Dieting is so often a dismal business, but occasionally you do find a ray of hope. For the past few years, my occasional diets have been cheered considerably by my discovery of Sue Kreitzman’s low-fat cookbooks. She may be a little-known author, but her low-fat dessert book is a revelation: gorgeous, creamy desserts, chocolate ones too! Happily it all fits in very neatly with WeightWatchers so I can continue to indulge in what were previously complete diet no-no’s.

This cheesecake has been defatted from 30g per slice to approx 6g, according to Sue. Very impressive, eh? I wasn’t quite sure if I’d like it, as it was described in the pre-recipe blurb as being fairly tart. Yes, it is much tarter and less sweet than a New York Cheesecake (she has a gorgeous recipe for this too) for example, but I really liked it. It’s very refreshing but still very cheesecake-y.

Its very easy to make, and quite fast as compared to her other recipes. The New York Cheesecake recipe requires hours of pampering (bake high, bake low, cool in oven, cool on rack, chill etc etc), but this is much more robust. Be careful to actually divide the mixture equally – as you can see, I didn’t manage this and the raspberry layer wasn’t quite as intensely flavoured as it could have been. On the upside, the chocolate layer is mind-blowingly good!

Chocolate and raspberry cheesecake – Sue Kreitzman

Serves 10-12
UK WW points: 6 or 5, depending upon what size slices you cut

Crust
150g amaretti biscuits
150g grape-nut cereal
1 tsp cocoa powder
4 large egg whites

Filling
250g frozen raspberries, defrosted and drained well
1 tsp caster sugar
90g high-cocoa-solid dark chocolate
3 x 200g tub light cream cheese (less than 7% fat)
405g can sweetened condensed skimmed milk
5 large egg whites
1 teaspoon natural vanillaextract

Spray oil or oil/water spray

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.

In a food processor, pulse the amaretti, cereal and cocoa to rough crumbs. Tip into a bowl and stir in the egg whites.
Spray a 9 inch springform tin with oil and scrape the crust mixture into the tin. Using a wet spoon push the crust over the base and all the way up the sides. Keep re-wetting the spoon with water to help things along.
Bake for 7-10 minutes. Cool on a rack whilst you prepare the filling.

Puree the raspberries in a food processor or blender. Push the puree though a sieve into a small bowl and stir in the caster sugar. Set aside.
Melt the chocolate, then leave to cool slightly.
Put the cheese and condensed milk into a bowl and beat with an electric mixer until very smooth, creamy and fluffy.
Add the egg whites and vanilla, a little at a time, beating until very well combined after each addition.

Pour half the mixture into a jug and scrape in the melted chocolate (use a spatula to get all the chocolate out of the bowl). Mix well. Pour this mixture onto the crust. Add the raspberry puree to the remaining mixture. Mix well. Pour this mixture over the chocolate one using a slow, swirling action. The mixture will look as if it has entirely disappeared under the chocolate one. Don’t panic!

Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the edge of the cheesecake is firm and the centre wobbles ever so slightly when jiggled. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes and then loosen the crust from the tin with a pallete knife. Leave to cool completely on the rack. Chill for at least 4 hours (preferably overnight) before removing the sides of the tin.