Cheesecake: Rich Indulgences : They’re decadent and guilt- laden. But in spite of the high-fat, high-calorie content, most of us find it hard to resist a good cheese- cake. These rich and wonderful do-ahead sweets make great holiday desserts.

Cheesecakes are a built-in guilt trip. Loaded with fat and all the other no-no’s a modern diet decrees be eliminated, cheesecakes are nonetheless almost the irresistible dessert. Truthfully, it should be illegal for anything to taste as good as a well-designed cheesecake.

Don’t try to fool yourself into thinking that just a thin slice won’t be too fattening. It’s a fact of life: A REAL cheesecake, one filled with all those wonderful rich ingredients that make up its smooth and creamy texture and flavor, is loaded with calories.

Take that Italian masterpiece, the Neopolitan pastiera, a cheesecake/tart usually served around Easter. It is a mixture of softened wheat berries, ricotta, fruits, eggs and flavorings. The ingredients are mostly healthful, with just a few that could add up to a bit of trouble for someone watching their cholesterol and fat intake. After all, ricotta cheese certainly isn’t anywhere near as fattening as the cream cheese usually used in cheesecakes. And just think of all that highly desirable fiber provided by the wheat berries.

So a good pastiera should be the perfect answer for the person looking for a low-calorie cheesecake, right?

Wrong! It may be lower in calories and fat than many of the ultrarich cheesecakes that abound in top-drawer restaurants or are made from secret family recipes that have withstood the test of time, but it is still a totally decadent indulgence.

And that’s just how one should view a cheesecake--as a rich indulgence. One that is either worth the guilt trip it causes, or isn’t. The decision is yours. But if you’re going to sample one of these creamy desserts, enjoy it. Put your conscience in your pocket, savor every bite and make up for your lapse of fortitude the next day.

With the holidays soon to be upon us, a cheesecake can be a good choice for a festive dessert. They have that one looked-for attribute that every frantic cook needs; they can, indeed must, be made ahead. And by and large, most cheesecakes go together quickly and easily.

One exception to this rule is a very special pastiera from La Mela, a small storefront-type restaurant on Mulberry Street in the Little Italy section of New York City. Nancy Zaslavsky, a Los Angeles-based graphics designer, talked about La Mela at a dinner party one night and urged me to pay it a visit the next time I was in New York. So I did, and quickly discovered that the moment you finally get a table in the place you can forget about ordering what you want. Mimmo or Pepi, both ebullient hosts, immediately take you in hand and bring you what they think you need. It sounds dicey, I know, but the meals I’ve had there and those served to equally startled diners at tables near us each time were wonderful examples of good, simple Neopolitan food.

The pastiera was memorable and Pepi gladly shared the recipe. Unfortunately one of the ingredients turned out to be a major problem. Pepi’s recipe called for “grain wheat,” which we finally discovered is really whole wheat berries. But ordinary wheat berries really don’t produce a satisfactory end result. Finally, we got the answer to our problem from two excellent sources. Albert Vera of Sorrento, a well-known Italian deli on Sepulveda Boulevard in Culver City, told us he carries what we needed under the name “peeled wheat grain.” Sorrento has the product most of the time.

Still another source, Carlo Middione, in his book “The Food of Southern Italy” (William Morrow, $25), explains that the whole-wheat berries used in this Italian dessert should be the berries of soft spring wheat. Otherwise the berries will harden a day or so after the pastiera is made. He suggests that you can get good results when soft spring wheat berries aren’t available by substituting cracked wheat or even barley. We haven’t tried his substitutions, but they should work.

If a more traditional cheesecake appeals to you, some of California’s top chefs and good home cooks have shared their recipes with us also. Joachim Splichal, who with his wife, Christine, recently opened Patina on Melrose Avenue, gave us an elegant recipe for a cheesecake made with hazelnuts and brown sugar and topped with a crispy filo and almond crust. This is one of those desserts that’s almost too pretty to cut into.

Jim Dodge, author of the award-winning cookbook “The American Baker” (Simon & Schuster: $24.95), gave us a recipe for a wonderful cheesecake made with ricotta and encased in a tender, flaky crust.

Still other professional chefs who have shared cheesecake recipes with us are Mary Sue Milliken and Susan Feniger of City Restaurant. These two well-known young chefs and authors of the cookbook “City Cuisine” (William Morrow, $19.95) gave us a recipe right in line with the season as it combines pumpkin with cream cheese and flavors the mixture with pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon and ginger juice. The result is ideal for a Thanksgiving dessert.

