A light, low-calorie cheesecake made with a cottage cheese filling and a rolled oats crust. We all know that traditional cheesecake tends to be high in fat — it typically calls for cream cheese, sour cream, or heavy cream, and the cookie crust is always loaded with butter. This time I took a different approach and made a diet cheesecake, baking it by all the proper rules of cheesecake-making (see more details — New York Cheesecake). I have to say, the flavor really lives up to its name — thanks to the addition of applesauce, it turns out incredibly light and soft. Everything bakes up beautifully, so don't worry: there's no need to add any starch or flour to the filling. The only fat here is a tablespoon of vegetable oil in the crust, plus whatever fat is in the cottage cheese. I used 5% cottage cheese, but you can go with 1% — what matters most is that the cottage cheese is smooth and creamy. Any soft, spreadable cottage cheese works great (completely fat-free versions exist too).
Ingredients:
- Crust:
- 50 g rolled oats
- 20 g honey
- 20 g flour
- 1 tbsp. vegetable oil (odorless)
- Filling:
- 600 g cottage cheese 5% fat (lower fat percentage works too)
- 200 g apples (peeled weight)
- 2 eggs
- 20 g honey
- 20-50 g sugar
- 1 tbsp. semolina
- 1 packet vanilla sugar (10 g)
- pinch of salt
How to cook diet cheesecake
Mix thoroughly in the food processor (you'll get a crumbly mixture). If you want an even lighter version, you can skip the flour and vegetable oil altogether — it will still turn out great.
Lightly grease your pan. If you like, line it with parchment paper so the finished cheesecake is easier to remove. I use a 20 cm (8-inch) diameter pan (it's best not to go larger than this). Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan and pack it down firmly. Refrigerate while you prepare the filling.
Peel the apples and remove the cores. Cut them into rough slices and cook covered in the microwave for about 5–7 minutes, or until completely soft. You can also roast them in the oven, but I usually go the microwave route — I find the apples come out sweeter that way :-)
Combine the applesauce and all the remaining filling ingredients in one bowl. Add as much sugar as you see fit — I used 50 g, but you can get away with just 20 g, though the cheesecake will be barely sweet at that amount. The right quantity also depends on how sweet your apples are (mine were quite sweet).
Blend the mixture thoroughly with an immersion blender until completely smooth and lump-free — no bits of cottage cheese or undissolved sugar.
Place the pan inside a larger pan (or a deep roasting pan) and pour in enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the cheesecake pan. Bake in an oven preheated to 160°C (320°F) with only the bottom heating element on. Bake for approximately 1 to 1 hour 20 minutes. When the center of the cheesecake jiggles slightly, it's done. Leave the finished cheesecake to cool in the oven with the heat turned off and the door cracked open slightly.
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