New York Style Cheesecake

Ingredients:

• 4 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
• 3 eggs, separated
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1/4 cup sugar or sugar substitute
• 3 tbsp cornstarch
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup low-fat graham-cracker crumbs

Makes 10 Servings

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, beat the cheese until smooth. Stir in the egg yolks, honey, sugar, cornstarch and vanilla extract, mixing until thoroughly combined.
2. In a medium bowl, whip the egg whites with clean beaters for 2 minutes, or until soft peaks form. Fold the egg whites into the cheese mixture.
3. Coat a 9" springform pan with cooking spray and cover the bottom with cracker crumbs. Pour the cheese mixture into the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden and set.

WW POINTS VALUE PER SERVING: 4 PTS

Note: This recipe appears in the South Beach Diet Cookbook. I was craving a sweet treat for dessert and this recipe looked so delicious and so easy to make. I love cheesecake and have always wanted to make it myself. This cheesecake is made from ricotta cheese and has a different texture than the typical cheesecake made from cream cheese but it was still delicious. You can serve any kind of berry with this cheesecake and even top it with a dab of chocolate sauce and it's still a guilty pleasure. I used muffin tins to make mini-cheesecakes and cooked them for about 35 minutes; you still get the same amount of guilty pleasure with a regular slice of cheesecake. I highly recommend you put the cheesecake in the fridge so it stays fresh.