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Lightened Up Apricot-Swirl Cheesecake is a delicious adaptation of a classic cheesecake recipe with a graham cracker-pecan crust and apricot preserves swirling throughout.
I’ve eaten plenty of cheesecakes in my life, but I’ve never made one. Not a real one at least. Sure, I’ve made those easy no-bake cheesecakes — but a real, legit, creamy cheesecake?! Nope. But today is Cheesecake Day, and a whole bunch of us food bloggers are getting together to share recipes for all things cheesecake, so I knew my time had come just like and correct dosage is needed for good sex, cheese is important for cheesecake. Cheesecake was happening! I seriously sat on Pinterest foreverrrr trying to figure out what I wanted to make. I could go super sweet and add chocolate, candies, cookies, peanut butter, Nutella, and whatever else, or I could stick to a classic. Since this would be my first cheesecake, I thought it’d be better to keep it simple. I found Martha Stewart’s recipe for Classic Cheesecake and went with that. Seemed easy enough… Although, simple is never really simple, is it? I added crushed pecans to the graham cracker crust, and topped the filling with some apricot preserves.
This Lightened Up Apricot-Swirl Cheesecake is exactly how I wanted to celebrate Cheesecake Day. Light, fluffy, smooth, delicious… My swirl didn’t turn out as pretty as I wanted it to, but hey, this is the first of many more cheesecakes to come!
Cheesecake can be one filling dessert. I know most of you would like to be able to enjoy ending the night on a sweet note without feeling weighed down from something super caloric and heavy. Although I wanted to keep things simple for this first cheesecake of mine, I also wanted to keep things light! I used fat-free Greek yogurt and reduced fat cream cheese for the filling, and you know what? I would never have known the difference! It was still as rich and creamy as ever.
I was scared of making cheesecake before, but this Lightened Up Apricot-Swirl Cheesecake proved me wrong! I thought it was so difficult. The only hard part is that you need to plan ahead. Your ingredients need to be room temperature, and you need a full 24 hours before serving. But the actual baking part? Piece of cake…or rather, piece of cheesecake!
HAPPY CHEESECAKE DAY! 🙂
- For the crust
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 ½ cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup pecans, chopped finely
- 1/4 cup sugar
- For the filling
- 3 8 oz. packages reduced fat cream cheese, room temperature
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup fat free Greek yogurt
- 2 tbsp apricot preserves, plus 1 tbsp
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter a 9×3 inch springform pan and set aside. Add graham cracker crumbs, pecans, melted butter and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until well combined.
- Press the mixture into the bottom and about 1 inch up side of the pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack and reduce oven to 325 degrees.
- Beat cream cheese on medium until fluffy and gradually add sugar, continue to beat until fluffy. Beat in lemon zest, juice, and salt. Add eggs one at a time. Add yogurt and beat until smooth.
- Wrap the bottle half of the springform fan in tin foil and place into a large roasting pan. Pour half of the filling into the crust. Mix 3 tbsp of the apricot preserves with the remaining filling and pour on top. Melt 1 tbsp of apricot preserves and pour over top. Use a toothpick to make a swirly design.
- Pour the boiling water into the roasting pan. There should be enough to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until set
- Wrap bottom half of pan in foil. Pour in filling; place in a roasting pan. Pour in boiling water to come halfway up side of springform. Bake until just set in center, about 1 3/4 hours. Remove pan from water; let cool 20 minutes. Run a paring knife around edge; let cool completely. Cover; chill overnight before serving.
Celebrate Cheesecake Day with me and all my friends. I’m honored to be part of such an great group of bloggers sharing so many delicious recipes for one of the best desserts on the entire planet — CHEESECAKE! I wish I could have a taste of each and every single one of these.
