Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

Reduced-fat ingredients create a light, creamy cake.

Serves 12 

Crust

• 2tablespoons slivered blanched almonds
• 1 Vegetable oil cooking spray
• 6 chocolate wafers

Filling

15ounces (1 3/4 cup) part-skim ricotta
8ounces lowfat cream cheese, room temperature
1cup sugar
1/2cup lowfat sour cream
1 large whole egg
2 egg whites
1/4teaspoon almond extract (or to taste)
2tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4teaspoon salt
2tablespoons amaretto (if desired)
3tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2teaspoon instant-espresso powder
3tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions

Heat oven to 350˚. Toast almonds on a small baking sheet for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven; reduce heat to 325˚. Coat an 8" springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap outside of pan in foil to prevent seepage. Process chocolate wafers and almonds in a food processor until fine crumbs. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tbsp crumbs onto bottom of pan (just enough to coat bottom lightly). Shake pan to distribute evenly. Reserve remaining crumbs.

Puree ricotta in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Add cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, egg, egg whites, almond extract, flour and salt; puree until smooth. Whisk amaretto, if desired (or same amount of hot water), 2 tbsp hot water, cocoa powder and espresso powder in a bowl until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Stir 1 cup plain filling into chocolate mixture. Set aside.

Pour remaining plain filling into prepared pan. Drizzle chocolate filling in a circular pattern over plain filling. Using a knife, make circular strokes to create swirls in the plain filling. Add 1 inch hot water to a shallow baking pan; place springform pan in baking pan. Bake until cheesecake is firm around the edge and slightly soft in the center, 45 to 55 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan. Remove foil; let cool on a rack. Chill 6 hours or overnight before removing sides of pan. Press reserved crumbs onto side of cheesecake.

Nutrition Per Serving

223 calories per serving 9.7 g fat (5.4 g saturated) 26.2 g carbs 0.9 g fiber 8.4 g protein *This dish is slightly more than 30 percent fat but is still a healthy dessert option when part of an overall lowfat diet.