Cheesecake is a guilty pleasure for so many people and since it is basically a slab of sugar and cream cheese slapped on a bed of cookie crumbs you can see where the guilt comes from. Being a cheesecake lover myself I though there has to be a better way! So, I got to work and I came up with a slab of cottage cheese and agave nectar on a bed of arrowroot biscuits.
Cottage cheese in cheesecake?! Who in their right mind...? With the right ingredients and tools, cottage cheese is surprisingly versatile. I will say that this recipe would not have turned out the way it did without the help of my Ninja Food Processor so before you tackle this recipe make sure you have a food processor or blender that is up to the task. This cheesecake does end up a little lighter than the run of the mill cheesecake but I find, personally, that it is easier on the stomach and with a whopping 67% less calories than that generic Chocolate Coffee Cheesecake... #worthit
Leave a comment if you tried this recipe and let me know how it turned out. Leave a like if you want to see more recipes like this one. Enjoy!
Ingredients
Crumb Base
1 Cup Arrowroot Biscuit Crumbs (About 20 biscuits or 165g)
1/3 Cup Quick Oats
1 TBSP Cocoa Powder
2 TBSP Black Coffee
Filling
750g Cottage Cheese 1%MF (1% is important for the consistency)
4 Large Eggs
1/2 Cup Sour Cream 1.5%MF
1/4 Cup + 1 TBSP Agave Nectar
1/4 Cup Black Coffee
1/4 Cup All-Purpose Flour
1 TBSP Cocoa Powder
1TSP Vanilla
Chocolate Top
8 Pieces Unsweetened Chocolate (56g)
1/2 Cup Milk 1%
3 TBSP Agave Nectar
Crumb Base
Add the Arrowroot Biscuits to your super blender and blend them until they are nothing but crumbs. Add the Quick Oats and blend again until the oats become one with biscuit crumbs. Pour mixture into a bowl and add 1 TBSP of Cocoa Powder, mix it in, then drizzle the 2 TBSP of Black Coffee over top mixing and rolling it with your hands. The coffee adds flavor but the added moisture helps when packing it down.
In a 9" spring form (cheesecake) pan lay your crumb mix in the bottom and press it down. I used a glass with a flat bottom for this. Place pan with pressed crumb base in freezer while you make the filling. Preheat oven to 325° F.
Filling
Rinse out your super blender and add cottage cheese to it, blend it until its as smooth as its going to get. Add 1/4 cup + 1 TBSP of Agave Nectar and coffee, blend some more. Add Vanilla, Eggs, Sour Cream, Flour and Cocoa Powder, you guessed it, blend again. I've read in real cheesecake recipes that you should add the eggs one at a time and mix slowly. That's not what I did and everything turned out fine, if anything is was a little fluffier.
Pull pan with crumb base out of the freezer an pour your cheesecake filling on top. You can tap out any air bubbles, I did at first and then gave up. Put your cheesecake in the over for about 45-55 minutes, until the top is golden and the centre jiggles slightly. Jiggles like you used to before your switched to Guilt Free Cheesecake!
Let it cool in the pan for a bit then put it in the fridge, covered, for about 4 hours.
Chocolate Top
In a sauce pan on the lowest possible heat on your stove top, add unsweetened chocolate squares and milk and let it melt stirring occasionally. This is a bit of a long process but don't turn the heat up, I promise you burnt chocolate is a sad experience. Once it's melted, add TBSP of Agave Nectar to the sauce pan and stir.
Take cheesecake out of the fridge. Run a knife around the edge of the cheesecake to make sure it doesn't stick then remove the ring. Place on only your fanciest of place and add the chocolate top. I used a spoon and dripped it around the edges, because that seems to be popular thing to do, and then filled the centre and smoothing it with the spoon. Place back in the fridge for an hour.
Note: I used a string to mark out 16 equal pieces.
Cut, Serve (or keep it all to yourself), and Enjoy!
Leave a comment if you tried this recipe and let me know how it turned out. Leave a like if you want to see more recipes like this one.