Recipe: Light and Luscious Strawberry Cheesecake with Fresh Strawberry Sauce

Light and Luscious Strawberry Cheesecake
with Fresh Strawberry Sauce
From: California Strawberry Commission
Makes one 9-inch cheesecake (14 servings)

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
3 tablespoons melted margarine or butter
1 carton (15 ounces) part-skim ricotta cheese
1 cup sugar, divided
2/3 cup flour
4 eggs, separated
2 tablespoons grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup fat free sour cream
3 pint baskets California strawberries, stemmed
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1/4 cup red currant jelly, melted

Heat oven to 300 degrees. In medium bowl mix crumbs and margarine. Press onto bottom and 2 inches up sides of lightly greased 9-inch springform pan; set aside.

To make filling, in mixer bowl beat ricotta cheese until smooth. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar, the flour, egg yolks, lemon peel and vanilla; mix well. Stir in sour cream substitute to blend thoroughly. In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold into cheese mixture. Pour into prepared crust; smooth top. Bake 1 hour. Turn off oven; cool in oven 1 hour with door ajar. Remove from oven; chill thoroughly.

Meanwhile, to make sauce, in blender or food processor puree 2 baskets of the strawberries with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the lemon juice; strain sauce to remove seeds. Cover and chill.

To complete cake, halve remaining strawberries; arrange on top of cake. Brush strawberries with jelly. Cut cake into wedges; serve with sauce.

Nutritional Information Per Serving: 244 calories; 8 g protein; 8 g fat; 38 g carbohydrate; 73 mg cholesterol; 203 mg sodium.