I am on such a Greek yogurt kick, you guys. Greek yogurt is a wonderful thing. It’s full of calcium, packed with protein, and can be used as a substitute in so many different recipes, which is my favorite part!
Going to the Cheesecake Factory the other day led me to experiment with lightening up one of our favorite desserts: cheesecake! I didn’t do any crazy flavors this time, but believe me, this will not be the last Greek yogurt cheesecake that I post about on this blog. Just as a warning, this recipe is still in the experimental stages, so I’d love your feedback and any suggestions. I’m a bit of a cheesecake-making newbie myself.
GREEK YOGURT CHEESECAKE WITH A RASPBERRY-LIME SAUCE
Prep time: 30 minutes — Cook time: 45-50 minutes — Chill time: 4+ hours
INGREDIENTS:
for the graham cracker crust
1 1/2 cups graham crackers (roughly nine full rectangular sheets)
6 tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp cinnamon
for the Greek yogurt cheesecake
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups nonfat Greek yogurt
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 whole eggs, plus 2 egg yolks
for raspberry-lime sauce
12 oz. fresh raspberries
1/4 cup sugar
3 tbsp lime juice
1 cup water
cornstarch to thicken
1. Preheat the oven to 325°. First, you’ll need to crush your graham cracker crumbs. If you have a food processor, I am so envious, and you should save yourself (and your counter tops) the trouble and crush them that way. Otherwise, it’s the plastic bag and mallet (or ladle, whatever works) method for you!
2. Once they’re nice and crumbly, put them in a medium-sized bowl and add a little bit of cinnamon. I feel that the cinnamon gives the crust’s flavor some depth, and just a teaspoon is all you need for the entire crust.
3. Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients and mix it together with a fork until it’s crumbly and beautiful.
4. Take out your spring form pan and spread the graham cracker mix as evenly as possible throughout the bottom. I prefer to use a fork, and I also try to leave excess along the edges to mold slightly up along the walls of the pan.
5. Bake the crust for 8-10 minutes, checking occasionally to be sure it doesn’t burn.
6. While the crust bakes, you can begin assembling the ingredients for the cheesecake mixture. (Mine didn’t get quite as creamy as it should have because, not 30 seconds into mixing the cream cheese, my beaters fell out of the hand mixer and refused to return… I guess I’ll be getting a new mixer).
7. Beat together the softened cream cheese until it is smooth. Then add the sugar and salt and beat until combined.
8. Finally, add the Greek yogurt and vanilla extract, mixing until just combined. Blend two eggs into the mixture at a time, ensuring all ingredients are mixed well.
9. Pour the cheesecake mixture into the baked (and cooled!) pie crust, and bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes until it is just barely set in the center. (Be careful: this is where I made a mistake. This recipe takes less time to bake than a regular cheesecake. I left mine in for too long, causing it to fall and then begin to burn around the top)
10. When the cheesecake is cooked, turn off the oven and crack the oven door. Let the cheesecake cool completely before refrigerating it for at least 4 hours (I always chill my cheesecakes overnight).
11. You can make the raspberry sauce the day before you serve it, but I would suggest throwing it together right beforehand. It’s so simple! Put your (washed) raspberries in a small pot and place on medium-high heat. Add the sugar and lime juice, stirring constantly as it bubbles.
12. Add the water, reducing the raspberries into the sauce. Depending on the consistency of the sauce, you may need to add cornstarch to thicken it up (and if you don’t happen to have cornstarch on hand because you’re lazy and poor, just use flour; I won’t tell anyone).
13. Once the raspberries have broken down and had time to reduce, use a strainer to separate the liquid sauce from the raspberry seeds. You’ll probably need to stir it around a bit to get all of the liquid to strain. Then I chilled the sauce until we served the cheesecake, but you can always serve it hot.
14. Cut up your cheesecake, drip some sauce over it, maybe garnish with a few raspberries, and enjoy!
What are your favorite recipes for substituting Greek yogurt? Any family recipes that you’ve lightened up lately?
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