One recipe that came our way, Grandma Elsie’s Cheesecake, was shared by fellow Times staffer Amy Klein, who told us that she has to bake it for her father’s birthday every year. “He can eat one-fourth of the cake in a sitting,” she said, “and we all wait for his arteries to clog while he does it.”

And for those who hanker for cheesecake but really can’t manage the calories or fats found in the real thing, we’ve included a recipe for Cherry Cheesecake, a light cheesecake-style dessert that boasts considerably fewer calories and fats than most cheesecakes.

LA MELA’S PASTIERA

1/2 pound peeled wheat grain

2 quarts milk

1 pound ricotta cheese

1 3/4 cups sugar

5 egg yolks

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup golden raisins, plumped in boiling water and drained

1/2 cup chopped citron

1/2 cup chopped candied orange peel, optional

1/2 teaspoon orange flower water

Soak wheat in large mixing bowl in cold water to cover by at least 1 inch for 24 hours. Drain well, cover again with cold water and soak another 24 hours.

Drain grain well, add milk, bring to boil and cook over medium high heat, partially covered, about 1 1/2 hours or until grain is very tender. Drain well, discarding any remaining milk and place grain in large mixing bowl.

Add ricotta and sugar and blend until smooth. Beat eggs yolks until frothy and add to mixture, blending well. Stir in vanilla, raisins, citron, orange peel and orange flower water.

Spoon mixture into greased 9-inch square baking pan. Bake at 400 degrees 50 minutes to 1 hour or until wood pick inserted in center comes out clean. If cake seems to be browning too much, cover top loosely with sheet of foil. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Note: Peeled wheat grain is available in many Italian specialty markets during the holiday season.

PATINA’S CHEESECAKE WITH FILO-ALMOND CRUST

1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

2 cups finely chopped, toasted hazelnuts

5 tablespoons unsalted butter

JUMP STARTS HERE

2 tablespoons plus 1 cup brown sugar, packed

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

3 1/2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/4 cup whipped cream

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 eggs

2 egg yolks

Filo Top Crust

Rhubarb-Strawberry Compote

Combine graham cracker crumbs, 1 cup hazelnuts, butter, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and lemon zest. Blend well and spread over bottom and up sides of 10-inch springform pan. Bake at 350 degrees about 10 minutes or until set. Cool thoroughly.

To make filling, combine cream cheese, yogurt and whipped cream in mixing bowl until very smooth. Beat in remaining 1 cup brown sugar, vanilla and remaining 1 cup hazelnuts.

Add eggs and egg yolks, 1 at time, blending well after each addition. Pour mixture into prebaked shell and bake at 300 degrees 50 minutes. Cool on wire rack.

Prepare Filo Top Crust and place on top of cheesecake. Serve Rhubarb-Strawberry Compote on side. Makes about 10 servings.

Filo Top Crust

8 (9 1/2-inch) circles cut from filo sheets

1/4 cup clarified butter

1 cup very finely ground almonds, about

1/3 cup sugar

Brush filo circles with butter and sprinkle each with almonds and sugar. Stack filo circles on top of each other and place on foil-lined jellyroll pan.

Bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Rhubarb-Strawberry Compote

1/2 cup sugar

Juice of 1/2 lemon

Juice of 1/2 orange

1 pound rhubarb, peeled and cut in 1-inch pieces

1/2 pound strawberries

Place sugar in small heavy pan and cook, stirring occasionally, over very low heat until sugar is caramelized. Add lemon and orange juices and continue to cook, stirring, until sugar is melted and mixture is smooth.

Stir in rhubarb and strawberries and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat and chill at once. Makes about 3 cups.

Note: If fresh rhubarb is not available, frozen rhubarb may be substituted.

CITY RESTAURANT PUMPKIN CHEESECAKE

4 pounds cream cheese

1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed

1 cup granulated sugar

4 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg or 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons fresh ginger juice

1 (29-ounce) can pumpkin

6 eggs

Butter

1 to 1 1/2 cups toasted almonds

Place cream cheese in bowl of electric mixer and stir to soften. Combine sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, ginger juice and pumpkin, blending well.

Beat pumpkin mixture into cream cheese, blending thoroughly, but beating as little as possible. Add eggs, 2 at time, blending well after each addition on low speed of mixer. Do not overmix.

