Recipe: Time to Pamper Yourself With My Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake!

Unlike a typical New York style cheesecake that calls for several eight-ounce packages of cream cheese, my recipe is a delicious, low-calorie version.  What I have for you today with my Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake tastes just as decadent, only mine has an airier texture since it uses cottage cheese instead. You will be surprised at its luscious creaminess and how the combination of chocolate and orange zest are so perfectly matched to give it something special.

In this photo, a piece of my Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake looks lighter and more the shade of pumpkin pie.  However, this is just the lighting.  In reality, this color is more brown than it appears.

Making this cheesecake is also so simple because you just need to beat the filling ingredients together in your food processor first and then pour into an unbaked pie shell.  The hard part is waiting for it to chill in the refrigerator until it is ready to serve.

Although many may prefer a graham cracker crust, I use the easy oil pie crust recipe that I always do.  In fact, my recipe can be stretched thin enough to fit in a 10-inch Corning Ware fluted quiche that I’m using, which is another reason to love it because you get a large cheesecake without eating all that much crust.

If you don’t have any fresh orange to finely grate, you can use orange extract.  Another suggestion is the next time you have some nice, thick-skinned oranges, do what I do and grate, wrap a few packets and freeze for later use for cakes, frostings, sweet rolls, and coffee cakes.

Do try this cheesecake because I promise it’s a keeper!


My Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake

3 large eggs
1 pound of cottage cheese
2/3 cup of sugar + 1 tablespoon
½ cup of dry milk solids
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon of finely grated orange peel
1 tablespoon of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 unbaked 10-inch pie crust 


Make your pie crust and fit it into your well-greased pan.  I get a large cheesecake out of this recipe and fit mine into a white Corning Ware 10" fluted quiche pan.

In your food processor beat: the eggs, cottage cheese, sugar, dry milk solids, cocoa, orange peel, flour, salt, and vanilla until smooth and creamy.

Pour into your unbaked shell and bake in a 375-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until you insert a toothpick or a slender knife into it and it comes out clean.

ENJOY!

Here is another photo of a piece of my Healthier Chocolate-Orange Lite Cheesecake.