Eggology Egg White Recipe of the Day: Fluffy Cheesecake

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC), an online paper for the Atlanta area, featured Eggology egg whites in a recipe yesterday in their "From Market to Kitchen" section - perfect timing for our weekly recipe post.

A reader wrote in to AJC's "Food Goddess" journalist asking if she had a recipe for "St. Louis-style chiffon cheesecake". Sure enough, she did. And she mentions that some of the elements contributing to this light, airy texture of the cheesecake are ingredients such as "gelatin, beaten egg whites and whipped cream". She goes on to say, "If you are concerned about the small risk of salmonella from raw or partially cooked eggs, use pasteurized eggs. Because the whites from pasteurized whole eggs don’t beat as well as regular eggs, I like to use a packaged pasteurized egg white product like Eggology." Great choice! Recipe follows:

Fluffy Cheesecake
12-16 servings
Hands on: 30 minutes
Total time: 3 1/2 hours

Note: Serve plain or top with fresh fruit, pie filling or a sprinkle of reserved crust crumbs.

WHAT YOU NEED:

For the crust:
1 sleeve graham crackers, crumbled, or 1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

For the cheesecake:
2 envelopes gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
4 eggs, separated, divided
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup milk
3 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup heavy cream

INSTRUCTIONS:

To prepare the crust:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press mixture onto the bottom of a 10-inch springform pan to form a thin layer (if you have enough, press up the sides a little, too).
Bake for 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

To prepare the cheesecake:

Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir together gelatin and water and set aside. In the top of a double boiler, combine yolks, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and milk. Stirring constantly, cook until thickened and the mixture coats the back of a spoon.

Remove from heat and stir gelatin into hot custard mixture, stirring well to combine. Set aside.

With an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth. On low speed, add custard mixture until combined.

Whip reserved egg whites to soft peaks. Gradually add 1/2 cup sugar and continue beating to stiff peaks. Gently fold into custard mixture.

Whip cream until it softly peaks and gently fold into custard mixture.

Spoon cheesecake mixture into completely cooled crust. Refrigerate at least 3 hours before serving.

Per serving: 470 calories (percent of calories from fat, 63), 8 grams protein, 37 grams carbohydrates, trace fiber, 33 grams fat (20 grams saturated), 171 milligrams cholesterol, 379 milligrams sodium.