Last Monday I posted the basic recipe for the low(er) fat, low(er) sugar cheesecake. One of the things I love about cheesecake is it’s versatility. There are so many different flavors that work on this backdrop, that there’s no reason to deny yourself a favorite, even if you’re watching your diet for your health or your waistline.

Let’s talk crusts: For some reason, graham cracker crusts have become the traditional bases for creamy pies and cheesecakes. I don’t know why. Maybe to keep us buying graham crackers long after we’re past the milk and cookie stage of life (wait! when did that happen?). Frankly, I’m over the graham cracker crust. Use one if you must, but truth be told, I find that strong flavor conflicts jarringly with things like Key Lime Pie, and yes, cheesecake. Just about any plain cookie (no raisins or chocolate chips – honestly, you people are just incorrigible!) can become pie crust – oatmeal, chocolate, or my favorites, vanilla wafers and lady fingers. I have a plastic zip bag into which I’ve tossed vanilla wafers and lady fingers that we didn’t finish before they went past their prime. Need a crust? Grab a handful of those and toss ‘em in the food processor. Et Voila! Crust. And nowadays, there are a number of sugar-free versions of many of them. I used sugar-free oatmeal cookies for the basic cheesecake.

My favorite crust for cheesecake, though, is made from ground nuts. Pecans, almonds, macadamias, and hazelnuts all work particularly well, because their natural oil contents make them hold together nicely when ground and pressed firmly. And they’re so healthy! No added sweeteners are necessary, and nuts (eaten 1-2 ounces a day), with their mono- and polyunsaturated fats, have been scientifically shown to help lower the bad LDL cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and boost immunity. So unless there’s an evil nut allergy preventing it, use them as you would a cookie crust, just be careful not to over-process. We’re making crust, not nut butter, here!

So, what do we have here? Why a Chocolate Marble Cheesecake in a Hazelnut Crust. Oh, Baby! Want one? Here’s how:

Prepare a cheesecake batter using the basic recipe, omitting the grated lemon rind. In a glass measuring cup (only so you can actually see what you’re doing) spoon about 1/2 cup of the batter. Add 1 Tbsp. of unsweetened cocoa powder and 1 Tbsp. of the Splenda Blend for Baking. Stir together very well, making sure that it’s completely blended. Pour the plain batter into your prepared springform pan. Pour the chocolate mixture into the plain batter, using a roughly circular motion. Got extra? Just pour it in the middle.

Take a thin-bladed knife and run it through both batters, swirling as you go. Don’t worry about being artistic – it’s gonna be awesome!

Continue with the regular baking instructions, chill, and serve!

Don’t feel like chocolate? What kind of a freak are you?!? Sorry. Anyway, maybe you’d like Amaretto. Use ground almonds for your crust, prepare the basic recipe, omit the grated lemon rind, and add 1 tsp. of almond extract. You can even give it a flavor boost by changing out the plain soy creamer for a flavored one!

The point is, baking your own cheesecake is fun, easy, and doesn’t have to sabotage your diet. You can do it!

I’ve been taunting you all with this for weeks, now, and I think I’ve come close enough to share it with you – a low(er) fat, low(er) sugar, low(er) carb cheesecake. Yes! I said CHEESECAKE! Rich, creamy cheesecake. And just about as guilt-less as you can get. Seriously.

In case you haven’t been following along, a little back story: Back at the end of March, the hubs (MJ) was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. The asshat doctor we had at that time, handed him a pamphlet from the drug company with a “recommended” diet and a sneer. MJ totally freaked out, and when he took the plate of dinner I served him back to the kitchen to re-measure and re-weigh the portions I gave him one evening, I had enough. I took the pamphlet, tore it into a gazillion pieces and threw it in the trash. “But now what am I going to do?” “You’ll eat what I give you.” I tooled around the American Diabetes Association website, and got some more up-to-date insight. Today, MJ is 45 pounds lighter – mostly due to portion control, more vegetables, lower-fat, higher fiber options, and most importantly – common sense. In fact, I wouldn’t even let him get one of those blood glucose testing meters. An interim fasting blood test showed his sugar levels dropped significantly. He just had another one, and I’m hopeful that he’ll be back within normal parameters and off the medication very shortly.

