The ultimate makeover: New York cheesecake

The ultimate makeover: New York cheesecake

Angela Nilsen rises to the ultimate challenge - keeping a cheesecake creamy and decadent while making it healthier and lighter

Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 10 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 25 mins

Cook time

Cook 45 mins

Plus 3½ hrs cooling and overnight chilling

Method

  1. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 20cm loose-bottomed or springform tin with baking parchment and stand it on a baking sheet. Melt the butter and stir in the biscuit crumbs. Press the mix into the base of the tin, then bake for 10 mins. Remove from the oven and raise the temperature to 240C/fan 220C/gas 9.
  2. For the filling, beat the soft cheese just until smooth with an electric hand mixer on low speed. Gradually add the sugar, also on a low speed, then the cornflour without overbeating. Scrape the sides of the bowl. Slowly whisk in the lemon zest and juice, the vanilla, then the eggs. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then finally whiskin the fromage frais. The mixture should be smooth and quite runny.
  3. Pour the filling over the crumb base. Jiggle the tin to level the mix and squash surface bubbles with the back of a teaspoon. Bake for 10 mins, then lower the heat to 110C/fan 90C/gas ¼. Bake another 25 mins and, if you are using an electric oven, leave the oven door slightly ajar for the first 3 mins. After the 25 mins, shake the tin and there should be a wobble in the centre of the filling. If left until firmer it is more likely to crack later. Turn off the oven, keep the door closed and leave the cake in for 2 hrs. Open the door, loosen the top edges of the cake with a round bladed knife, then leave in the oven to cool gently for another 1-1½ hrs.
  4. Meanwhile, put the sugar for the topping in a small pan with 3 tbsp water. Bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then let it bubble for 1-2 mins to make a thin syrup. Tip in the blueberries, gently stir and cook for about 1 min, just to slightly burst the fruit and release the purple juices. Stir in the lime zest, then leave to cool.
  5. Spread the fromage frais over the top of the cooled cheesecake. Cover with foil and chill for at least 4 hrs (or overnight). Remove from the fridge 1 hr before serving, loosen the sides of the cheesecake completely, remove from the tin, then slide onto a plate, peeling off the paper as you do. Slice with a sharp knife and serve each wedge topped with a spoonful of syrupy blueberries.
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Making it healthier

A slice of traditional cheesecake contains 519 kcalories, 38g fat (21g of which is saturated fat). My version contains 315 kcalories, 15g fat (8g is saturated fat). We made a thinner crust, used low-fat creme cheese and fromage frais instead of sour cream.

Per serving

315 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 37g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 8g, fibre 1g, sugar 28g, salt 0,89 g

Recipe from Good Food magazine, May 2008.

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Latest comments and suggestions

Results 61-73

  • Binder photo JoJo

    16 April 2012

    JoJo commented on this recipe

    I subsituted the low fat cream cheese for quark, the fromage frais for 0% fat greek yoghurt and the butter for rapeseed oil. Topped with mixed berries it went down a storm with the whole family! Will definitely make again.

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  • Binder photo tracy

    16 May 2012

    tracy commented on this recipe

    Excellent cheesecake, an absolute favourite, I substitute riccotta for fromage frais

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  • Binder photo alicehill45

    26 June 2012

    alicehill45 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I've never baked a cheesecake before and this was really easy and it tasted amazing! I made it for my dad's birthday, New York cheesecake is his favorite and he absolutely loved it, never would have guessed it was a healthier version! I did end up with a slight crack but this was easily covered up with the toppings so it wasn't a problem at all!

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  • Binder photo Jo

    12 July 2012

    Jo commented on this recipe

    Delicious, and a great texture with bit more to chew than the other no-cook cheesecakes I've made before. I used quite a shallow tin so had a bit of filling left over, so used it to make a couple of mini cheesecakes in ramekins... worked really well! I was too lazy to bother with the fruit, just sprinkled a bit of sweetener atop the creme fraiche topping - yum!

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  • Binder photo krista54

    25 July 2012

    krista54 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is wonderful cheesecake, I substituted the sugar for zylitol and used 130 grms so its perfect for diabetics.

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  • Binder photo cafeaulait9

    25 July 2012

    cafeaulait9 rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I just made this and it has to be the best cheesecake I've ever made! I tweaked the recipe a little bit: I used self-raising flour instead of the corn flour and I used blackberries and raspberries instead of blueberries but it tastes amazing! Really creamy. If you're looking for a good cheesecake recipe, look no further, this is the one!

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  • Binder photo Muffin

    16 August 2012

    Muffin commented on this recipe

    I thought some of you might be interested in this recipe for a healthier lime and ginger cheesecake with mango coulis; http://muffinsvegetariankitchen.blogspot.co.uk/ Thank you

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  • Binder photo Raya

    28 January 2013

    Raya rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    This is an absolute favorite.. I made it the first time for my husband's birthday and then started getting orders from friends and family! I would recommend it to everyone.. it is totally worth it..

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  • Binder photo ruthy

    15 February 2013

    ruthy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    I was looking for a low fat dessert for valentines day and this cheese cake recipe is great. I read all the reviews for this recipe and living abroad like some others, certain ingredients are hard to come by. I doubled the quantity for the base as I thought it would be too thin and gave it an extra 5-6 minutes in the oven at the start. I replaced the fromage frais for half fat creme Fraiche and this worked just as well. I baked it for the times stated and left it to cool for the 2hrs and then just another hour after that and found that the top of the cheese cake had cracked. However cracks can be covered, it tasted absolutely gorgeous and my husband loved it.

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  • Binder photo Nini

    05 April 2013

    Nini commented on this recipe

    My daughter made it several times & it's delicious every time !

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  • Binder photo Nini

    05 April 2013

    Nini commented on this recipe

    My daughter made it several times & it's delicious every time !she adds some lemon juice to the topping, I love it! Nahla.

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  • Binder photo Suegriff26

    14 April 2013

    Suegriff26 rated and commented on this recipe

    4 stars

    Cheesecake is delish, left it in for about 50 minutes after turning temperature down, although a bit longer still wouldn't have hurt. Nit sure about the topping, think the lime was a bit out of place and may have been better if left out. Will definitely make again

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  • Binder photo tracy

    30 April 2013

    tracy rated and commented on this recipe

    5 stars

    Have made this several times now, always delicious and admired. Really rich but fresh flavour. I do double base ingredients as I found the base a little thin first time and it doesn't lose anything if you leave the fromage frais off the top. So much better than most of the cloying cheesecakes that you get in supermarkets and really easy to make.

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Difficulty and servings

Easy

Cuts into 10 slices

Preparation and cooking times

Preparation time

Prep 25 mins

Cook time

Cook 45 mins

Plus 3½ hrs cooling and overnight chilling

Ingredients

FOR THE BASE

  • 35g butter
  • 85g reduced-fat digestive biscuits , finely crushed

FOR THE FILLING

  • 2 x 300g/11oz tubs light soft cheese, we used Philadelphia cheese , at room temperature
  • 175g golden caster sugar
  • 3 tbsp cornflour
  • 1½ tsp finely grated lemon zest , preferably using a Microplane grater
  • 1 tsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs , room temperature, beaten
  • 150g fromage frais

FOR THE TOPPING

  • 25g golden caster sugar
  • 225g punnet blueberries
  • ½ tsp finely grated limes zest
  • 100g fromage frais
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Per serving

315 kcalories, protein 9g, carbohydrate 37g, fat 15 g, saturated fat 8g, fibre 1g, sugar 28g, salt 0,89 g

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