

3 whole eggs or ¾ cup fat free egg substitute

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon vanilla

Chocolate sauce to garnish

Preheat oven to 325 °F.

In a blender or food processor, whirl cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese until smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together both sugars and the eggs on medium speed with electric mixer. Add cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Add cornstarch and beat again. Add vanilla and Baileys and beat until mixture is well blended.

Pour cheesecake mixture into prepared crust and bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cheesecake will appear puffy and jiggle slightly when shaken. Turn off heat and open oven door halfway. Let cheesecake sit for 2 hours. Then cover and chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours or overnight.

Garnish with chocolate drizzle.

Enjoy J

Lemon Tofu Almond Cheesecake

1 ½ boxes soft or silken tofu (find at Zehr’s in Specialty Cheeses Section)

1/3 cup sugar

1 T almond butter

1-2 T lemon zest

1 T cornstarch

2 T milk (or soymilk)

Mix all ingredients in food processor until creamy.

Crust

2 T honey

½ t vanilla

1/8 t salt

1/8 t almond extract

½ cup almond butter

1/3 cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup oat flour

Blend crust “wet” ingredients together and then mix in “dry” ingredients.  Spray springform with cooking spray and then spread out crust mixture evenly into springform pan.  Pour tofu filling from food processor on top of the crust. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350F.

Remove from oven and allow to set on counter at room temperature.

Topping (recommended)

Make a fruit sauce (fruit (such as raspberries), 100% orange juice, 3 T cornstarch mixed with 3 T water) and boil till thickened.  Important to mix cornstarch and water first and then pour into a saucepan and add remaining ingredients. Boil until thickened.

Alternate Topping

Use a low sugar, mostly fruit jam or spread instead! Quick and easy!

Cover baked cheesecake with sauce and serve!

Enjoy J

 

Mhmm Peanut Butter Chocolate Microwave Cheesecake

Source: Adapted from Lyndsay’s Mom's Microwave cheesecake recipe. Thanks!

1 ½ cups chocolate baking crumbs (or Oreo crumbs)

¼ cup Ground Flaxseed

3 tablespoons low fat margarine

1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

¼ cup Splenda brown sugar

½ cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 (1 oz) Baker’s semi-sweet chocolate squares

½ cup Natural Peanut or Almond Butter

For crust,

In medium bowl melt 3 tbsp of margarine. Add chocolate baking crumbs and flaxseed to melted margarine. Stir until combined and then press into glass, microwave safe glass pie plate or 9 inch square pan.

In medium bowl

Melt baker’s chocolate with one tablespoon of vegetable oil in the microwave for 30 seconds stirring occasionally. Blend cream cheese, sugar, egg, vanilla, sour cream, melted chocolate and peanut butter until smooth.

Microwave medium bowl for 3 ½ to 4 minutes on medium; stirring twice.

Pour cheese mixture into the pie plate or square pan.

Microwave cheesecake for 5 to 7 minutes on medium-low; until center is almost set.

Chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours or overnight.

Enjoy this decadent, rich, no-guilt, no-oven cheesecake J

Plump Bumpkin Cheesecake

“Need No Oven”

Inspiration: “Lovin’ My No-oven Cheesecake” by Janet and Greta Podleski from Eat, Shrink and Be Merry page 163

(This recipe is an adaptation of the above citation.)

Makes 12 to 16 servings

Crust:

1 ½ cups graham crumbs

¼ cup Ground Flaxseed

¼ cup Walnuts, chopped

¼ cup Craisins (dried cranberries)

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

2 tablespoons Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

4 tablespoons Low Fat Butter, melted

Filling:

1 cup 2% Evaporated Milk

½ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed

2 envelopes (1/4 ounce or 7 g each) Knox unflavoured gelatine

1 ½ packages (8 oz/250 g each) light cream cheese, at room temperature

1 ½ cups Splenda Brown Sugar Blend

1 tablespoon Vanilla Extract

2 cups light Sour Cream (not fat free)

2 cups Pure Pumpkin, canned (not pumpkin pie filling)

1 tablespoon Clubhouse Pumpkin Spice Blend

Whole Pecans (for garnishing)

To make the crust:

Combine graham crumbs, flaxseed, walnuts, craisins, cinnamon, brown sugar in a medium bowl. Add melted butter and stir using a fork until crumbs are moistened.

Spray a 9 inch Springform pan with cooking spray and press mix into the pan (evenly across the bottom and not up the sides). Refrigerate for one hour.

To make the filling (while crust is setting):

Combine evaporated milk and orange juice in a small saucepan. Sprinkle gelatine over top and let stand for 5 minutes. Whisk gelatine into milk mixture and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture just starts to boil. Remove from heat immediately and let cool while crust finishes setting.

Beat together cream cheese, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed with an electric mixer until smooth. Add sour cream, pumpkin and spices. Beat again on medium speed until well blended. Add milk mixture and beat again until well mixed.

To set:

Pour batter over crust and smooth top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 8 hours (best overnight).

To serve:

IMPORTANT: Before releasing outer ring of the Springform pan be sure to run  knife along the edge of the pan to release the cheesecake.

Garnish with whole pecans and serve in individual slices.

 

Shocklate Cheesecake

Rich-tasting, double-chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate brownie crust

Source: Eat, Shrink and Be Merry By Janet and Greta Podleski

1 box (15.5 oz/440 g) low-fat brownie mix (such as Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies)

2 cups 1% cottage cheese

1 cup light sour cream (not fat free)

1 pkg (8 oz/250 g) light cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

¹/₃ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

¹/₄ cup all-purpose flour

6 oz (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted and cooled slightly (see cooking tip)

1 cup fat-free egg substitute or 4 whole eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup fresh raspberries

Melted chocolate for drizzling (optional)

Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Prepare brownies according to package directions, baking in springform pan instead of regular cake pan. Brownies should bake in 20 to 25 minutes. Remove pan from oven and reset temperature to 325ºF. Set brownie crust aside to cool slightly while you prepare filling.

To make filling, whirl cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a blender until perfectly smooth. Scrape out mixture into a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, sift together sugar, cocoa and flour. Gradually add sugar mixture to cream-cheese mixture and beat on medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add melted chocolate and beat again, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat just until eggs are incorporated into batter.

Before pouring batter over crust, lightly grease sides of pan. This will help prevent cheesecake from cracking as it cools. Pour batter over brownie crust and smooth top. Place on middle oven rack and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cake will be puffed up and center will jiggle slightly when pan is shaken. Turn off oven, open oven door halfway, and leave cake in oven to cool for 1 hour. Remove from oven, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake from sides, and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

To serve, remove sides of pan, slice thinly (it’s rich!), and serve with fresh raspberries and chocolate drizzle, if desired.

Yield: 16 servings

Per serving: 321 calories, 10 g total fat (5.9 g saturated fat), 11 g protein, 48 g carbohydrate, 2.7 g fiber, 65 mg cholesterol, 299 mg sodium

Cooking tip: To melt chocolate, place chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on medium-low power until chocolate is melted. For 6 squares, it should take about 3 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave. Be careful not to burn chocolate! Remove bowl from microwave and stir chocolate until smooth. Cool slightly before using in recipe.

Is your cheesecake all that it’s cracked up to be? More often than not, a baked cheesecake will crack when it’s cooling. Talk about frustrating, especially when you follow instructions to the letter and still get cracks the size of the Grand Canyon! Don’t panic if your cake does the splits after it’s baked—it’ll still taste terrific. Before serving, cover the cracks with fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and no one will know the difference.

http://www.eatshrinkandbemerry.com/section/view/?fnode=35