Most people love chocolate and most people love desserts. That’s part of the reason that people fail when they think about diet and life style changes. However, you don’t have to give up either just because you are trying to live a healthier life. You can often substitute unhealthy ingredients for healthy ones.

Our first recipe is chocolate marble cheesecake. While this chocolaty delight seems to have the makings of something sinful (and tastes that way, too), the reduced-fat ingredients make this a guilt-free indulgence.

Our second recipe is French Silk Pie. This is an all time favorite for serving to guests at dinner. You will be the hit of the neighborhood with this dessert. Not only is it decadent, it’s less fat and calories than most chocolate desserts.

Our last recipe is chocolate covered marshmallows. The recipes lists a lot of steps but don’t let that deter you. It’s not a hard recipe to make. This is a GREAT treat to make and give away! It will keep up to a month in the fridge.



Chocolate Marble Cheesecake

Crust

2 tablespoons slivered blanched almonds

Vegetable oil cooking spray

6 chocolate wafers



Filling

15 oz (1 3/4 cup) part-skim ricotta

8 oz lowfat cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup lowfat sour cream

1 large whole egg

2 egg whites

1/4 teaspoon almond extract (or to taste)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons amaretto (if desired)

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon instant-espresso powder

3 tablespoons bittersweet chocolate chips

Preparation

For crust: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Toast almonds on a small baking sheet for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from oven; reduce heat to 325 degrees. Coat an 8" springform pan with cooking spray. Wrap outside of pan in foil to prevent seepage. Process chocolate wafers and almonds in a food processor into fine crumbs. Sprinkle 2 to 3 tbsp crumbs onto bottom of pan (just enough to coat bottom lightly). Shake pan to distribute evenly. Reserve remaining crumbs.

For filling: Puree ricotta in a food processor until smooth, about 1 minute. Add cream cheese, sugar, sour cream, egg, egg whites, almond extract, flour and salt; puree until smooth. Whisk amaretto, if desired (or same amount of hot water), 2 tbsp hot water, cocoa powder and espresso powder in a bowl until well combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Stir 1 cup plain filling into chocolate mixture. Set aside.

Assembly: Pour remaining plain filling into prepared pan. Drizzle chocolate filling in a circular pattern over plain filling. Using a knife, make circular strokes to create swirls in the plain filling. Add 1 inch hot water to a shallow baking pan; place springform pan in baking pan. Bake until cheesecake is firm around the edge and slightly soft in the center, 45 to 55 minutes. Run a knife around inside of pan. Remove foil; let cool on a rack. Chill 6 hours or overnight before removing sides of pan. Press reserved crumbs onto side of cheesecake.



French Silk Pie

Crust

30 chocolate wafers, (see Tip)

2 tablespoons chopped pitted dates

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon canola oil

Filling

1 tablespoon brewed coffee

1 tablespoon water

1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

1 large egg

1/2 cup low-fat milk

8 tablespoons packed light brown sugar, divided

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch-process

2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 tablespoons dried egg whites, (see Ingredient Note), reconstituted according to package directions

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Coat a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with cooking spray.

To prepare crust: Combine chocolate wafers and dates in a food processor; process until finely chopped. Add water and oil and process until moistened. Press into the bottom and sides of the prepared pan.

Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare filling & garnish: Combine coffee and water in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin on top and set aside to soften.

Whisk egg, milk, 3 tablespoons brown sugar and cocoa in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook over low heat, whisking constantly, until thickened and an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees, 5-7 minutes. Do not let the mixture come to a simmer. Remove from the heat. Add the reserved gelatin mixture; stir until dissolved. Add chocolate and vanilla, stirring until melted. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.

Beat reconstituted egg whites and cream of tartar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on low speed until frothy. Increase speed to high and beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the remaining 5 tablespoons brown sugar, beating until the meringue is smooth and glossy.

Whisk one-fourth of the meringue into the cooled chocolate mixture until smooth. Scrape the chocolate mixture into the remaining meringue and fold in with a whisk. Spoon the filling into the crust and chill, uncovered, until set, about 3 hours.



Chocolate-Covered Berry Marshmallows

Bottom of Form

Chocolate-and-berry-flavored marshmallows are delectable—even addictive—and these surprisingly easy candies make a great gift or special treat.

1 tablespoon unflavored gelatin, (about 1 1/2 packages)

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons frozen raspberry-white grape or cran-raspberry juice concentrate, thawed

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

6 1/2 tablespoons water

1 Pinch salt

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3-4 drops red food color, optional

1/2 cup (approximately) confectioners' sugar for dusting

14 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1-3 teaspoons canola oil, if needed

Line an 8-inch-square baking dish with wax paper, allowing it to overhang two opposing sides by about 1 inch. Thoroughly coat the paper with cooking spray; the marshmallow will stick to any uncoated areas.

