Cheesecake is challenging to make on the lighter side, and while this one still has sugar to keep it sweet I’ve reduced the fat tremendously by using fat-free cream cheese and fat-free sour cream. The amazing thing is that with the sweetness and freshness from the lemons I think it’s just as rich and delicious as the full-fat alternative. It looks exactly the same and whips into the same creamy consistency as the original version. Feel free to omit the lemon curd for further lightness or use just a bit as the glaze. This lemon curd recipe uses half the egg yolks and sugar as traditional lemon curd, so make sure to choose fragrant lemons and zest so it flavors the curd with lots of lemon freshness and color.
Crust
1 ¾ cups fat-free vanilla wafer cookie crumbs, any fat-free cookie crumbs of your choice, or low-fat graham crackers
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
Filling
3 (8-ounce) packages fat-free cream cheese
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cups sugar (or use a sugar substitute
of equivalent measure)
3 large eggs or ¾ cup egg substitute
2 teaspoons lemon zest
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Lemon Curd
1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest
6 tablespoons lemon juice
1 large egg plus 1 large egg yolk
½ cup sugar or sugar substitute
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut
into pieces
1. To make crust: Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray.
2. Mix crumbs and melted butter in a bowl. Press crumb mixture onto bottom and 1 ½ inches up sides of pan. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until edges are lightly golden and crust is set. Cool on rack.
3. To make filling: In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat cream cheese and sour cream for 2-3 minutes on medium-high until fluffy. Gradually
beat in sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time, just until incorporated. Beat in
zest and juice.
4. Pour into crust. Bake for an hour to
an hour and 15 minutes, or until center is almost set but still slightly jiggly. (Do not overbake, as it will firm as it cools.) Let cool completely.
5. To make lemon curd: In the top of a double boiler combine lemon zest and juice, egg, egg yolk and sugar over gently simmering water. Whisk until hot and thickened, about 5 minutes. Gradually whisk in butter and continue whisking for 7 minutes or until thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat and let cool for 30 minutes.
6. Run a thin blade around the edge of the springform pan and remove sides. Transfer to a serving plate. Spread lemon curd over top. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cool cheesecake in refrigerator several hours or overnight before serving.
Serves 10
