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. This is my second cheesecake recipe and so far my favorite.
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 63% less calories than that generic Marzipan 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 Cinnamon
2 TBSP Water
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 All-Purpose Flour
3/4 TBSP Almond Extract
1 TSP Vanilla
Cinnamon Top
1 TBSP Cinnamon
2 TBSP Raw Granulated Sugar
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 Ground Cinnamon, mix it in, then drizzle the 2 TBSP of Water over top mixing and rolling it with your hands. 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 blend some more. Add Vanilla, Eggs, Sour Cream, Flour and almond extract, 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 60-70 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.
Cinnamon Top - Optional
Mix 1 TBSP on Cinnamon and 2 TBSP of Raw Granulated Sugar. I used the back of a spoon and other things I found in my kitchen to decorate the top of this cheesecake. Get creative and make it look how ever you like.