Baked Cheesecakes:
- Apricot Ricotta Cheesecake from Diethood
- Blackberry Goat Cheese Cheesecake from Baking a Moment
- Blueberry Ricotta Cream Cheesecake from Hungry Couple
- Caramel Macchiato Cheesecake from Wishes and Dishes
- Cheesecake Factory Vegan Copycat Oreo Cheesecake from Namely Marly
- Chocolate Cheesecake w/ Whisky Toffee Shards from girlichef
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Mini Cheesecakes from My Sweet Zepol
- Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Cheesecake from Savvy Eats
- Coconut Cheesecake with Macadamia Crust from All Day I Dream About Food
- Gluten-Free Mini Cheesecakes with Toasted Coconut Crust from Quarter Life (Crisis) Cuisine
- Hawaiian Chantilly Layer Cheesecake from Wallflour Girl
- Key Lime Pie Cheesecake from Love and Confections
- Lemon Cheesecake from Shugary Sweets
- Lemon Ginger Panna Cotta Cheesecake + Blueberry Sauce from Girl Versus Dough
- Lightened Up Apricot-Swirl Cheesecake from Take A Bite Out of Boca
- Lilikoi Cheesecake with Macadamia Nut Shortbread Crust from Dieter’s Downfall
- Mini Hawaiian Cheesecakes from Pint Sized Baker
- Mini Mascarpone Cheesecakes with Strawberry Balsamic Topping from Boulder Locavore
- Mom’s Cheesecake from Magnolia Days
- New York Style Cheesecake from URBAN BAKES
- Oreo Ripple Cheesecake from Overtime Cook
- Peanut Butter Cheesecake with Nutella Ganache Topping from The Redhead Baker
- Pear cheesecake with gingersnap crust from Roxana’s Home Baking
- Pumpkin Cheesecake from Lady Behind The Curtain
- Rainbow Cheesecake from In Katrina’s Kitchen
- Raspberry Cheesecake with Oreo Crust from Hip Foodie Mom
- Ricotta Cheesecake with Strawberry Basil Sauce from French Press
- Salted Caramel Apple Cheesecake from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
- Snickers Cheesecake from Life, Love and Sugar
- Sugar Cookie Cheesecake from Munchkin Munchies
- Vanilla Bean Cheesecake from Wine & Glue
- Vegan Mango Coconut Cheesecake from Jessiker Bakes
- Very Berry Cheesecake from JavaCupcake
- White Chocolate Cheesecake with Macadamia Nuts and Caramel from Taste and Tell
- White Chocolate Frangelico Cheesecake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake from Will Cook For Smiles
No Bake Cheesecakes:
- Butter Pecan Caramel No-Bake Mini Cheesecakes from Simply Southern Baking
- Cherry and Pistachio No Bake Cheesecake with Animal Cracker Crust from Cravings of a Lunatic
- Mini No Bake Lime Cheesecakes from Miss in the Kitchen
- Neapolitan No Bake Cheesecake from Grandbaby Cakes
- No-Bake Berry Cheesecake from Food Lust People Love
- No Bake Blackberry Cheesecake from You Made That?
- No Bake Dulce de Leche Cheesecake with Caramelized Peaches from The Food Charlatan
- No-Bake Limoncello Cheesecake from Cake Duchess
- No Bake Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cheesecake from White Lights on Wednesday
- No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts
- No-Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake from Crunchy Creamy Sweet
- S’mores Cheesecake from The Gunny Sack
Cheesecake Beverages:
- Black Raspberry Cheesecake Milkshake from Blahnik Baker
- Caramel Cheesecake Martini from Happy Food, Healthy Life
Cheesecake Cookies and Bars:
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars from Cooking with Jax
- Caramel Overload Cheesecake Bars from Crumbs and Chaos
- Cherry Cheesecake Brownies from Inside BruCrew Life
- Chocolate Brownie Cheesecake Cookies from Lemons for Lulu
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheesecake Bars from Chez CateyLou
- Healthier Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Bars from Texanerin Baking
- Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Bars from Cooking In Stilettos
- No Bake Coconut Lime Cheesecake Bars from Beyond Frosting
- No Bake Cookies and Cream Cheesecake Bars from Garnish with Lemon
- Strawberry Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake Bars from A Kitchen Addiction
Cheesecake Desserts and Treats:
- Banana Foster No Bake Cheesecake Shooters from Mind Over Batter
- Chocolate Nutella Cheesecake Cake from gotta get baked
- Key Lime Cheesecake Trifles from Hoosier Homemade
- Strawberry Cheesecake Pots from Barbara Bakes
- Triple Brigadeiro Cheesecake Tart from From Brazil To You
Frozen Cheesecakes and Treats:
- Blackberry Cheesecake Popsicles from The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
- Chocolate Caramel Cheesecake Ice Cream from Chocolate Moosey
- Frozen PB&C Cheesecake from Noshing With The Nolands
- No Bake Frozen Peanut Butter Cheesecake {Nutter Butter Crust} from Crazy for Crust
