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Columnists - Columnists: Kerry McCray

Wednesday, Jul. 08, 2009

Cheesecake: Breaking rules yields a sweet treat

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I'm not much for diet ingredients.

You know, fat-free this and fat-free that. If you're going to take the time to cook, you might as well cook something that tastes good. And, let's face it, most dishes that call for fat-free ingredients are lacking in the taste department.

At least that's what I used to think. Then I met this week's recipe, lemonade cheesecake. The photo on the Web site — www.kraft.com — won me over. The slice of cheesecake looked light and creamy, perfect for a hot day.

The dish broke the two main rules I have in the kitchen: Don't use fat-free ingre- dients (it calls for fat-free cream cheese) and artificial flavoring (a diet lemonade mix).

But I made it anyway, and I'm glad I did.

Shopping couldn't have been easier. Everything is available at your regular grocery store.

I admit, though, I didn't use fat-free milk. I thought that would be a little too light. I used 1 percent, and the result was fabulous.

The cheesecake was more like a mousse — airy and fluffy. The lemon flavor was bright, if a little sweet. One of our testers said they detected an aftertaste from the drink mix, but I didn't.

Another thing I like is the ease of this dish. You can't find a quicker dessert that doesn't come from a box.

Bee staff writer Kerry McCray can be reached at 578-2358 or at kmccray@modbee.com.

I forwarded the recipe to my sister, and this is her response: "That is too easy and good … no calories right?"

A dozen ladies raved about this simple little pie. That's amazing considering all the ingredients are either fat-free (milk, cheese, crust) or artificial (Cool Whip and lemon-flavored crystals) and the time of construction is about 15 minutes.

I grated fresh lemon rind over the top for a bit more lemon zing! I think I might try the raspberry flavored Crystal Light flavor drink mix next time and serve it with fresh raspberries.

Although this is a very quick dessert, it is not inexpensive. I did cut the cost by making my own graham cracker crust and, luckily, the other ingredients were on sale. The dessert had an artificial taste. Not quite a cheesecake, not quite a mousse. The lemonade mix gave it a bright, lemony flavor but I think it would have been more effective to use Splenda, if trying to make a light dessert, and fresh lemon juice. Oh, the crust was really good.

Everyone loved this dessert … not too sweet, not too tart and hardly any calories. I couldn't find a reduced-fat crust, but with all the other fat-free items in it, we ate it guilt-free! As cheesecakes go, it was more like a chiffon pie … not dense at all but very light and creamy to the point of almost needing spoons. It got two thumbs up.

This is such an easy recipe that, if you can boil water, you can whip one up in no time. In fact, I have made it several times because everyone just loves it.

The first time I made it, I just beat the cream cheese and added the prescribed amount of Crystal Light. I thought it needed more Crystal Light and it looked a little skimpy in the pan. The next time I made it, I whipped the cream cheese and added an extra ½ teaspoon of Crystal Light. That really filled the pan, was much lighter tasting and had a better lemon flavor.

My mom thought I had worked so hard and thought the taste was great. Guests loved it also. It is easy to keep the ingredients on hand for unexpected guests. This was a winner.

As simple as this recipe is, it is not one I'll be coming back to. I found all of the ingredients in the grocery store, with the exception of a reduced-fat graham cracker crust, so I used a regular crust. Sadly, the crust was my favorite part of the dessert. The filling didn't set well, the consistency is just what you might think it would be with a tub of Cool Whip added in. I found that 1 teaspoon of Crystal Light went a long way, the sour lemonade flavor was unmistakable. All that being said, my husband still liked it.

Ann Griffith, Modesto