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Lightened cheesecake
still creamy

THIS week's lower fat makeover request was submitted by Merryl Young of Honolulu. The original cheesecake recipe is called The Girdle Buster and originates from the cookbook "Jackson Hole Ala Carte," published in 1986 by the Jackson Hole Alliance for Responsible Planning. Young's request was to cut the calories and fat in half without cutting the flavor.

The original recipe indicates that the cake would serve 16. However, in today's world, the cheesecake would more likely be divided into 10 pieces containing 570 calories and 39 grams of fat each.

Here's a version that is one-third the fat and about half the calories of the original. We think you'll agree that the revised Waist-watchers recipe still delivers mouth-watering flavor in every creamy biteful.

Here are the main changes:

1) We've replaced the original crust with a chocolate ready made one;

2) We've decreased the quantity of filling in order to retain richness of flavor;

3) We've substituted low-fat cottage cheese and 1/3 Less Fat Philadelphia Neufchatel cheese for cream cheese;

4) The amount of chocolate and sour cream is reduced in the topping, but Hershey's chocolate syrup is added to provide flavor without adding significantly to the fat content.

The Original Girdle Buster Cheesecake Crust:

1-1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup melted butter

Filling:
1 -1/2 pounds cream cheese
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1/2 teaspoon water

Topping:
6 ounces semi-sweet or sweet chocolate
1/2 cup sour cream

Makes 10 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 570 calories, 39 g total fat, 23 g saturated fat, 160 mg cholesterol, 370 mg sodium, 50 g carbohydrate, 9 g protein*

Waist-Watcher Cheesecake

1 9-inch Keebler chocolate crumb crust
1 8-ounce package 1/3 Less Fat Philadelphia Neufchatel cheese
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
2 eggs
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee dissolved in 1/2 teaspoon water

Topping:
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons lite sour cream
2 tablespoons Hershey's syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat cheeses and sugar until smooth. Gently beat in eggs, vanilla and coffee. Pour into crust.

Bake until cheesecake center only slightly jiggles when pan is shaken (about 35 minutes).

When cake is cool, place chocolate chips in glass bowl and microwave at lowest setting until just melted. Blend in syrup and sour cream. Pour onto cooled cheesecake and carefully spread to within 1/2-inch of edge. Refrigerate overnight before serving. Makes 10 servings.

Approximate nutritional analysis per serving: 270 calories, 12 g total fat, 6 g saturated fat, 60 mg cholesterol, 290 mg sodium, 33 g carbohydrate, 8 g protein.*

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If you want a lower-fat makeover of your recipe, mail recipes to Recipe Makeover, Features Department, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, P.O. Box 3080, Honolulu, HI 96802. Or email to drdobbs@juno.com using Recipe Makeover as your subject title. Make sure to include your name and phone number or email address.

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Health Events

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Barbara Burke is a Hawaii-Pacific University instructor who has been teaching
and writing about food and nutrition since 1975.

Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S., is a food and nutrition consultant
and owner of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.
She is also responsible for the nutritional analyses
indicated by an asterisk in this section.

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