Butter 2 (9-inch) deep layer cake pans generously and sprinkle toasted almonds over bottom of pans. Divide batter evenly between pans.

Place filled pans in large roasting pan and pour hot water in roasting pan to come halfway up sides of filled pans. Bake on lower shelf at 325 degrees 1 1/2 hours or until cheesecakes are set. Makes 16 to 20 servings.

JIM DODGE’S RICOTTA AND VANILLA CHEESECAKE

1 1/2 pounds low salt ricotta cheese

3 eggs

1/2 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

Seeds from 1/2 vanilla bean

Short Crust

Fruit Sauce

Place cheese in bowl of electric mixer and beat at low speed until smooth. Add eggs 1 at time, blending well after each addition.

Stir in cream, sugar and vanilla seeds. Mix until batter is very smooth.

Pour into prepared cooled Short Crust and bake at 350 degrees 40 to 50 minutes or until top is golden brown and cheesecake is just set. Cool on wire rack. Serve with Fruit Sauce. Makes about 12 servings.

Short Crust

1 cup flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1/8 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

1/4 cup whipping cream

Blend flour, sugar and salt in bowl of food processor. Cut butter in 1-inch cubes and add to flour mixture. Process until butter is completely blended in.

Add cream and process by turning machine on and off until mixture becomes crumbly. Do not allow mixture to form ball of dough in work bowl. Turn out onto lightly floured board and, coating hands with flour, press mixture into ball without working dough.

Roll dough into large circle, about 13-inches diameter. Keep top of dough and board dusted with flour to prevent sticking to rolling pin.

Line 10-inch deep fluted tart pan with dough. Press dough against bottom and sides and trim top edges of dough even with top of pan. Chill until firm to touch, about 30 minutes.

Using sheet of heavy duty foil large enough to cover both bottom and sides, press lightly over dough in pan. Pierce bottom of foil with fork tines about every 2 inches.

Bake at 400 degrees 30 minutes or until bottom dough looks dry and very lightly browned. Discard foil and continue baking 5 minutes longer. Cool on rack.

Fruit Sauce

3 fresh peaches, nectarines or other similar fruits

Sugar

1 to 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Peel and seed peaches. Cut into chunks and puree in blender or food processor. Add sugar to taste. Blend in Grand Marnier and lemon juice. Makes about 2 cups.

GRANDMA ELSIE’S CHEESECAKE

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 eggs

1 1/2 cups whipping cream

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons grated lemon zest

1/3 cup lemon juice

2 pounds hoop or farmer’s cheese

6 tablespoons sifted cake flour

Crumb Crust

Beat sugar and eggs together in bowl of electric mixer until light. Blend in cream, salt, vanilla, lemon zest and juice.

Combine cheese and flour and add to sugar mixture. Beat until smooth, but not runny.

Pour into prepared Crumb Crust and sprinkle reserved 1/2 cup Crumb Crust mixture over top. Bake at 300 degrees 1 1/2 hours or until set.

Turn oven off, open door and let cheesecake stand in oven 1 hour. Chill well before serving. Makes 12 servings.

Crumb Crust

2 cups fresh bread crumbs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted

Combine bread crumbs, sugar and cinnamon. Lightly blend in butter. Set 1/2 cup mixture aside.

Press remaining mixture into bottom and up sides of well-greased deep 9-inch springform pan. Set aside.

CHERRY CHEESECAKE

1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

2 envelopes unflavored gelatin

3 tablespoons water

1 (16 1/2-ounce) can pitted Royal Anne cherries in heavy syrup

1 1/2 cups small curd cottage cheese

1/4 cup non-fat milk

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Dash salt

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons graham cracker crumbs over bottom of 8-inch springform pan. Set aside.

Soften gelatin in water. Drain cherries, reserving syrup. Cut cherries in halves. Place syrup in small pan and bring to boil. Remove from heat, add gelatin mixture and stir to melt.

Process cottage cheese in food processor 3 to 4 minutes or until nearly smooth. Add milk, lemon juice, sugar, vanilla, almond extract and salt. Beat well. Blend in gelatin mixture at low speed. Chill, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick but not set, about 1 hour.

Beat mixture until light and fluffy at highest speed of mixer. Fold in well-drained cherries. Pour into prepared pan and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon crumbs. Refrigerate ovenight. Makes 8 servings.