Clean Eating Recipe of the Week: Apple Crumble Cheesecake

Serves 18
Makes 1 10-inch round cheesecake
Hands-on time 1 hour
Total time 2 hours, plus chilling

CRUST:

• 1/4 cup spelt flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup unsalted slivered almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, ground

FILLING:

• 2 packs low-fat cream cheese (250 g or about 1 cup each)
• 1/3 cup raw honey or agave nectar
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt, strained, or nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
• 1/2 cup egg whites

TOPPING:

• 3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored, thinly sliced
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 1 tsp cinnamon, ground, divided
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 1 tbsp spelt flour
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1/4 cup unsweetened apple butter
• 1 tbsp olive oil

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Prepare crust: In a food processor, purée flour, oats and almonds until they become a fine powder. Add apple butter, oil and cinnamon. Pulse until combined and crumbly.

3. Gently press crust evenly into bottom of springform pan. If crust begins to stick to your fingers, dip fingertips in a little cold water, shake off excess water and continue to press crust gently. Using a fork, gently prick holes all over crust. Place pan in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool completely at room temperature. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.

4. Prepare topping: In a medium bowl, toss apples with lemon juice and 1/2 tsp cinnamon until apples evenly coated. Spread apples in a single layer onto a parchment-lined baking sheet; set aside. In the same bowl, combine remaining 1/2 tsp cinnamon, oats, flour, honey, apple butter, oil and 2 tbsp water; set aside.

5. Prepare filling: Place cream cheese, honey, lemon juice and vanilla into the bowl of the food processor. Pulse until smooth and combined. Add yogurt and egg whites and pulse again until smooth. Pour filling into cooled crust, smoothing top of filling with a spatula. Gently tap bottom of pan on the counter several times to remove any air bubbles in the filling.

6. Place both cheesecake and baking sheet with apples into 300°F oven, keeping cheesecake on the bottom half of oven, and bake for 30 minutes. At 30 minutes, remove apples and let cool completely at room temperature. Continue baking cheesecake for an additional 18 to 20 minutes, until very light golden brown at edges and centre still appears a bit undercooked and moist (baking times will vary by oven). Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 350°F.

7. Combine apples with oat topping mixture and evenly spread over top of baked cheesecake. Place cheesecake back into oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until topping is golden brown. Remove cheesecake from oven and let cool completely at room temperature. Once cheesecake is cooled, cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours or overnight.

8. To serve, fill a pitcher or bowl with warm water. Using a sharp knife, slice cheesecake into 18 servings, dipping knife into water and carefully wiping it clean with a towel after each slice. Serve immediately. Cheesecake will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 3 days.


NUTRIENTS per serving (1- inch slice):
Calories: 219
Total Fat: 9 g
Sat. Fat: 4 g
Carbs: 28 g
Fiber: 2 g
Sugars: 16 g
Protein: 7 g
Sodium: 101 mg
Cholesterol: 15.5 mg

Recipe by Joanne Lusted. Courtesy of Clean Eating Magazine.

Click HERE for a printable version.

This is a great recipe because you can tweak it to fit your eating needs. I could easily make this Raw or Vegan. I'm actually going to try next week. I'll let you know how it turns out : )

Nicole