Cherry Cheesecake Made Over
Heavenly cheesecake can fit into a smart eating plan. Just ask our simply delightful cherry-topped dessert with a chocolate graham crust.
Prep time10 min
Total time5hr 50min
ServingsMakes 12 servings.
Ingredients
- 2 HONEY MAID Chocolate Grahams, crushed (about 1/3 cup)
- 2 cups reduced-fat cottage cheese
- 1 pkg. (8 oz.) Neufchatel cheese, softened
- ½ cup plain nonfat yogurt
- 3 Tbsp. sugar, divided
- 2 Tbsp. flour
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 egg
- 2 egg whites
- 2 tsp. instant tapioca
- 1 cup canned pitted tart cherries in water, drained, juice reserved
Preparation
- Heat oven to 325ºF.
- Sprinkle crumbs onto bottom of 9-inch springform pan.
- Process cottage cheese in processor until smooth. Add Neufchatel, yogurt, 2 Tbsp. sugar, flour and vanilla; process until well blended. Add egg, and egg whites 1 at a time, pulsing after each just until blended. Pour over crumbs.
- Bake 40 to 45 min. or until center is almost set. Run knife around rim of pan to loosen cake; cool 1 hour before removing rim. Refrigerate 4 hours. Meanwhile, bring 1/3 cup reserved cherry liquid, tapioca and remaining sugar to boil in large saucepan on medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Simmer on medium-low heat 2 min. or until thickened, stirring constantly. Gently stir in cherries. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Pour sauce over cheesecake just before serving.
Nutrition Notes
This classic dessert is made with better-for-you products so it can fit into a healthful eating plan.
Recipe Tips
- Makeover - How We Did It
We've taken a classic cherry cheesecake and made it over by reducing the sugar, and replacing some of the cream cheese with both low-fat cottage cheese and yogurt, substituting Neufchatel cheese for the regular cream cheese and substituting egg whites for the whole eggs. These changes will save 160 calories and 25 grams of total fat, including 15.5 grams of saturated fat, per serving. - Substitute
Can't find canned tart cherries? You can use 1 cup thawed frozen sweet cherries instead. Just cook them with 1/4 cup water and the tapioca as directed, omitting the 1 Tbsp. sugar. - Special Extra
Stir 1 Tbsp. Kirsch (cherry brandy) into cherry sauce before refrigerating.
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