Cuisinart 11-Cup Series manual Basic Cheesecake, Creamy, smooth and simple to prepare

Basic Cheesecake

Creamy, smooth and simple to prepare.

“Chocoholics” will love the Double Chocolate variation.

Makes 12 servings

Preparation: 10 - 15 minutes, plus 1-1/2 hours baking and cooling time

4lowfat honey graham cracker sheets, broken into 1-inch pieces

1-1/2 tablespoons sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2pounds lowfat cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1-1/2 tablespoons vanilla

4 large eggs, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325°F.

Wrap the bottom and sides of an 8 x 3-inch springform or cheesecake pan in a sheet of oversized heavy-duty aluminum foil. There should be no seams in the foil, and it should come up to the top of the pan. Cut off any excess. Insert the metal blade. Process the graham crackers until they are fine crumbs; add the sugar and the butter through the small feed tube and process until the butter can no longer be seen. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan. Put in the freezer until ready to fill.

Wipe out the work bowl with a paper towel. Insert the Dough Blade. Process the cream cheese until smooth on Dough Speed, about 45 seconds. Scrape the work bowl. Add the sugar and vanilla; process until smooth, about 30 seconds. Scrape the work bowl. With the machine running, add the eggs, one at a time, processing for 10 seconds after each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the work bowl after adding the second egg, and then after adding the last egg. Do not overprocess.

Carefully pour the cream cheese mixture into the prepared pan. Place in a roasting pan, and set on the rack of the oven. Carefully add hot water to the roasting pan until it reaches halfway up the sides of the springform pan. This is called a bain marie or water bath. Bake the cheesecake in the preheat- ed oven for 70 minutes. The cheesecake will still look jiggly in the center. Do not worry.

Remove the cheesecake from the bain marie; remove the foil and place cake on a rack. Cool com- pletely on rack, then cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.

The cheesecake is best made a day ahead. If desired, garnish with fresh fruit.

Double Chocolate Variation:

Before making the cheesecake, chop 7 ounces of good quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (that has been broken up) and, using the metal blade and the pulse, pulse 20 to 30 times until roughly chopped and the chunks are not bigger than 1/2 inch. Melt 4 ounces of the chopped chocolate in a double boiler set over barely simmering water; reserve the rest. Prepare the cheesecake batter, and pour 2-2/3 cups into a bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Add the melted chocolate to the batter in the work bowl and process just to incorporate. Pour into the prepared pan and freeze until just firm, 2 to 3 hours. Stir the remaining chocolate chunks into the reserved batter. Pour over the frozen chocolate layer. Bake as instructed, but increase the baking time to 85 minutes.

Nutritional analysis per serving:

Basic:

Calories 278 (50% from fat) • carbo 36g • pro 10g • fat 21g

sat. fat 9g • chol 66mg • sod 467 • fiber 1g

Chocolate variation:

Calories 360 (50% from fat) • carbo 36g • pro 10g • fat 21g

sat. fat 8g • chol 66mg • sod 467 • fiber 1g

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