Crustless Lemony Goat Cheesecakes

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I got the idea of making a goat cheesecake after spotting it on the menu at Abattoir on Wednesday. I didn't order it, for I thought I could make my own lower-carb and higher-protein version. It has double the calories of my usual fat free cheesecakes; I wasn't able to find any reduced fat fresh goat cheeses. I used some fat free cream cheese, but not enough to cover up the slight tang and the sweetness of goat cheese. If the calorie count is too high for you, use smaller ramekins and reduce baking time, use fat free sour cream, and/or use a reduced fat goat cheese.

Ideas for toppings: reduced balsamic vinegar, fresh blueberries and blackberries, lemon curd, fresh whipped cream

Tips when making this:
-Be careful when placing and removing the roasting pan from the oven. It is pretty heavy, and you don't want to splash water in the cheesecakes. You could line the ramekins with tinfoil, but I was too lazy to do this.

-Be careful when removing the ramekins from the roasting dish. I accidentally dropped one because my hands are too small to hold one at a time, and I dipped the thumb of my oven mitt into the cheesecake :(.

Equipment:
-Food processor
-Plastic spatula
-Food scale
-Zester
-1/4 t measurement
-4 4-6 oz ramekins
-Cooking spray
-1 large roasting pan

Ingredients:
-6 oz fresh goat cheese
-4 oz fat free cream cheese
-1 serving egg substitute
-1/2 cup Splenda granular
-1/2 cup light sour cream
-zest of 1/2 lemon
-juice of 1/2 lemon
-3/4 t vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
-Pinch of kosher salt

1) Place a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Place cheeses in a food processor. Pulse until smooth and creamy. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

3) Add egg substitute and Splenda to food processor. Pulse until combined. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

4) Add the light sour cream, zest, juice, vanilla, and salt. Pulse until combined. Scrape down the sides as necessary.

5) Coat each ramekin with cooking spray and then fill each with equal amounts of cheesecake batter. Arrange them in the roasting pan so that they don't touch, and then fill the pan with hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

6) Place roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes. Carefully remove the ramekins from the roasting pan, and let them rest for 30 minutes at room-temperature. Cover with saran wrap and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

Each cheesecake has
190 calories
10g fat
8.75g carbs
16.5g protein

Crustless Orange Rum Cheesecake with Dark Chocolate Shavings

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Craving a cheesecake, but bored of the pumpkin variety, I opted for something fruity this time. This is the first time I've made a cheesecake on my own sans recipe, but I think it turned out pretty good. Some changes I'd make: 1) skip the marmalade and make a real orange syrup 2) use real rum when cooking the glaze, because for some reason the imitation rum extract was strong at first, but the flavor cooked away as the glaze thickened 3) put the cake ingredients in the food processor before pouring it in the pan, because the cheesecake was a little grainy.

Here's what I did to make this cake. Feel free to tweak it since I have some qualms about it. Out of a 4-person vote, 3 (including me) thought the cheesecake was pretty tasty. My dad thought the marmalade was bitter.

Sorry for the bad pictures; the lighting at my parents' house is not great.

Servings: 8
Cake ingredients:
-2.5 packages of softened fat free cream cheese (8 oz each)
-1 cup Splenda granular
-2.5 servings egg substitute
-1 cup light sour cream
-zest from 1 orange
-1 t vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract or 1/2 t vanilla powder
-1 t imitation rum extract
-1 t orange flavor

Glaze ingredients:
-juice from 1 orange
-3 T sugar-free orange marmalade
-1 T Splenda granular
-1 t rum extract
-pinch of kosher salt

Topping:
-dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) Cream the cream cheese and Splenda on medium until smooth.

3) Add the egg substitute and beat until smooth.

4) Add the remaining cake ingredients and beat until combined.

5) Bake for 60-70 minutes, until the cake jiggles a little in the middle. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes.



6) Heat the glaze ingredients in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir occasionally. Cook until the glaze can coat the back of a spoon but can still be smeared gently over the cake.

7) Smear over the cake, and let it cool to room temperature.



8) Wrap with tinfoil and let chill in the refrigerator. Before serving, add some chocolate shavings.



Each slice has
130 calories
2.5g fat
10.6g carbs
13.7g protein

High Protein Crustless Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake

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I found a healthy pumpkin cheesecake recipe and made it last week. It was too cheesy, and not pumpkin-y nor flavorful enough. I've tweaked it a bit, and here's my version.

It has no fat, very few carbs, and lots of protein for a dessert! Plus, it's delicious!

Servings: 8
Ingredients:
-2 1/2 packages of fat free cream cheese (8 oz. each)
-1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin
-4 egg whites
-1 cup Splenda granular
-1 1/2 t pumpkin pie spice
-1/2 t cinnamon
-1/2 t allspice
-1/2 t vanilla powder or 1 t vanilla extract
-1/2 t nutmeg
-dash of ground ginger
-dash of ground cloves

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

2) In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, Splenda, and vanilla from low to high until smooth, about 1 minute.

3) Add pumpkin, egg whites, and spices. Beat from low to high for another minute.

4) Spray a 9'' cake pan with cooking spray. Pour in the batter, pick up the pan, and tap on the counter to release air bubbles and smooth the top.

5) Optional: using a toothpick, make a decorative swirl from the center of the cake to the edge.

6) Bake for 60-70 minutes, until the top of the cake browns a bit. I baked for 65 minutes.



7) Let the cake cool to room temperature, and then cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.

8) Serve with fat free whipped cream!

Each slice has
103 calories
0g fat
6g net carbs
1.5g fiber
and 14g protein