Low Fat Crustless Cheesecake Heart Bites
This month is all about LOVE! And yes, I am talking about that very special someone in your life – YOU! Lately, in Vancouver, it’s been a bit gloomy, cold and wet. So, what better way to perk yourself up with positivity than to celebrate yourself! Spoil yourself with kindness and practice self-love; indulge in a guilt-free treat with these low fat crustless Cheesecake Hearts for Hearts’ Day!These hearts are low-fat, gluten-free, colourful, cute, tasty and of course, heartful! I know what you’re thinking, why no crust? Don’t get me wrong, I love cheesecake crust; however, I also love adjusting typical recipes in our nutriFoodie kitchen to be lower in calories but also just as amazing in flavour. By serving these cheesecake hearts with a berry compote, and an optional sprinkle of crumbled Digestive cookies, you are minimizing the high saturated fats and maximizing the flavour. P.S.: You’re welcome!This recipe is adapted from Hungry Happenings Conversation Hearts. They also have some updated information on how to make this with natural dye. Not shown in the picture is my berries compote. I make this by just boiling some frozen mixed berries with one or two teaspoons of brown sugar for the Maillard reaction to do its thing. Once it cooks for about 10-15 minutes, remove off the heat, let it cool down, and strain it to get that smooth filling.
Equipment
- Silicon rubber hearts mold
- Stand-up mixer or hand-held mixture
- Deep roasting pan that will fit your mold
Ingredients
- 16 oz low-fat cream cheese softened (2 blocks)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 8 tbsp egg whites or 2 whole eggs
- 16 oz sour cream (1 pint)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- Food colouring pink, purple, blue, green, yellow, and red
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- 2. Using the stand mixer or hand-held mixer, beat the cream cheese on medium-high until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Scrape any cream cheese stuck in the mixing blade so that you don’t end up with lumps.
- 3. Add sugar and beat for 1 minute.
- 4. Add eggs and beat until creamy, 1 to 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl once.
- 5. Add the sour cream and vanilla; mix just to combine.
- 6. Equally, divide the filling among 5 bowls. Add food colouring to create the colours you’d like. I did not use blue as the original recipe did not recommend it. It took between five and eight drops of colour to achieve the colours of my cakes. For orange, mix yellow and red together.
- 7. Pour mixture equally in the heart molds.
- 8. Bake cheesecakes in a water bath** (see note below for additional info) for 15-20 minutes since I used the mini heart molds. Larger molds might take up to 30 minutes. A full cheesecake will take about 45 minutes. When baked thoroughly, the cheesecakes should still jiggle, but not look soupy.
- 9. Allow to cool to room temperature – I left mine for about an hour.
- 10. Freeze the cheesecakes for at least 2 hours, and up to several weeks.
- 11. Remove from freezer and push on the underside of each heart, releasing the cheesecakes. Carefully lift them out of the mold. If they don’t pop right out, you need to freeze them longer.
Notes
I served mine frozen, but you can leave them to warm up a bit before serving. Also, the original blog post turned them into conversation hearts, you could always give that a shot if you have nice handwriting!
**Note: For a water bath, put the silicone mold in a relatively deep baking pan and cover the bottom inch with boiling water – then proceed to bake according to the recipe.
Please let me know how they turned out, I would love to hear from you in the comments below. Oh, and a friendly reminder – remember to spread the love this month for yourself and others. By practicing self-love we are always celebrated.
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