Low-Fat-Fab Chocolate Cheesecake

Ingredients

• Crust:
• 4 ounces chocolate wafer cookies, (18 wafers)
• 1 cup cereal, Grape Nuts works best
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• Filling:
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
• 2 tablespoons instant coffee
• 32 ounces cottage cheese, lowfat
• 8 ounces sour cream, light, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 large egg white
• 1 cup sour cream, light
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Method

• 1. Preheat oven to 325F. Lightly oil a 9" springform pan.
• 2. Place chocolate wafers, Grape-Nuts, cocoa and sugar in food processor and pulse until you have fine crumbs. Add oil and 3 tablespoons water and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture into the bottom and about 1 1/2" up the sides of the prepared pan. Set aside.
• 3. For the crust: Melt chocolate . Let cool slightly. Dissolve instant coffee in 1 tablespoon of boiling water and set aside.
• 4. Place cottage cheese in a strainer lined with a double thickness of cheesecloth. Gather up the cheesecloth and squeeze out the moisture from the cottage cheese.
• 5. Put the pressed cottage-cheese solids in a food processor and blend until completely smooth, about 2 minutes.
• 6. Add cream cheese, sugar, egg, egg whites, sour cream, cocoa, cornstarch, salt, vanilla, the melted chocolate and the dissolved coffee. Process until smooth. Pour into the crumb-lined pan.
• 7. Bake for about 1 hour or until firm around the edge but still shiny and slightly soft in the center. Run a knife around the pan to loosen the edges. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Cover and refirgerate until well chilled, at least 8 hours or for up to 2 days. Remove the outer ring of the pan. To facilitate cutting, dip a sharp knife in hot water and wipe dry before cutting each slice.

Notes

• NOTES:
• NOTES : Only 280 calories per serving......much better than the kazillion calories in a regular piece of cheese cake! (Don't quote me on those numbers).
• SERVINGS: 16
• SOURCE: "The Eating Well Dessert Cookbook"