1sheetgraham cracker (you will use just a portion of the crumbs)
¾cpumpkin
½cMonk fruit with allulose, or sweetener of your choice (1:1 substitution)
2⅓tbspcornstarch (2 tbsp + 1 tsp)
½tspcinnamon
¼tspginger
⅛tspcloves
3egg whites (you can substitute 2 whole eggs)
1pinchsalt
Instructions
Prepping Ricotta & Yogurt
Place the fat free ricotta and plain fat free yogurt into a coffee filter lined strainer. Place the strainer into a bowl and cover the strainer with plastic wrap. Place the strainer/bowl into the refrigerator and let sit for 2 hr or overnight. The whey will drain away from the ricotta and yogurt thickening it considerably.
Prepping the Pie Plate
Place the sheet of graham cracker into a plastic bag. Use a rolling pin and crushed the graham cracker to create crumbs.
Spray the pie plate with Pam. Use a piece of paper towel to spread and coat the bottom and sides of the plate with the Pam.
Place the graham cracker crumbs in the bottom of the pie plate. Shake the pie plate from side to side to dust the bottom of the pie plate with crumbs.Slightly tilt the plate and lightly tap the plate as you rotate it to coat the sides of the pie plate. Dump out the excess graham cracker crumbs and set the pie plate aside.
Preparing the Cheesecake
Preheat the oven to 325℉.
Place the thickened ricotta, yogurt, pumpkin and sugar into a mixing bowl. Use the hand mixer to beat these ingredients together.
Add the cornstarch, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt to the cheesecake mixture. Use the hand mixer to beat these ingredients into the mixture. Taste the mixture. Depending on which sweetener you are using you may need to add more. If you need the mixture to be sweeter, add more sweetener a tbsp at a time until you're satisfied with the sweetness.
Add the egg whites to the mixture and combine with the hand mixer until the egg whites are well incorporated.
Pour the cheesecake mixture into the crumb dusted pie plate and level off with a spatula.
Place the cheesecake in the preheated oven and bake for 45-55 min depending on your oven. I checked the cheesecake at 35 min and it was soupy in the middle when tested with a toothpick. I baked for an additional 10 min and checked it again and then baked another 5 min for a total of 50 min in the oven. The toothpick came out with cheesecake crumbs on it that were well formed and moist but not soupy. There was a small crack on top.
Let the cheesecake cool at room temperature for an hour and then place it in the refrigerator to chill for at least 3 hr before serving.
Slice and serve the cheese cake. You can garnish it with Reddi-wip if you choose. Refrigerate the left overs.
Notes
The actually prep time is approximately 20 min. The given prep time includes the minimum time to drain away the whey. I usually put the strainer full of ricotta/yogurt in the refrigerator before I go bed.