Libelously Light Strawberry Cheesecake

Ingredients

  • 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
  • 1/3 cup melted butter (or margarine)
  • 1 & 1/4 cups sugar
  • 4 (8-ounce) packages of (low fat) cream cheese (softened at room temperature)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 3 whole eggs (or equivalent egg substitutes)
  • 1 cup fat free sour cream
  • 1 cup fat free plain Greek yogurt (or vanilla yogurt)
  • Fresh strawberries (enough for topping) 

For The Crust:

  • Combine crumbs, melted butter and 1/4 cup sugar and mix with fork.
  • Press on bottom and halfway up sides of a 9-inch or 10-inch springform pan and set aside.
  • Bake crust in 325 degree oven for 12 minutes or until light golden brown. Remove from oven.

For The Filling:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Using electric mixer at high speed, beat softened cream cheese, remaining sugar and vanilla until creamy.
  • Beat in eggs one at a time until batter is smooth.
  • Blend sour cream in by hand, then blend in yogurt.
  • Spread filling in prepared springform pan on top of crust.
  • Bake for one hour in a larger pan filled halfway up with hot water (springform pan placed in a water bath prevents cheesecake from cracking).
  • Turn oven off, leave door partially open, and leave cheesecake in oven for another one hour.
  • Remove pan from oven and allow to cool for one hour at room temperature.
  • Cover with aluminum foil and chill overnight (or at least 4 hours) in refrigerator. Do not remove cake from springform pan while chilling in refrigerator.
  • When ready to serve, remove cheesecake from refrigerator, release cheesecake from springform pan and top with fresh berries.

Yields:   Approximately 12 - 14 servings.

Comments:  For a variation on the topping, use whatever fresh berries are available or a combination of your favorite berries. Wait until after the cheesecake has fully chilled in the refrigerator before topping with berries.  

Note:  If you do not need a full size, large cheesecake as the above recipe yields, and want to bake a smaller cheesecake (to make approximately 8 servings), just use a 7-inch springform pan (instead of the larger 9-inch or 10-inch pan) and reduce the ingredients as follows:

Crust for smaller 7-inch springform pan:  Use 1 & 1/4 cups Graham Cracker crumbs; 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/4 cup melted butter. Follow above crust instructions and bake crust for only 10 minutes.

Filling for 7-inch springform pan:  Use 3 (8-ounce) packages low fat cream cheese; 3/4 cup sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 2 whole eggs; 1 plain (6-ounce size non-fat Greek Yogurt) and 1/2 cup fat free sour cream. Follow baking, chilling and topping instructions as above recipe.