Chaste Cheesecake

If I'm not blogging for a while it means I'm working on some new recipes.  I've got a couple of new ones that I have been working on and tweeking to get them just right before posting them on here. This one, however, was the very first low fat foodie recipe I tried and it is still my all time favourite! I posted this recipe on facebook a few months ago but have made some adjustments since.

When you're trying to lose weight or maintain your weight, cream is the devil itself, but we now have plenty of alternatives to full fat cream that can be substituted without losing any taste.  This recipe is for individual cheesecakes that may look small but I guarantee you that they are so rich and satisfying you will be quite happy with one. Take this as truth from somone who used to use 500ml of cream and 500g of full fat cream cheese in a 9inch round cheescake!

 AAAAaaaaand if you thought you would never be able to make a decent cheesecake...well they don't come any easier than this! Any clutz in the kitchen could whip this up in 10 minutes.

 Nutrional Facts:
Calories: 220
Fat: 6g
WWPP: 5.5
Carbs: 25.5g
Sugar: 13.6g
Protein: 9.5g


Serves:4
Prep Time:10 minutes
Refrigeration Time: 30 minutes minimum


Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 McVitees Light Digestive Biscuits (this brand is on average 15-20 calories and 1.5g of fat less per biscuit than other brands)
• 200g of Extra Light Soft Cheese  (no need to get en expensive brand -Tesco do a version)
• 100g of drained low fat natural yoghurt (If you can get your hands on 0% fat Greek Yoghurt it's even better but I have searched high and low for it in Dublin and can't find it anywhere)
• 2 tbsp of golden caster sugar or fruit sugar
• 1 tbsp of powdered sweetener
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp St Dalfour Sugar Free Jam ( there are other sugar free jams but this really is the best)
• 100g of strawberries hulled and thinly sliced

Method: 

1.  If you can't get the 0% fat greek yoghurt you will have to prepare your low fat natural yoghurt ahead of time. To do this you will need a deep bowl or jug, a sieve and some good quality kitchen roll. Line the sieve with a single ply of kitchen roll and place over the jug. Pour in 200g of yoghurt and leave to drain in fridge for about 3 hours. I know it sounds like hassle but this step is essential if you ar to get a thick, creamy cheesecake...after 3 hours, carefully turn the contents of the sieve into a wide bowl and even more carefully peel off the kitchen roll, then weight out 100g.
2. bash your biscuits in  a sealable plastic bag until they are chunky crumbs...you are not adding any butter to the base so chunky bits are fine. Share this evenly between your four small glasses or ramicans.  
3.  mix together the cream cheese, yoghurt, sugar, sweetener,  lemon zest and vanilla extract until they form a smooth cream. Taste to make sure that it's sweet enough for you. If it isn't add a little bit more sweetener until it is and pour this equally over your biscuit base in the four glasses then place in fridge to set.
4. In the mean time put a tbsp of jam in a mug and stir it around to losen it up a bit then add the strawberries and mix. Place in fridge until  you are ready to serve the cheesecakes.
5. When the cheesecakes are set spoon over the strawberries and serve with a teaspoon. 

I promise this cheesecake won't leave you feeling bloated and overly full, It will simply leave you satisfied and feeling like you've had a real treat for 220 calories! This is a great one to serve at dinner parties. no one will even realise that they are low fat!

These will keep for a couple of days in the fridge, so if there is just one or two of you you can still make four and treat yourself to a saintly dessert for a few nights in a row.