A delicate cottage cheese treat topped with gorgeous, juicy strawberries. A cheesecake is a baked dessert made with cream cheese and a cookie crust (here's a link to the classic version — New York Cheesecake). However, I know that many of my readers can't find that kind of cream cheese where they live, and when they do, it's honestly priced way out of reason. So I'm happy to present a wonderful alternative — cottage cheese cheesecake! It has a lovely cottage cheese flavor and a delicate, tender texture. It comes out absolutely delicious — just a little different. For the filling, I adapted it from a recipe that many of you have come to love — Cottage Cheese Cake with Peaches (increasing the quantities by one third). I'll keep saying this in all my cottage cheese baking recipes: the cottage cheese needs to be smooth and preferably fairly rich in fat. Mine is 9% fat, and the sour cream is 20%. The cake must be baked following all the rules for a beautiful cheesecake (read more in the introduction to New York Cheesecake). The result will be a perfectly smooth, pale top — just right for layering with fruit or berries. As for the strawberries: if you're only topping the cheesecake with berries, 300 g is plenty; if you're also serving it with sauce, you'll need 800 g. I strongly recommend serving it with the sauce (more on that below) — trust me, it makes it so much better. By the way, you can make this cheesecake outside of strawberry season, any time of year. Just skip topping it with fresh berries, use 500 g of frozen strawberries instead, and make the sauce as described in the recipe.
Ingredients:
- Crust:
- 200 g shortbread cookies (I used chocolate cookies)
- 75 g butter
- Filling:
- 600 g cottage cheese
- 300 g sour cream
- 180 g sugar
- 3 eggs
- 3 tbsp. starch
- juice of half a lemon
- 1 packet vanilla sugar (10 g)
- Also:
- 300 g – 800 g strawberries (see below)
- 2-3 tbsp. sugar
- cake jelly glaze
How to cook cottage cheese cheesecake with strawberries
Transfer the crumbs to a springform pan (mine is 22 cm in diameter), spread them out evenly, and press down lightly. Place the pan in an oven preheated to 160°C and bake for 10–15 minutes. Then let it cool completely.
Place the cottage cheese and eggs in a bowl and mix thoroughly into a smooth, uniform mass using a whisk or spatula. The ingredients should be at room temperature — they'll combine much more easily that way.
Add all the remaining filling ingredients and stir until completely smooth (do not whip). If the mixture turns out very thick (it depends on the cottage cheese), you can add a little more sour cream.
Set the pan inside a larger pan (or a deep roasting pan). Pour boiling water into the larger pan so it comes halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Place in an oven preheated to 160°C (bottom heat only). Bake for approximately 1 hour 20 minutes, or adjust based on your own oven. Once done, leave the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door slightly ajar.
Slice the strawberries into 4–6 thin slices (depending on the size of the berries). The largest, prettiest slices will go on top as decoration; the rest will go into the strawberry sauce.
Prepare the cake jelly glaze according to the package instructions and brush it over the berries. Run a knife carefully along the edge of the pan, release the springform, and transfer the cake to a serving plate. Just look at how beautiful it turns out!
Place the remaining strawberries in a blender, add 2–3 tbsp. of sugar, and blend into a smooth sauce. If the strawberries are tart, add a little more sugar to taste.
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