Recipe#3336

Title: Almond 02

From: jimg002@aol.com (JimG002) 
 Newsgroups: rec.food.baking 
 Subject: Almond Cheesecake 
 Date: 15 Oct 1997 07:01:20 GMT 
 Message-ID: <19971015070101.DAA28991@ladder02.news.aol.com> 

1/4 cup sunflower seeds
 1/2 cup wheat germ
 1 tablespoon oil
 1 teaspoon honey
 2 cups ricotta cheese
 1 cup Low-fat cottage cheese
 3 eggs
 2 egg whites
 1/2 cup honey
 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
 1/4 cup almonds, blanched, chopped
 1 teaspoon lemon, rind, grated
 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
 To prepare crust:  Grind the sunflower seeds in a blender with
 short bursts at high speed.  In a small bowl, combine the sunflower
 seed meal and wheat germ.  Add the oil and honey and stir with a
 fork until combined. Press into a lightly oiled 9" springform pan,
 covering the bottom and halfway up the sides.
 To prepare the filling:  Remove any lumps from the ricottan and
 cottage cheese by mashing them with a wooden spoon against the
 sides of a large mixing bowl.  The cottage cheese can also be
 pressed through a sieve for smoothness.  Beat the eggs and the
 additional egg whites together in a medium bowl until light.  Add
 to the cheese mixture along with the honey, vanilla, almonds, lemon
 rind and flour. Stir together until combined.
 For a light-textured cheesecake, beat the mixture for 5 to 10
 minutes on high speed with an electric mixer.
 Pour the cheese mixture into the prepared crust and place the pan
 in a 350 degree F. preheated oven for 45 minutes to an hour. At
 the end of that time, turn off the heat and let the cheesecake cool
 in the oven with the door ajar for about one hour. Remove from the
 oven and allow to cool to room temperature before chilling. Allow
 to chill at least six hours before serving.
 Variation:  Substitute 3 cups ricotta cheese or 3 cups cottage
 cheese for the cheese combination in the recipe. Substitute 1/4
 cup raw ground sunflower seeds for the blanched almonds.
 Note: This recipe has about 1/2 the calories and 1/3 the fat of an
 ordinary cheesecake.