First off, I am so sorry for the delay in posting the recipe. I promised my wonderful followers on Facebook to post the recipe a couple of days ago but a few things came up and I just couldn’t find the time.I also want to say sorry to the talented bloggers I follow for my delay in visiting their blogs. Things have been crazy the last couple of weeks but I promise to make it up and catch up on your posts soon.Please do forgive my delay

Growing up my mum was famous for making an amazing lemon cheesecake with blueberry topping. Every one who has ever tasted the cheesecake asked for the recipe and raved about it. A couple of months ago I asked mum for the recipe and oh my! there was enough butter and cream cheese in that recipe to make you gain 5 pounds just by reading the recipe! Don’t get me wrong, it is a GREAT cheesecake but I want a cheesecake recipe that I can enjoy! one I can eat more than a spoonful of without feeling guilty!

I began a search for healthier options and tried a few recipes, some worked, some went horribly wrong. The recipe I am sharing today is the end result of the search. A cheesecake that is velvety, creamy and luscious. If you think it’s  impossible to lighten this creamy, rich dessert without compromising flavor.I urge you to give this recipe a try. You just might change your mind.

What I have found out is that the secret to a healthy cheesecake  is to replace most of the cream cheese with pureed ricotta cheese and labneh. You can still get that luscious creamy texture at a fragment of the calories and fat content. There are a couple of things to keep in mind when you try this recipe.

Sweet vs tangy  Labneh is strained yogurt, the yogurt you start with determines the taste of the labneh you get. Start with tangy yogurt and that will give you a sour and tangy labneh, use that in your cheese cake  if you enjoy the contrast of sweet and sour. If on the other hand you want a purely  sweet cheesecake go for a mild yogurt, use that to make the labneh and then use it to make your cheesecake

Flavors Play around with the flavor combination of cheesecake and topping. I went for a raspberry cheesecake and a cherry topping but you can go for any combination you like. lemon cheesecake with blueberry topping. Orange cheesecake with candied orange peel for topping of maybe some chocolate curls or simply some orange widgets. Your imagination is the limit.

Crust options I use digestive biscuits which are semi sweet cookies or biscuits but you can replace them with graham crackers. the cinnamon is optional, you don’t taste it in the final product but it gives a beautiful depth of flavor or richness to the crust. If you would like to add to the nutritional value, try replacing part of the cookies or crackers with ground nuts

Yogurt and ricotta berry cheesecake

For the crust

4 tablespoons butter

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)

1 package digestive biscuits (260 g)

For the cheesecake

500 grams labneh (strained greek yogurt)

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 package (85 grams)JELL-O flavored  raspberry gelatin, or your choice of flavor

1/4 cup hot water

1  teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

1/3 cup sugar

80 grams cream cheese (optional)

For the cherry sauce

2 cups cherries

1 cup sugar (adjust according to the sweetness of the cherries)

3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon starch

1/4 cup water

To make the crust

Process the digestive biscuits in a food processor until finely ground. Add cinnamon and drizzle the melted butter. Mix  well

Press into the bottom of a 7 inch baking dish

Place in the fridge to set

To make the cheesecake

Add the hot water to the  gelatin mix in small bowl; stir 2 min. until completely dissolved

In your food processor, blender or stand mixer blend the labneh, ricotta, vanilla, lemon extract, sugar and cream cheese if using.

Slowly add the dissolved gelatin and blend until you get a smooth and homogenous mix.( This is very important you need to blend the cheese very well to get a smooth and velvety cheese cake)

Spread the filling over the crust.  Cover and refrigerate until cold, about 6-8 hours or over night

For the cherry sauce topping

Wash the cherries and remove the stalks and the pits

Mash the cherries to the consistency you want. You can puree them if you want a smooth sauce or leave them whole as I did

In a pot place the cherries, sugar and 3/4 cup of water.

Bring to a boil over medium low heat, stirring every now and then for 10 minutes

When you have 5 minutes left in the cooking time, dissolve the corn starch in the 1/4 cup of water and add it to the syrup while stirring. This will thicken the sauce and give it a beautiful consistency.

Store the left over sauce in a clean dry jar in your fridge, it will last up to two weeks.

Notes

The secret to a healthy cheesecake  is to replace most of the cream cheese with pureed ricotta cheese and labneh. Be sure to let the food processor do its job and process the cheese until it has a silky texture.

I find that homemade ricotta is better and tastier in recipes like this one when compared to store bought ricotta. You can make your own ricotta using this recipe.

Making your own labneh is super easy. All you need is yogurt a cheese cloth and time. For this cheese cake skip the salt when straining the yogurt. You can find a detailed post here

تشيز كيك اللبنه

للقاعده

4 ملاعق كبيرة من الزبدة

1/2 ملعقة صغيرة من القرفة (اختياري)

1 علبه بسكوت دايجستيف (260 غرام)

لطبقه الجبن

500 غرام لبنة

كوب من جبنة ريكوتا (يمكنك صنع الريكوتا في البيت بهذه الطريقه)

1 ظرف(85 غرام)جلو بطعم التوت او اي نكهه تختارينها

ربع كوب ماء ساخن

1 ملعقة صغيرة من الفانيليا

1/2 ملعقة صغيرة من خلاصة الليمون

1/3 كوب سكر

80 غرام جبنة كريم (اختياري)

لعمل القاعده

اطحني البسكوت و اضيفي له القرفة و الزبده المذابه و اخلطي بشكل جيد

ضعي البسكوت في قاعده قالب تشيز كيك و اضغطيه حتى يصبح متماسكا

ضعي القاعده في الثلاجه لتبرد

لتحضير الطبقه العلويه

يضاف الماء الساخن إلى بودرة الجلو في وعاء صغير. يحرك 2 دقيقة. حتى يذوب تماما

في الخلاط امزجي اللبنه و خلاصه الليمون والسكر وجبن  الريكوتا و الجبن الكريمي

اضيفي  الجيلاتين المذاب ببطء  وا مزجي حتى يصبح المزيج ناعم ومتجانس. (وهذا أمر مهم للغاية تحتاجين إلى خلط الجبنة بشكل جيد للحصول على كعكة الجبن ذات مذاق سلس وناعم)

صبي خليط الجبن على القاعده

ضعيه في الثلاجه حوالي 6-8 ساعات أو طوال الليل