I was introduced to FAGE Greek Yogurt by joining BuzzAgent. They send me some coupons to try out FAGE Greet Yogurt few weeks ago. I tried eating it plain or with fruit and also used it to make low fat Butter Chicken. I love this product, it is really creamy and low in Fat at the same time. Also, you can find a lot of recipes in http://www.fageusa.com/.
This weekend I decided to use this ingredient to make my favorite cheesecake. As we know, it is a very long process to make cheesecake, we want to make sure that the recipe works. No one want to take risk to make a untested recipe for cheesecake. So, I am putting my best hope forward to make the cheesecake using FAGE Greek Yogurt. After letting the cheesecake sitting in the fridge overnight, we opened the springform pan the cheesecake did stay up like a cheesecake and it tasted fantastic!. The best of all, it is LOW in FAT and it doesn't taste like LOW in FAT.
Here is the recipe:
cook time: 3 hours
Ingredients:
Crust
- 1 cup of Graham cracker crumb
- Pinch of salt
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
Filling
- 1 pounds cream cheese, I used low fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/2 cup of sugar
- punch of salt
- 1 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 2/3 cup of 0% FAGE Plain Greek Yogurt
Equipment
7 inch springform pan
1 Prepare the springform pan so that no water leaks into it while
cooking.* Place a large square of aluminum foil on a
flat surface. Place the springform pan in the middle of the foil.
Gently fold up the sides of the foil around the pan. Make sure to do
this gently so that you don't create any holes in the foil. If there
are any holes, water will get into the pan and ruin the crust.
2 Preheat oven to 350°F, with rack in lower third of oven. Pulse
the graham crackers in a food processor or blender until finely ground.
Put in a large bowl, and stir in the salt and melted butter.
3 Put graham cracker crumbs in the bottom
of the springform pan. Gently
press down on the crumbs using your fingers, until the crumbs are a nice
even layer at the bottom of the pan, with maybe just a slight rise
along the inside edges of the pan. Be careful as you do this, as not to
tear the aluminum foil. Place in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove from
the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F.
4 Cut the cream cheese into chunks and place in the bowl of an
electric mixer, with the paddle attachment. Mix on medium speed for 4
minutes until smooth, soft and creamy. Add the sugar, beat for 4
minutes more. Add the salt and vanilla, beating after each addition.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute after each addition.
Add the Greek Yogurt,
beat until incorporated. Remember to scrape down the sides of the mixer
bowl, and scrape up any thicker bits of cream cheese that have stuck to
the bottom of the mixer that paddle attachment has failed to
incorporate.
5 Place the foil-wrapped springform pan in a large, high-sided
roasting pan. Prepare 2 quarts of boiling water. Pour the cream
cheese filling into the springform pan, over the graham cracker bottom
layer. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Place the roasting pan
with the springform pan in it, in the oven, on the lower rack.
Carefully pour the hot water into the roasting pan (without touching the
hot oven), to create a water bath for the cheesecake, pouring until the
water reaches halfway up the side of the springform pan, about 1 1/4
inches. (Alternatively you can add the water before putting the pan in
the oven, whichever is easier for you.) Cook at 325°F for 1 hours.
6 Turn off the heat of the oven. Crack open the oven door
1-inch, and let the cake cool in the oven, as the oven cools, for
another hour. This gentle cooling will help prevent the cheesecake
surface from cracking.
7 Cover the top of the cheesecake with foil, so that it
doesn't actually touch the cheesecake. Chill in the refrigerator for a
minimum of 4 hours, or overnight.
8 If you prefer, you can put a layer of Greek Yogurt mix with blended fruits, e.g. raspberry, on top of the cheese after the cheesecake is firmly chilled.
