Banana Cheesecake

Okay....so this might not be super WW friendly. Sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta/wanna do!  This recipe looks/sounds complicated, but it's not.  It doesn't have the texture of, say, a NY Cheesecake, but it's delicious!!! I kind of panicked while making this and waiting until the next morning to have it for breakfast....was so afraid it wouldn't turn out good. But it did! Phew! I think this is another one of those desserts that will impress your friends and family.

BANANA CHEESECAKE

Makes A Big Cake!

12 Servings = 7 PointsPlus™

14 Servings = 6 PointsPlus™

16 Servings = 5 PointsPlus™

18 Servings = 4 PointsPlus™



CRUST:

 

14 sheets low-fat honey graham crackers, crushed (2 1/2 cups of crumbs)
6 TBSP light butter

CAKE:

 

4 overripe medium bananas

1/4 cup lemon juice
3 (8 oz) packages fat-free cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cups fat-free egg substitute
3/4 PLUS 1 TBSP brown sugar, packed

You'll need a 9” springform pan and a roasting pan as well as plastic wrap and aluminum foil.

Preheat oven to 325º. Boil enough water to go halfway up the cake pan in the roasting pan. Wrap the outside of the springform pan (under and sides) with a double layer of plastic wrap; then cover that with a double layer of aluminum foil. This will act as a waterproof casing to protect the cake as it sits in its water bath in the oven. And NO, the plastic wrap will not melt!

Mix the crushed graham crackers with the butter until crumbly. Press into the bottom of the springform pan. Set in the refrigerator.

Mash the bananas well and add the lemon juice. Set aside.



Process/cream the cream cheese until smooth (you can use your food processor or mixer). Add egg substitute and brown sugar. Add bananas and process/mix until smooth.

Take the springform pan out of the refrigerator and place in the middle of a roasting pan; pour the filling into the springform pan. Put the roasting pan with the springform pan into the oven and pour the boiling water into the roasting pan halfway up the springform pan.

Bake 1 hour and 10 minutes, checking after 1 hour. The very center of the cake should still have a 'hint' of a wobble but seem set on the top. Remove from the oven; carefully take the springform pan out of the roasting pan and put on a cooling rack. Carefully remove the foil and plastic wrap and continue cooling on the rack. Do NOT unmold yet!!! 

Put in the refrigerator uncovered until completely cooled (preferably overnight).

Remove from refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. Gently slide a thin knife around the edge of the cake to loosen from the inside of the pan; remove pan side but leave on the bottom piece.

 

(The cake on the left blends in with my countertop so I added the one on the right on a dish towel. Thought about playing 'Find The Cake'.......)

  This was breakfast today!

MY SPIN: I baked this for the 1 hour & 10 minutes, but I think the next time I make this I'm going to cook it about 5ish minutes more to try to get a little golden brown color along the top edge. I 'drained' the liquid off the bananas (the pic is pre-drained) because once they thaw they have a lot of 'extra' liquid. And I think the next time I'm going to sprinkle a little cinnamon on the top before baking.  I put the pan on a dish towel when I was taking off the foil and plastic in case any water got in there and then put the pan on the cooling rack.

Now for the 'legal mumbo-jumbo' to keep me out of court!! *** The PointsPlus™ value for this recipe was calculated by me (Jan Gomes) and is not an endorsement or approval of this recipe by Weight Watchers International, Inc., the owner of the PointsPlus™ registered trademark. ***

Later!

Loving Life(time)!
Jan