Cheesecake - lemon & vanilla, from Healthy Food Guide

Lemon and vanilla cheesecake

We've given traditional cheesecake a Healthy Food Guide makeover to produce a delicious but healthier lemon and vanilla cheesecake. Our version is lower calorie and lower in saturated fat than regular cheesecake recipes.

Serves: 8

Time to make: 1 hr 15 mins

Ingredients

More weights & measures

Filling
250g (1 tub) ricotta
400g (2 tubs) quarg
½ cup castor sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence
zest and juice of lemon (or less to taste)
2 eggs
Base
150g low-fat biscuits, crushed into crumbs (we used Vitalife digestives)
50g reduced-fat spread, melted
Topping
300g berries, frozen or fresh
2 tablespoons sugar

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Instructions

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1 Preheat the oven to 150°C. Combine the biscuit crumbs and butter in a bowl and mix together. Press the mixture into the bottom of your pan and set aside.

2 Mix the ricotta, quarg, eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl with a hand-held kitchen mixer. When well mixed, add the lemon zest and juice. Pour the mixture into your tin and place in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes for a large cheesecake, or 20-25 minutes for small. Turn the oven off and leave the cheesecake in the oven until completely cold (this stops the top cracking).

3 To make the topping, put the berries in a bowl and sprinkle the sugar over the top. Set aside for 30 minutes or so. The juice should run out of the berries as the sugar dissolves. Take half the berries and push through a sieve to make a smooth sauce. Or, if you’re okay with seeds, just blend for a minute or so.

4 To assemble, pile the whole berries on top of the cheesecake and spoon the sauce over the top.

Variations

Traditional cheesecake (per serve)

Total energy 1910kJ
Total fat 32g (20g saturated fat)

HFG cheesecake (per serve)

Total energy 1330kJ
Total fat 15g (6.5g saturated fat)

HFG tip

Quarg is a fresh soft cheese related to yoghurt, cream cheese and cottage cheese, with the consistency of a spreadable paste. It has less butterfat than cream cheese but more than yoghurt and cottage cheese, so it’s useful in desserts in the place of cream cheese.

Remember, a dish like this should be enjoyed as an occasional treat rather than an everyday meal.

Nutrition Info (per serve)

Calories 318cal

Kilojoules 1330kJ

Protein 12g

Total fat 15g

–Saturated fat 6.5g

Carbohydrates 35g

–Sugars 28.3g

Dietary fibre 3g

Sodium 190mg

Calcium 165mg

Iron 0.8mg

Note: This nutrition analysis is a guide only. Nutrition composition will vary depending on the exact ingredients used. See our guides on your optimal daily nutrition intake, and supermarket shopping.