For the love of eating organic!

I got this recipe from Epicurious when I was searching for a light and fresh tasting lemon cheesecake. I was totally amazed at the taste, it was awesome. I did half non-fat and half lowfat cream cheese as suggested, and it was wonderful. I made the cheesecake for a ladies luncheon, and it was a big hit.

light-as-air lemon cheesecake

Low-fat versions of traditional cheesecake ingredients make this delicious dessert an elegant (and easy) end to a special meal. You can make this even lighter by using all nonfat cream cheese in the recipe, but I find the consistency better when using half nonfat and half lowfat cream cheese.

1.5 Cups Almond Biscotti Crumbs
(to make crumbs, crush biscotti with a rolling pin between two pieces of waxed or parchment paper)

1 cup plus one tablespoon sugar
1/4 cup butter (at room temperature)

1 (8 oz.) packages of nonfat cream cheese (at room temperature)

1 (8 oz.) package of reduced fat cream cheese (at room temperature)
2 cups (16 oz.) nonfat sour cream

2 large eggs

2 large egg whites

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1/4 cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons cake flour (or regular flour)


DIRECTIONS

1. In food processor, process crumbs (to make crumbs,, 2 tablespoons of the sugar and butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Press mixture firmly over bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of a 9 inch springform pan. Bake in a 350˚ oven until lightly browned (about 10 minutes).

2. In clean food processor, combine 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of the sugar, both packages of cream cheese, 1 cup of the sour cream, eggs, egg whites, lemon peel, lemon juice and flour. Process until smooth.

3. Pour cream cheese filling into crust. Return to oven and bake until filling jiggles only slightly in center when pan is gently shaken. (35-45 minutes) Cool in pan or on rack for 30 minutes. After you take the cake out of the oven, stir together remaining 1 cup sour cream and remaining 1 tablespoon of sugar, cover and refrigerate. Spread cooled cheesecake with sour cream topping. Cover and refrigerate until cold (at least four hours). To serve, remove springform pan rim. Garnish with fresh raspberries or strawberries, if desired.