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Italian Lemon Cheesecake

Category: Deserts

Author: The Savvybearcat

Date: 1/1/2007

Rating:

(2.0) by 2 users

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cup Part-skim ricotta cheese
4 oz Neufchatel or light cream cheese
1/3 cup Sugar
2 Eggs, separated
1/2 cup Low-fat milk
1/4 cup White all-purpose flour
2 tbsp Lemon juice
2 tsp Grated lemon rind
1 tsp Vanilla extract
4 Sheets phyllo pastry
1 1/2 tbsp Unsalted butter or margarine melted

MMMMMAPRICOT SPREAD

3 oz Dried apricots, roughly chopped
1/2 cup Unsweetened apple juice

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325F. Generously coat a 9" pie plate with
vegetable cooking spray.

2. In a food processor or blender process the cheeses, sugar, egg
yolks, milk, flour, lemon juice, lemon rind, and vanilla until
smooth. In a bowl whip the egg whites until stiff and gently fold
into the mixture.

3. Place the 4 sheets of phyllo pastry into the prepared pan,
crisscrossing them on the bottom and brushing each lightly with some
of the butter or margarine. Trim the overhanging pastry leaving a 2"
border all around.

(There's an illustration that I can't really reproduce here that
shows how to place the phyllo leaves. Basically, the bottom 2 are
crossed and then one is placed horizontal and the other vertical.)

4. Place the filling in the pan, roll the outer edges of the
overlapping pastry toward the filling, tucking it in and rolling it
to create a rim. Brush the edges lightly with the remaining butter or
margarine.

5. Place the pan on a cookie sheet, put in the center of the oven.
Place a baking pan with 2" of water on the lower rack of the oven.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until set. Remove from the oven and
allow to cool on a rack. Chill for 6 hours or overnight.

6. Top with the apricot spread, if desired, and serve the pie
chilled, cut into wedges.

*This pie can be baked without the crust as a pudding.

200 calories per serving

APRICOT SPREAD

1. In a small saucepan bring the apricots and juice to a boil, cover,
reduce heat, and simmer very slowly for 45 minutes, or until smooth
and softened, stirring occasionally.

2. Allow the mixture to cool slightly, then process in a food
processor or blender until smooth.

3. Place in a covered container and chill for 4 to 6 hours or
overnight. Serve chilled.

*Other dried fruits such as peaches or prunes can be substituted for
the apricots.

This can be used as a fruit spread on toast, a topping on pies or as a
natural low-sugar flavoring for plain yogurt.

281 calories per cup; 18 per tablespoon

from Make It Easy, Make It Light by Laurie Burrows Grad typed by
Tiffany Hall-Graham