Mango Almond Cheesecake – Bon Appetit Blog Envy Holiday Bake-Off

by The Meal Makeover Moms on November 27th, 2009

Bon Appétit magazine is hosting a Blog Envy Holiday Bake-Off between now and December 13th. The cool thing about the Bake-Off is that everyone gets to vote for their favorite desserts from various categories — cakes, pies, cookies, etc. Even though the contest is only open to bloggers, anyone can cast their ballot. The grand prize is a trip to New York and dinner at Le Bernadin restaurant with the magazine’s Editor-in-Chief, Barbara Fairchild.

We talked for quite some time about what to create. As you know, we tend to avoid excessive amounts of butter, cream, and sugar when we bake, so we knew that turning a “healthy” dessert into something spectacular would be of the utmost importance. What we finally decided to bake was a cheesecake … admittedly a challenge given that most are made with lots and lots of full-fat cream cheese for the filling and lots and lots of butter for the crust.

It took us three tries in the Meal Makeover Moms’ test kitchen (AKA Janice’s home kitchen that seriously needs a makeover) to get the recipe just right (lower down in the post,you’ll find a photo of one of our failures). For our Mango Almond Cheesecake, the creamy filling relies on 30%-reduced-fat cream cheese, part-skim ricotta cheese, agave nectar versus sugar for sweetness, and a perfectly ripe and super flavorful mango. The crust uses just 2 tablespoons of butter.

With just 5 grams of saturated fat per slice — a lot less than 99.9% of the cheesecakes you’ll find in cookbooks and on the web, you will definitely enjoy every creamy and sublime bite without even a sliver of guilt.

Mango Almond Cheesecake

Makes 16 Servings

For the Crust:

  • 1 ¼ cups crushed Graham Crackers (about 16 squares)
  • 2 tablespoons wheat germ
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 tablespoon agave nectar
  • 1 egg white, beaten (save the yolk for the filling)

For the Filling:

  • 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into chunks
  • Two 8-ounce packages 30%-reduced-fat cream cheese, room temperature
  • One 15-ounce container part-skim ricotta cheese, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup agave nectar
  • 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • Zest of one lemon, about 2 teaspoons
  • 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, room temperature

For the Garnish:

  • 1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted and cut into 1/4-inch dice
  • 1 teaspoon agave nectar
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh mint
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F. In a large bowl, stir together the Graham Cracker crumbs, wheat germ, butter, agave, and egg white until well combined.

2. Butter the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan.  Press the crumb mixture evenly on the bottom of the pan and bake for 12 minutes.  Remove and cool completely on a wire rack before filling (you can turn the oven off while the pan cools and while you prepare the filling). Butter the sides well once cooled.

3. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. To make the filling, place the mango in a food processor and pulse until completely pureed, scraping the sides as necessary. Add the cream cheese, ricotta cheese, agave nectar, flour, lemon zest, almond extract, and salt and process until well combined and creamy. Add the eggs one at a time, and process 5 to 10 seconds for each egg until completely incorporated.

4. Bring the oven back to 325°F. Wrap the bottom of the springform pan with aluminum foil (come almost all the way up the sides). Wrap it well with several pieces of foil. Pour the filling into the pan and then place inside a large roasting pan. Place both pans on the center rack of the oven. Carefully pour boiling water into the roasting pan so it comes halfway up the side of the springform.

5. Bake for 50 minutes. Turn the oven off and let the cheesecake stand in the oven for an additional 1 hour (do not open the oven door).  Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and remove the foil. Run a pairing knife around the edge (this will help to prevent cracking as the cheesecake cools). Cool completely on a wire rack.  Chill overnight, uncovered.

6. Before serving, prepare the garnish by mixing together the mango, agave nectar, and mint in a large bowl.  Remove the cake from the springform pan (run a pairing knife around the outer edge again). Place on a cake plate. Arrange the almonds on top of the cake, around the outer edge (the cake will look like a wreath). If serving right away, place the fruit in the center of the cake, otherwise, slice and serve with the fruit on the side.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 230 calories, 11g fat (5g saturated), 230mg sodium, 26g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 17g sugar, 8g protein, 10% vitamin A, 10% vitamin C, 15% calcium

Print Recipe

After two cheesecakes that were overcooked with Grand Canyon-sized cracks, we decided that the water bath method, also known as a bain-marie, was the way to go. It may seem a bit fussy but it’s well worth it if you want a perfectly crater-free result. The bottom line: Cheesecakes can be persnickity but boy are they good.

