Meatless Monday-Have your Chocolate Cheesecake & Eat it Too!
I know it’s not really fair to be posting about chocolate cheesecake when juicing and fasting seem to be on everyone’s minds. And you certainly can’t eat this delight for your Meatless Monday dinner {or maybe you can}. But I made this for a New Year’s Eve Party and it is just too freakin’ yummy not to share. The good news is that it’s so rich and satisfying, you will only need a sliver to be happy!
The recipe comes courtesy of The Stonyfield Organic Yogurt Cookbook by Meg Cadoux Hirshberg. My effort is not quite as beautiful as the one in the cookbook {a little proceedure problem with the white chocolate} but I’m convinced it was every bit as delicious!
Stonyfield Chocolate Yogurt Cheesecake {serves 16}
Crust
- 20-25 chocolate wafers, crumbled
- 1/4 c melted butter
Filling
- 2 8oz. packages cream cheese {i used reduced fat} at room temp
- 1 c sugar
- 3 eggs, room temp
- 1 1/2 t. vanilla
- 6oz. semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted and cooled
- 1 c plain Stonyfield yogurt
Glaze {optional but really dresses it up!}
- 2oz. semi-sweet chocolate, melted
- 2 T. butter, melted
- 1 T. corn syrup
- 1/2 t. vanilla
- 2oz. white chocolate
For the crust, mix the chocolate wafers crumbs and butter together. Press the mixture onto the bottom of an ungreased 8” or 9” springform pan. Chill.
Preheat the oven to 300 F. For the filling, in a food processor fitted with a steel blade, cream together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the eggs, then vanilla, melted chocolate, and yogurt. Mix until all ingredients are combined. Spoon the mixture into the crust.
Place the cheesecake on the middle rack of the oven and place a pan of water on the bottom of the rack. Bake for 50-60 minutes {Do not open the oven door while the cheesecake is baking}. Turn off the oven; allow the cake to cool for 30 minutes in the oven with the door ajar. Then remove the cheesecake and continue cooling it in the pan on a wire rack.
For the glaze, mix the chocolate, butter, corn syrup and vanilla together while the chocolate and butter are still warm. Allow the glaze to cool; then spread it on top of the cooled cheesecake. For a decorative feathered effect, melt the white chocolate. Using a pastry tube {or baggy with small hole cut into one corner} pipe lines of white chocolate across the still warm glaze. Drag a knife perpendicularly across the lines to create a marbled pattern. {This is where my chocolate dilemma happened-the white chocolate cooled too quickly and hardened-thus the squiggles instead of pretty marbling. I’m attributing it to an old Victorian’s drafty kitchen}
I think this would be the perfect desert if you are making a special Valentine Dinner-enjoy!
