Mascarpone cheese gives this cake a richer taste and even creamier texture than cheesecake made with all cream cheese. I like the nice citrus flavours as well.

Level One
Pro/Fat
Serves ~8 or more

Crust (optional, it tastes just as good without a crust-skip to the filling part if you don't want the crust):

Please remember, do not "pack" the whey powder into the measuring cup, as this will alter the recipe. I fluff the powder in the with a fork and then take out loose scoops. The whey powder I use is called ISO XP and can be found at GNC. I use the vanilla flavour in this crust. It's the best tasting powder I've found, and has the lowest carbs (only 1g per scoop, so it's negligable in the recipe).

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

Spray a springform pan with olive oil or use butter to grease it.

1 cup vanilla whey powder
1 stick of butter, softened (about 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup Splenda

Combine in a small bowl and mix together well. Mixture will be crumbly. Press into bottom of pan. Bake at 325 for about 10-12 minutes or until it is just barely browned on top. Do not allow it to brown too much...

Let cool for 15 minutes. (Raise oven temp to 350 now for baking the cheesecake)

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Cheesecake filling:

16 ounces softened cream cheese
16 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 eggs
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 - 1 1/4 cups splenda
grated orange or lemon or lime peel (from one whole fruit, plus the juice and bits of pulp)
*If using lemon/lime, also add 3 teaspoons of lemon or lime juice - the bottled kind
*If using orange, you can add orange extract in the same amounts as above

Oven should be heated to 350. Beat the cream cheese with sweetener until fluffy. Add the
mascarpone cheese and continue to beat until well combined. Add the eggs one at a
time, beating after each addition. Add the vanilla, and cream and beat until fully
combined. Stir in the peel and any juice or extract you're using. Pour into a greased springform pan and bake 15 minutes. Turn the temperature down to 225 and bake an hour and 10-20 minutes.
The cake should be firm around the outside, but the center could be a little wiggly
still. It will continue to cook a little after it is taken out of the oven. Run a knife
around the pan, but dont open the pan. Chill uncovered overnight.

***Ovens vary in temperature, so it may take a little longer than the recipe states.
Start checking after an hour and 10 minutes. The center should have a little wiggle
to it but it should not be wet. Mine turns out great at exactly the one hour/10 min mark.

When ready to serve, you can eat it plain, make cream cheese icing as below, or make a simple rhubarb
sauce to top it with:

Icing:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
sweetener of choice equivalent to 1/2 cup sugar.
Beat the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and sweetener and
continue beating until stiff peaks form. Add the mascarpone and beat until full
combined and fluffy. Spoon over the chilled cheesecake and spread out evenly.


Rhubarb Sauce:

I don't have an extact recipe for this, but basically I buy a bag of frozen rhubarb pieces,
and for one serving I take maybe 5 pieces, put it in a small dish with 1-2 tbsp of
water and microwave for two minutes. The rhubarb should look wet and mushy and you should
be able to mash it with a fork. If it's too runny, add a couple more pieces of rhubarb or
use less water. I add a little bit of Splenda to sweeten it (however much you prefer) and
then put it on the cheesecake. If you don't like the topping warm, make it ahead of time
and pop it into the fridge for a bit to cool it. Tastes like a fruit topping but it's a
vegetable!