I’m not saying that the course we took would work for everyone in his situation, but I know my husband. And I firmly believe that working with the foods he enjoys, and all the new choices out there, such as the higher fiber multigrain pastas, cutting portions, and providing something sweet for dessert, is making the process less onerous and more of a lifestyle modification, rather than radical change. Once he started seeing results – smaller clothing sizes and better glucose numbers – MJ began to settle down emotionally, and became more like his own sweet self again.

I know — enough with the yada yada yada! On with the cheesecake!

Guiltless Cheesecake
This recipe is for a 6-inch cheesecake. For a 9 or 10-inch cake, double the ingredients. Be sure to read the notes at the end!

Ingredients:

Cooking spray
1/4 cup sugar-free cookie crumbs (your choice)

1 pound (2 – 8 oz pkgs) fat-free cream cheese (at room temperature)
1/4 cup Splenda for Baking
1/3 cup liquid egg substitute
1 whole egg (at room temperature)
1/2 tsp. grated lemon rind
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. fat-free sour cream
2 Tbsp. soy coffee creamer
Pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees (Yes, 500. Bear with me)

For the crust: While the oven is heating, spray a 6-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Put the crumbs in the pan, and shake it around a bit to spread the crumbs all over the bottom and about an inch up the sides of the pan. Then take a flat-bottomed drinking glass, and press the crumbs in evenly. When the oven reaches about 325 degrees, place the pan in the oven for about 5 minutes, then remove and set aside to cool.

For the filling: With an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add the Splenda and beat thoroughly. Beat the egg and egg substitute together with a fork, and add to the cream cheese in two portions, beating in thoroughly and scraping down the sides well after each addition. Add the remaining ingredients and beat for another minute, until the batter is smooth and well-blended.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust. Smack the pan on the counter several times to remove large air bubbles. They’ll rise to the surface and pop. It’s kind of cool, actually.

Place the pan in the 500 degree oven, on the center rack, for 5 minutes. It should look a little puffy with some light browning – something like this:

Turn the oven temp down to 200 degrees and keep the oven door open until the heat is reduced. Bake for an additional 20 – 30 minutes. The edges should be firm, but the cake should still jiggle.

Leaving the cake in the oven, turn off the oven and keep the door propped open. Let sit for about an hour. Remove the pan to cool on a rack till it comes to room temperature, then refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours.

Delicious plain, or served with fresh fruit and/or fat-free whipped topping.

Notes:

As noted before, if you’re making a full-sized 9 or 10 inch cheesecake, just double everything, including the times. No, there’s no water bath. Really.

First little trick: Line the removable bottom of the springform pan with foil, then put the pan back together. This will not only provide leakage insurance, but enable you to remove the finished cheesecake to a nice serving plate later, with a minimum of fuss.

Second little trick: Whenever you have a recipe that calls for lemon juice, save the juiced rinds in a small freezer bag and put in the freezer. Then when you have a recipe – like this – where you need a little bit of grated rind, but no juice, you don’t have to mess up a perfectly good lemon. Have you seen the price of lemons, these days? You can just grab your microplane grater (you do have one, don’t you?) and grate off what you need. The fact that it’s frozen, makes it easier to get just the rind – no pith. Then just throw it back into the freezer.

Okay, about the oven heat. The idea is that the initial high heat cooks the eggs and causes the cheesecake to puff up. This will also cause a circular crack to form around the edge of the cheesecake to vent the steam. When you lower the heat, the cheesecake will sink and the “crack” pretty much disappears, and creating that rich, dense cheesecake texture we all know and love.

Well, this post has gone on far too long, so Next Monday: Variations!