Rich-tasting, double-chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate brownie crust.

Is your cheesecake all that it’s cracked up to be? More often than not, a baked cheesecake will crack when it’s cooling. Talk about frustrating, especially when you follow instructions to the letter and still get cracks the size of the Grand Canyon! Don’t panic if your cake does the splits after it’s baked—it’ll still taste terrific. Before serving, cover the cracks with fresh raspberries or sliced strawberries and a drizzle of chocolate syrup, and no one will know the difference.

Tip: To melt chocolate, place chocolate squares in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on medium-low power until chocolate is melted. For 6 squares, it should take about 3 minutes, depending on the strength of your microwave. Be careful not to burn chocolate! Remove bowl from microwave and stir chocolate until smooth. Cool slightly before using in recipe.

Per serving: 321 calories, 10 g total fat (5.9 g saturated fat), 11 g protein, 48 g carbohydrate, 2.7 g fibre, 65 mg cholesterol, 299 mg sodium

• 1 x box (15.5 oz/440 g) low-fat brownie mix (such as Betty Crocker Fudge Brownies)
• 2 cups 1% cottage cheese
• 1 cup light sour cream (not fat-free)
• 1 x pkg (8 oz/250 g) light cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 ounces (170 g) semi-sweet chocolate squares, melted and cooled slightly (see Tip)
• 1 cup fat-free egg substitute or 4 whole eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• Melted chocolate for drizzling (optional)

1. Spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Prepare brownies according to package directions, baking in springform pan instead of regular cake pan. Brownies should bake in 20 to 25 minutes.
2. Remove pan from oven and reset temperature to 325ºF. Set brownie crust aside to cool slightly while you prepare filling.
3. To make filling, whirl cottage cheese, sour cream and cream cheese in a blender until perfectly smooth. Scrape out mixture into a large mixing bowl. In a small bowl, sift together sugar, cocoa and flour.
4. Gradually add sugar mixture to cream-cheese mixture and beat on medium speed of electric mixer until well blended. Add melted chocolate and beat again, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat just until eggs are incorporated into batter.
5. Before pouring batter over crust, lightly grease sides of pan. This will help prevent cheesecake from cracking as it cools. Pour batter over brownie crust and smooth top.
6. Place on middle oven rack and bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cake will be puffed up and center will jiggle slightly when pan is shaken.
7. Turn off oven, open oven door halfway, and leave cake in oven to cool for 1 hour. Remove from oven, run knife around edge of pan to loosen cake from sides, and cool completely. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
8. To serve, remove sides of pan, slice thinly (it’s rich!), and serve with fresh raspberries and chocolate drizzle, if desired.