Recipe: Pumpkin-Hazelnut Cheesecake

(CBS News) Spiced pumpkin adds warm flavors to this double-decker dessert. This recipe comes courtesy of health, nutrition and fitness authority Cooking Light, which offers a lighter approach to some Thanksgiving classics. Cooking Light inspires readers to eat smart and live a healthier lifestyle, by translating cutting-edge nutrition research into recipes and guidance for the home cook.

For more recipes go to cookinglight.com.

Pumpkin-Hazelnut Cheesecake

Yield: Serves 14
Hands-on: 50 Minutes
Total: 9 Hours, 55 Minutes

Ingredients:

Cake:

2.25 ounces hazelnut flour (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2 large egg whites
1 tablespoon Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
1.5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/3 cup)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Dash of salt
Baking spray with flour

Cheesecake:

1 1/2 cups 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 cup unsweetened pumpkin

Brittle:

2 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup frozen fat-free whipped topping, thawed

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. To prepare cake, sprinkle hazelnut flour evenly on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or until the color of peanut butter, stirring once. Cool.

3. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, oil, and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add egg whites; beat until well blended. Add liqueur; beat 1 minute.

4. Weigh or lightly spoon all-purpose flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine hazelnut flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and dash of salt in a bowl. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture. Beat at low speed 1 minute. Spoon batter evenly into a 9-inch springform pan coated with baking spray. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

5. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees.

6. To prepare cheesecake, place cream cheese and ricotta cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium-high speed until smooth (about 3 minutes). Add 3/4 cup sugar and next 6 ingredients (through egg yolks); beat at low speed until smooth. Add pumpkin; stir gently until combined. Pour cheesecake batter over top of cooled cake. Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour or until cheesecake center barely moves when pan is touched. Remove cheesecake from oven. Run a knife around outside edge. Cool on a wire rack. Cover and chill 8 hours or overnight.

7. To prepare brittle, cover a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Draw a 14 x 2-inch area on paper; sprinkle nuts inside marked space. Place 1/3 cup sugar in a small, heavy saucepan over medium heat, and cook until sugar dissolves, stirring gently as needed to dissolve sugar evenly (about 2 minutes). Continue cooking 1 minute or until golden (do not stir). Drizzle caramelized sugar over nuts. Let stand 10 minutes or until firm; break into 14 pieces. Slice cheesecake into 14 slices; top each serving with about 1 1/2 teaspoons whipped topping and 1 piece brittle.

Nutritional Information:

Amount per serving

Calories: 284
Fat: 14.6g
Saturated fat: 5.3g
Monounsaturated fat: 6.5g
Polyunsaturated fat: 1.6g
Protein: 6.4g
Carbohydrate: 31.9g
Fiber: 1.3g
Cholesterol: 77mg
Iron: 1mg
Sodium: 175mg
Calcium: 79mg

Nutrition Note: If you substitute an equivalent amount of whipped cream for the whipped topping to garnish, you will add 10 calories, 1.6g fat, and 1g sat fat to each serving.

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