Heart Healthy Cheesecake...Simply Scrumptious!

Cheesecake is a dessert typically made from soft cheese, eggs, and sugar in a crust of crumbled biscuits or cookies and butter.  It's decadently rich and is all the rage at wedding luncheons and special occasions.  Despite the more recent popularity of places like The Cheesecake Factory, which not only sells cheesecake through its chain of national restaurants but has in the freezer section of many retail grocery outlets, it is actually an ancient food invented by the Greeks.  The earliest mention of cheesecake is by Aegimus, an ancient Greek physician, who wrote a book in the 5th century BC on the art of making cheesecakes.  The Romans adopted the cheesecake after conquering Greece and Cato the Elder wrote a book called De Agri Cultura which includes recipes for two cakes for religious use.

Cheesecake is delicious but it's another one of those artery-clogging heart-hammering foods that, if we're taking care of our health, we should eat very sparingly.  For example, a single slice of Cheesecake Factory Original has over 700 calories, almost 30g of saturated fat, 425mg of sodium, and 62g of carbohydrates.  For an average woman that's 40% of her total daily recommended calories, and 150% of her maximum recommended daily amount of saturated fat!

Well, Po' Papa Joe to the rescue!  I've given cheesecake a complete makeover from top to bottom replacing butter with heart-healthy coconut oil, graham crackers with raw almonds, reduced the eggs, used agave nectar rather than sugar etc.  Here's a recipe for cheesecake that, compared ounce-for-ounce to the example above, has only:

• 50% Calories (though my recommended serving size is half theirs so it's even less)
• 27% Saturated Fat (most of which is Coconut Oil which has no cholesterol, helps you lose weight, and actually helps prevent heart disease)
• 13% Sodium
• 62% Carbs

All that and it tastes AMAZING!

Here is how to make this scrumptious heart-healthy cheesecake:

Ah The Crust (adapted from this wonderful dessert)!

• 1 cup Almonds
• 3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1 Tbsp Agave Nectar
• 1/8 tsp Vanilla Extract
• dash of Salt

Put the almonds in a food processor or blender and pulse until they are the consistency of coarse sand.  Put the coconut oil into a microwave-safe container and microwave for about 60 seconds until it is melted.  Add the rest of the ingredients and mix, then add the ground almonds, mix thoroughly, and press into the bottom of a pie plate or a springform pan.  If you use a pie plate press it up the sides as well.

Now for the Cheesecake Filling!

• 2 cups Yogurt Cheese (you can make it using my recipe or buy Greek yogurt and strain it)
• 2 large Eggs (this is the only leaven in the cake...you can leave out the yolks if you add another egg white in its place)
• 1/2 cup Agave Nectar
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Lemon Zest (optional)
• 1/2 tsp Salt

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit.  Put all the filling ingredients in a bowl, mix thoroughly with a hand-blender until smooth, and pour into the prepared crust.  Bake for 50 minutes (the middle may still be a bit jiggly) and then turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake to cool on a rack until it reaches room temperature.  Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight).

Slice and serve with topping of your choice such as fruit, jam (we used some homemade blueberry preserves), caramel, drizzle with chocolate etc.

This cheesecake is so delicious that you won't believe it's so healthy (BTW it's gluten-free for those of you avoiding gluten).  I also appreciate that it's so pleasing to the palette without leaving you bitter in the belly.

Make it, enjoy it, and share it with pleasure and without guilt.