Banoffee Cottage Cheese Cheesecake (No-Bake)

Name: Banoffee Cottage Cheese Cheesecake (No-Bake)
Ingredients: 150 g shortbread cookies; 50 g butter; 400 g cottage cheese 9% (or cream cheese); 1 can dulce de leche / boiled condensed milk (380 g); 200 g heavy cream 33%; 10 g gelatin + 80 ml water; 10 g vanilla sugar; 2 bananas; juice of half a lemon; 200 g heavy cream 33% + 1-2 tsp powdered sugar

I had a can of condensed milk sitting in my pantry, and I had some bananas on hand, so I was inspired to make a banoffee. Banoffee pie is a classic English dessert made with bananas, heavy cream, and boiled condensed milk on a shortbread cookie crust. The name is a blend of "banana" and "toffee." But today's recipe isn't a classic banoffee — it's a dessert inspired by it. The condensed milk here is combined with cottage cheese rather than used on its own, so the flavor isn't overpowering or cloyingly sweet — instead it's gentle, creamy, and caramel-like. And of course, the top is piled with bananas and whipped cream. It turned out absolutely delicious — it's hard to stop at just one slice! Even my husband, who isn't a fan of boiled condensed milk, loved it — and fans of condensed milk will be over the moon. It's delicious, light, and so easy to make! P.S. By the way, here's a recipe for a great banoffee on Kamelist.

Ingredients:

Crust:
150 g shortbread cookies
50 g butter
Cottage Cheese Layer:
400 g cottage cheese 9% (or cream cheese)
1 can dulce de leche / boiled condensed milk (380 g)
200 g heavy cream 33%
10 g gelatin + 80 ml water
10 g vanilla sugar
Topping:
2 bananas
juice of half a lemon
200 g heavy cream 33% + 1-2 tsp powdered sugar

How to cook banoffee cottage cheese cheesecake (no-bake)

Place the cookies in a food processor and pulse into fine crumbs. Add the melted butter to the cookies and process everything together again.

Pour the crumb mixture into your pan — I used a 20 cm ring mold — and press it firmly and evenly across the bottom. Refrigerate while you prepare the cottage cheese layer.

Make the cottage cheese layer. Boil the condensed milk in the can ahead of time and let it cool completely. Combine the cottage cheese, vanilla sugar, and condensed milk in a bowl (if desired, set aside 30 g of the condensed milk for the topping). The cottage cheese and condensed milk should both be at room temperature.

Blend everything with an immersion blender. Bloom the gelatin in 80 ml of water and let it sit until absorbed. Then heat it until hot so the gelatin fully dissolves. Let it cool. Pour in the gelatin and blend everything together thoroughly once more. The mixture should be completely (!) smooth with no lumps of cottage cheese. Be especially thorough with the blender if your cottage cheese is grainy or uneven — a smooth, uniform cottage cheese is preferred for this recipe.

Whip the heavy cream separately, then fold it into the mixture with a spatula.

Pour the mixture over the cookie crust in the pan. Refrigerate until fully set.

Once fully set, warm the sides of the pan with a hair dryer or run a knife along the edge, then release the pan. Slice the bananas, drizzle with lemon juice, and arrange them on top of the cheesecake.

Whip the heavy cream with the powdered sugar and spread it over the bananas.

Mix the reserved condensed milk with 1–3 teaspoons of water and whisk until smooth. Transfer to a piping bag and drizzle over the whipped cream.

If desired, sprinkle with nuts (I used cashews) or grated chocolate.

The cross-section.

The Banoffee Cottage Cheese Cheesecake turns out incredibly delicious, light, and airy. You can't taste the cottage cheese at all — the flavor is creamy and caramel-like. So good!