You want to know what’s in cheesecake? Cream cheese and sugar… basically two really delicious items that taste even better together. Granted, this is an incredibly unhealthy dessert that is usually topped with something additionally unhealthy, i.e. whipped cream, fruit compote (which is sugary fruit), or icing. So, naturally, I want to eat it all the time. In preparation for Valentine’s Day, where my goal is to bake a chocolate chip raspberry cheesecake, I decided to try my hand at making a simpler kind of cheesecake just to make sure I didn’t ruin it entirely. In this experiment, I found that there is no need for an extra run next weekend to The Cheesecake Factory.
I took three bricks of light Philadelphia Cream Cheese and ¾ cup of sugar (which can be replaced by artificial sweeteners like Splenda or Stevia) and threw them into my food processor. I don’t have a mixer, which would be the appropriate kitchen utensil to use for this kind of thing. Strangely enough, the food processor actually worked! Then I added the juice of 8 key limes, 3 eggs, and mixed the concoction more. After it was all completely mixed together, I poured it into a graham cracker crust that I made and put in a spring form pan. I cooked the cheesecake for 55 minutes at 350 degrees and let it set in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
I didn’t tell my boyfriend I baked him a surprise (/experiment that might be horrible), and was in a different room when he opened the fridge and yelled, “PIE!!!” I gently corrected him that no, it was Philadelphia Cream Cheese in its best form, a cheesecake. His face lit up even more, and he even considered skipping dinner and heading straight to the cheesecake, but I wouldn’t allow it. I served it with Light Cool Whip, and he absolutely loved it. Success! Next week, I will try mixing in raspberries and chocolate chips with the basic mix (cream cheese, sugar, and eggs)… hopefully he will be just as delighted.
You can find more recipes on the Philadelphia Cream Cheese website if you want to try a different kind of cheesecake!