Sprinkle gelatin over juice concentrate in a small bowl; let stand, stirring once or twice, until the gelatin softens, about 6 minutes. Stir together sugar, corn syrup, water and salt in a 3- to 4-quart saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Then increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring. Stir in the gelatin mixture and vanilla and return to a boil, stirring. Boil for 1 minute more. Remove from the heat and continue stirring until the gelatin completely dissolves.

Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer (using a whisk attachment if possible), gradually raising the mixer speed from low to high, until the mixture is thickened, lightened in color and greatly increased in volume, 5 to 7 minutes. (It's better to overbeat than underbeat.) Beat in food color (if using).

Scrape the marshmallow into the prepared dish, using a rubber spatula coated with cooking spray. Spread evenly to the edges. Thoroughly coat a second sheet of wax paper with cooking spray and pat it down on the marshmallow surface. Set aside until the mixture cools and firms up, about 4 hours. Transfer to the freezer for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours before cutting.

To cut the marshmallows, sift about a third of the confectioners' sugar onto a large clean cutting board. Peel off the top sheet of wax paper, then invert the chilled slab onto the sugar. Remove the pan and peel off the second sheet of wax paper. Sift about a third of the remaining sugar over the top. Using a large, sharp, lightly oiled knife, trim off the uneven edges all around. Mark, then evenly cut the slab lengthwise and crosswise into eighths to make 64 squares. Generously dust all the cut surfaces of the marshmallows with more sugar to keep them from sticking together. Clean off and re-oil the knife as needed. Cover and return the marshmallows to the freezer until chilled, about 45 minutes.

To dip the marshmallows, line 2 baking sheets or trays with nonstick foil (or coat regular foil with cooking spray). Place chocolate in a medium microwave-safe bowl. (Alternatively, see “No Microwave?” below.) Microwave on High for 1 minute. Stir well, then continue microwaving on Medium, stirring every 30 seconds, until mostly melted. Stir until the remaining chocolate melts completely. If the chocolate seems a little thick for dipping the marshmallows, stir in oil 1 teaspoon at a time until smooth; microwave on Medium for 15 seconds, then stir again.

Working with a batch of about 15 marshmallows (keep the remainder in the freezer), submerge them one at a time in the chocolate and use a large dinner fork to turn and coat completely. Lift the marshmallow out with the fork, tapping it against the side of the bowl several times and scraping it against the edge to remove as much excess chocolate as possible. Stir the bowl of chocolate occasionally to keep it blended. If it cools and stiffens at any point, microwave on Medium for 10 seconds, stir well and continue dipping. Place dipped marshmallows on the prepared pan, pushing them off the fork with the tines of another fork if needed. If a pool of chocolate forms around the base of the marshmallows, tap off more excess chocolate as subsequent candies are dipped.

Refrigerate the dipped marshmallows until the chocolate is thoroughly chilled and firm, at least 1 hour. Gently pry the marshmallows from the foil with a table knife (fingertips will mar the surface). If desired, trim off the uneven edges around the bottom of the marshmallows with a paring knife. Keep refrigerated until ready to serve. Serve chilled or let stand at room temperature for 5 minutes before serving.

Make ahead tip: Store airtight, without touching (or in paper candy cups) in a single layer with wax paper underneath, in the refrigerator for up to 1 month.



Did you know?



Substituting ingredients

Where possible, use low-fat or fat-free ingredients. When not possible, in most recipes, there are several ingredients which can easily be substituted with more diet-friendly alternatives. These commonly include butter, sugar, egg yolks, milk, flour, and several others. When in doubt, replace only half of the ingredient amount. After reading this, you will be able to cut the calories you consume by half or even more.

Yogurt can easily be used as a substitute for high-fat baking ingredients such as butter, shortening, oil, sour cream, or even milk. Of course, you will want to choose low-fat or fat-free varieties of yogurt.

White flour can often be substituted with whole-wheat flour for a recipe with fewer calories, much more fiber, and you also get more calcium and protein too. It is probably best to only replace half of the white flour with the whole-wheat flour if you are unsure whether the recipe will turn out right.

Sugar can often be replaced with sugar substitutes such as Splenda or stevia for sweetening foods. I generally prefer stevia, as it is a natural herb which has shown very promising results in medicinal use throughout history. In comparison, Splenda is an artificially developed sweetener which has shown remote possibilities of causing health side-effects.

Search for stevia or Splenda dessert recipes to find recipes specifically made for these sugar substitutes. Another popular alternative to sugar is using fruit purees. If you do need to use sugar, then it is much better to use natural cane sugar, then the refined and processed white sugar.

Egg yolks can easily be replaced with egg whites in most recipes. One egg yolk can be substituted with two egg whites.

When making chocolate dessert, it is better to use dark chocolate in place of the other types of chocolate. Other than the fact that dark chocolate contains antioxidants, it contains less sugar than milk and white chocolate, giving it that rich and intense taste that also fills you up quicker.

Karen’s Kitchen is a weekly column by Karen Freeman of Tarboro. Contact Karen at:

kvfreeman@triad.rr.com