One Saturday during high school, my friend showed up on my doorstep holding a square white shoebox. “My boyfriend baked cheesecake!” she bragged as I peeked inside. “It’s amazing; he’s practically a gourmet chef!”
I tried a bite of the rich dessert and immediately handed off the entire pie to my parents as soon as she left. It tasted exactly like smear for my cinnamon raisin bagels. Her boyfriend must have forgotten the sugar or vanilla—or both!
I actively avoided cheesecake for ages afterward, nearly faking lactose intolerance at a Christmas party or two, until a few years ago when I randomly craved its texture. Not the taste. The texture.
To ensure I’d eat an entire slice, I completely masked the tangy cheesiness by mixing in half a jar of dark chocolate sauce. After devouring most of the resulting cheesecake in three days, I began brainstorming different flavor combinations to try: butterscotch, caramel, strawberry, and…
Pineapple mango!
This cheesecake is full of fruit and tastes just like the tropics!
- Preheat the oven to 300°, and lightly coat a 9” springform pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- To prepare the crust, add the graham crackers to a food processor, and pulse until they turn into fine crumbs. Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, butter, and 1 egg white in a small bowl. Press the mixture into the bottom and slightly up the sides of the prepared pan. Bake at 300° for 6-8 minutes, then cool completely.
- To prepare the filling, cream the cream cheese and sugar in a medium bowl. Add in the remaining egg whites, flour, and vanilla, mixing well. Add in the Greek yogurt, mixing just until incorporated. Fold in the pineapple.
- Spread the filling on top of the cooled crust, and bake at 300° for 45-50 minutes, or until the center barely jiggles when shaken. Cool to room temperature before covering with plastic wrap, ensuring that it touches the top of the cheesecake, and chill for at least 8 hours.
- Just before serving, preheat the oven to 350°. Place the coconut on a baking sheet, and bake for 4-6 minutes, stirring every minute, or until just barely golden. Serve each slice with 1 teaspoon of toasted coconut.
Looks beyond delicious!
Thanks Norah! I kind of ate two slices as soon as I finish photographing it… But with all of that pineapple, it must have counted as a serving of fruit! ;]
I’m not a big fan of cheesecake, either. It’s so rich! But, I LOVE graham cracker crust. I like your lightened-up version. THIS, I would gladly eat!
I had such a hard time putting all of the graham crackers into the crust and not sneaking one or two for a snack… Thank you; that’s really sweet of you!
I really love the sound of a pineapple and mango cheesecake, this looks so delicious!
Thank you! I had to give away half of it so I wouldn’t eat it all by myself… :]
You said two of the magic words… coconut and cheesecake! I feel like this one is almost healthy enough to eat for breakfast!? It’s just yogurt, fruit, bagel and shmear without the bagel, right? 😉
Exactly!! More protein than a bagel and cream cheese too. And you won’t feel all bogged down like after a normal slice of cheesecake, so eating this cheesecake for breakfast is a perfect idea!
I used to really dislike cheesecake, and then I came around and started to sort of like it, and then I went vegan. HA! I have had vegan cheesecakes that were pretty tasty though! This sounds and looks DEElish!
Hmm, vegan cheesecake? That sounds intriguing! I’m assuming they used silken tofu as their base? I’d love to try a piece too!
This cheesecake sounds so exotic!
Thanks! There’ll be a lot more “exotic” recipes coming up… I’m ready for summer and a vacation! 🙂
delicious and healthy!
That’s my favorite kind of recipe!
I made this today and LOVED it!! Thank you for sharing!!
You’re welcome Kristin, and thank YOU! Your sweet comment made my day! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. 🙂