Sasha's Kitchen: Lowfat Raspberry Marzipan Swirl Cheesecake

Here's another great cheesecake recipe I made from the Magnolia Bakery  cookbook, but this one I adapted to make it low fat.  And you know what? It still tasted fantastic!  Last August, I canned some raspberry jam from local Farmer's Market raspberries.  It came out great for my first time making jam and made four jars which I have been enjoying since.  I used some of those fabulous raspberry preserves that I made myself for the swirl on this cheesecake that you can feel good about eating.  Oh, and before you leave, check out my latest post on Potluck, the ShopRite blog panel for some delicious cookies!

Lowfat Raspberry Marzipan Cheesecake (adapted from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook)
Crust
6 tablesppons melted butter
1 1/2 cup Nilla wafter crumbs
1/2 cup finely toasted almonds, pulverized into crumbs
Filling
2 eight ounce packages lowfat cream cheese
8 oz almond paste, crumbled
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups fat free sour cream
Topping
5-6 T raspberry preserves
1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 325.  To make the crust, combine the butter with the Nilla wafer crumbs and almond crumbs.  Press into the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan and bake for 10 minutes.  Allow to cool.

To make the filling, in a stand mixer beat the cream cheese and almond paste for several minutes until smooth.  Gradually beat in the sugar and add the eggs one at a time and beat until the batter is lump-free.  Stir in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the mixer to combine the ingredients well.  To make the topping, mix the raspberry preserves and the lemon juice and set aside.

Pour the batter into the springform pan on top of the crust.  Drop the raspberry mix on top by the spoonful and swirl  into a decorative pattern using the tip of a sharp knife.  Bake for about 80 minutes  until the edges are set and the center jiggles slightly when the pan is shaken.  At the end of the baking time, turn off the heat and prop the oven door with a wooden spoon and keep the cheesecake in the oven for an hour.  Then remove and refrigerate for twelve hours before eating.  This was delicious!

Sasha's Kitchen: Lowfat Raspberry Marzipan Swirl Cheesecake

Sasha's Kitchen:Manicotti with Arrabbiata Sauce

Pasta dishes make great delicious meals - I was initially going to make stuffed shells using an Arrabbiata pasta sauce, but I couldn't track down jumbo stuffed shells, thus I bought some manicotti noodles instead. This is a healthy pasta dish as well, since I used part skim milk ricotta and part skim milk mozzarella. It is important for a dish like this to use shredded mozzarella, and not the lovely homemade rounds of mozzarella that are so good to eat in other dishes. The flavors here were excellent - and the sauce, which I have refined a bit since I posted my blog post on spagetti all'arrabbiata is a winner. This was a great new pasta dish, and one that I will certainly make again.


Sasha's Manicotti Arrabbiata
1 box of manicotti
3 T olive oil
1 15oz container part-skim milk ricotta cheese
2/3 cups grated parmesan cheese
2 large egg yolks
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp chopped fresh mint
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (part skim)
3 cans stewed tomatoes (15oz cans)
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
1 pureed roasted red pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (add more if desired to taste)
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

To make this dish, lightly oil a 12 by 9 inch lasagna pan. Set aside. Cook the box of manicotti according to the package instructions, or about 4 to 6 minutes, in salted boiling water. They should be slightly firm when done, so be careful not to overcook them, as they will continue cooking later when you bake the dish in the oven. Drain the manicotti.

To prepare the sauce, saute the onions and garlic in the canola oil until they shimmer, about 5 minutes. Then add the pureed red pepper, and mix well. Add the stewed tomatoes and desired amount of red pepper flakes for some heat, and simmer until the sauce has the right consistency. Stir in the panko towards the end.

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, parmesan, egg yolks, parsley, mint, salt and pepper. Fill the manicotti with the cheese mixture, being careful not to tear the manicotti. Arrange the manicotti in the pan and cover with about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of the Arrabbiata sauce. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and bake for about 30 minutes at 350.

Sasha's Kitchen:Manicotti with Arrabbiata Sauce