Bake 52: Light New York Cheesecake

Cheesecake.  Light Cheesecake.  Nothing wrong with that.  Well, except maybe that it still has calories, albeit less.

The tip for the crust:  use a measuring cup to help press it down, before par-baking.

This was another fun recipe.  I learned something new.  The recipe called for low-fat yogurt cheese.  I had never heard of yogurt cheese before.  Thank goodness for the side-note in the book of how to make your own.  It explained that 2 cups of low-fat yogurt could be placed in a fine-mesh strainer, lined with cheesecloth (I used multiple paper towels), and left to sit in the fridge for 10 hours.  The liquid drains, and your left with yogurt cheese.  Having never tried this before, I was a little nervous.  If it didn't work, what other options would I have?  Luckily it worked like a charm.  And luckily I had read previously about the 10 hours of needed drain time.  Here's what the yogurt looked like after the draining time...  kind-a like softened cream cheese.

Besides the yogurt cheese, there were two-packages of light cream cheese, and cottage cheese.  The whole cheesecake was combined in a food processor, until it was all smooth and well combined.  I've never made a cheesecake in that way.  Slick.

Then of course baked for over an hour, and allowed to cool for a couple of hours, and then put in the fridge to cool for 3 hours... so not really a dessert that can be made quickly, or in only 2 hours before a dinner party.

Overall I liked the cheesecake.  I think though, that if I'm going to have cheesecake, I would prefer the "real" thing.  I mean, if I was to skimp on dessert, I'll go for an orange or grapes or something.  If I'm having dessert, I'll take the full fat.  I wish it had been a little firmer, which could have been my mistake.  Maybe I should have cooked it a tad longer?  So, that being said, I doubt that I'll make this one again, but, I really enjoyed the process.  Thanks Talesha for picking this recipe.  Head over to her blog for the full recipe.