Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

Here is the recipe for the cheesecake pictured in my previous post! It comes from this book, and yes, I drove all the way to the library to look it up since I couldn't remember the name!

Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake

1/3 cup crushed chocolate wafers (about 7) I used Oreos without the filling
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
1 8-ounce package light cream cheese (Neufchatel)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup egg product or 2 eggs
3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 Tablespoons water

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Sprinkle wafer crumbs evenly in the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Place cottage cheese in a food processor or blender, cover and blend until smooth. Add cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Blend until combined. (Mixture will be thick; scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.)

Transfer cheese mixture to a large mixing bowl. Stir in the eggs or egg product. Pour half of the mixture into the crumb-lined pan. In a small bowl, dissolve cocoa powder in the water. Stir chocolate mixture into the remaining cheese mixture. Carefully pour the chocolate mixture over the plain mixture in the pan.*

Bake in 300 degree F oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until center appears nearly set when gently shaken. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes to be sure the cheesecake doesn't crack. Loosen the side of the pan. Cool 30 minute more; remove side of pan. Cool completely. Cover and chill several hours or overnight. If desired, decorate the top of the cheesecake with fanned strawberry halves or raspberries.

Makes 12 servings.

*Note: If desired, instead of dividing batter, dissolve cocoa in water and add the cheese mixture along with eggs or egg product. This will give a light-colored chocolate cheesecake.

According to the book, per serving, this cheesecake has 7 grams of fat, and 151 calories. it also has 6 grams of protein, so I thought it was a pretty good dessert option for me.

My springform pan was much bigger than the recipe called for, maybe 10 inches instead of the required 8-inch pan. I am way too cheap to run out and buy another pan, so I used what I had, even though the cookie crumbs didn't completely cover the bottom. Consequently, I ended up with a cheesecake pancake, but it tasted great!

Let me know what you guys think of this (after you make it!) I have never made cheesecake before, but am an expert at eating it. Just ask my bathroom scale! This one isn't as dense as say a real New York cheesecake, but then again, it doesn't have a million calories per serving either!