If you like our recipe, we invite you to vote for us (starting November 30th) on the Bon Appétit site. For more photos, visit our Flickr page.

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6 Comments | Filed Under Desserts, Fruits, Holidays 

Podcast 42: Valentine’s Without the Guilt

by The Meal Makeover Moms on February 11th, 2009

On this week’s Cooking with the Moms podcast show, we let our hair down with two dessert recipes that feature one of our favorite foods: chocolate! Chocolate is one of those foods that says, “I love you.” (It’s too bad Brussels sprouts and broccoli don’t elicit that same warm & fuzzy feeling). To show all the special people in your life how much you love them, try our Chocolaty Coconut Party Torte and our Chocolate-Dipped Strawberries – two recipes with some surprising and healthy ingredients.

But clearly, chocolate isn’t the only food you can share on Valentine’s Day.  Consider an array of red foods to keep your loved ones healthy all year round.  Today’s Washington Post does a nice job outlining some of those foods — red grapes, watermelon, red bell peppers, red quinoa, beets — and the health powers associated with them.

 

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2 Comments | Filed Under Holidays, Podcast 

Gingerbread House Traditions

by The Meal Makeover Moms on December 29th, 2008

For nearly ten years now, Janice’s daughters have joined a few special neighborhood friends the week before Christmas for a fun-filled morning decorating gingerbread houses. Whoever hosts this annual event gets to mix up gobs of frosting, assemble the houses and prepare the work surface. The girls then spend a couple of hours sipping hot cocoa and attaching a rainbow of colorful candies to their houses as well as the “grounds.” After all, without walkways, snowmen and trees the houses wouldn’t be complete! Must-have confections for the rowdy candy crew: gum drops, nonpareils, Necco wafers, licorice, and candy canes of various sizes.

Courtney, Merri, Leah and Carolyn

Courtney, Merri, Leah and Carolyn

Since there are always three sets of sisters working on three sets of houses, each girl gets two sides to decorate. After a decade of practice, the houses can get pretty elaborate, and there’s always a bit of competition to see who can create the most unique and whimsical look which may explain why Leah’s godmother Merri, added cool palm trees! This year’s gathering also included three wonderfully rambunctious boys from the neighborhood who added a whole new level of fun and frenzy to the event.

Liam, Brendan, and Ryan

Liam, Brendan, and Ryan

And speaking of boys, though decorating gingerbread houses was never a tradition for Liz or her two sons, she recently decided to keep up with the Joneses — or shall we say, the Bissexes — and bought each of her boys a gingerbread house as a Hanukkah gift! Simon and Josh ate more candy than they stuck to their houses, and the mess was so bad it took Liz an hour to clean it up (notice how the oh-so-experienced Janice placed a tablecloth below her girls’ houses), but it was well worth the effort. Decorating gingerbread houses turned out to be a lot of laughs and a great hands-on activity for the boys — and wow, aren’t those houses beautiful? Next year, Liz will be ready with a plastic tablecloth … and the vacuum.

Simon and Josh

Simon and Josh

Feel free to share your stories of decorating gingerbread houses!
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1 Comment | Filed Under Desserts, Holidays 

Podcast 33: Holiday Cookie Swap

by The Meal Makeover Moms on December 10th, 2008

It’s that time of year again when cookie jars overflow with holiday goodies and family and friends get together to swap their favorite cookies.  Whether you’re attending a cookie swap or not, we hope you’ll tune into this week’s Cooking with the Moms Cookie Swap podcast as we dish about our best-ever holiday treats.

First up in the show is a recipe makeover for Ginger Drizzle Cookies.  We received the original recipe from Jenni K., a mom of three boys from New Castle, Ohio.  Jennie asked us to cook up a healthier alternative to the shortening-based frosting in her recipe which we did by creating a simple sugar glaze.  While we were at it, we also used canola oil instead of butter and tossed in some whole wheat flour and ground flaxseed for extra nutrition.

Our second recipe on Cooking with the Moms features Peppermint Meringue Snowballs.  They’re delicious and easy to make and are perfect for people with celiac disease who follow a gluten free diet.

Feel free to share your favorite holiday cookie recipes right here on our blog or tell us about your cookie swap adventures this season.  And by all means, if you have a super-rich recipe that needs a makeover send it along.

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3 Comments | Filed Under Desserts, Holidays, Podcast 
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