Cheesecake and cherries are always a good combination – especially in summer when you can get fresh cherries from farmers close by at the local farmer’s market. But even in winter, you can bake this Cottage Cheese Cheesecake with Cherries, if you want. You just have to use canned cherries or frozen ones from the store (you can also freeze them easily yourself). Fortunately, cherries can be stored for quite a while, and using those cherries in a bake like this one here is absolutely fine ;)
This cheesecake here is a cake many of you probably haven’t tried yet. Instead of regular cream cheese (or quark if you live in Germany), I used cottage cheese to make the filling for this cheesecake. I am pretty sure for some of you that sounds pretty unusual ;) In Ukraine and some other Eastern European countries, you can find cheesecakes like this one here more often. I guess you have to use what you got… Americans, for example, use mostly cream cheese because quark is hardly available over there – unlike here in Germany and other countries around us ;)
A cheesecake with cottage cheese is somewhat “different” tbh. In comparison to cream cheese, cottage cheese has a lot less fat and more protein. The cottage cheese cheesecake has a nice consistency but it’s not as creamy as a cheesecake made with cream cheese due to the lack of that fat. Do not think the cake is low in fat because of that. There’s a good amount of butter in the cheesecake base. You need fat to carry the flavors, otherwise, it would be a bland cake ;P
In addition to the usage of cottage cheese instead of cream cheese or quark, I made the cheesecake also sugar-free… or better said free of added sugar. I used a sugar substitute (xylitol) because of my diabetes. I do that with many of my cakes. To be honest – I do not 100% recommend it here for the cheesecake if you are fine with sugar in your bakes. The xylitol does not dissolve very well in the cottage cheese mixture. You can feel the crystals of the xylitol on your tongue and that’s certainly something not everybody likes. So my recommendation here would definitely be using sugar. Maybe even a little more for the filling than indicated in the recipe, if you have a sweet tooth. Cottage cheese does have a slightly tangier taste compared to cream cheese or quark. I normally really like to use as little sugar as possible, but here you should go all in. Embrace the sugar and maybe walk an extra round with the dog later on ;P
Well… oh and don’t be surprised by the amount of dough used for the base – that’s how it’s supposed to be. The crust will not get very hard during baking and will actually merge a bit with the filling. That’s how these cakes are built. Definitely not a crust you want to leave behind on the plate ;P
INGREDIENTS / ZUTATEN
3 1/4 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150g) sugar (or xylitol)
6.7 oz. (190g) cold butter
For the filling/topping:
7 medium eggs
1/2 cup (100g) sugar (or xylitol)
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
28 oz. (800g) Cottage Cheese
17.6 oz. (500g) cherries (frozen & defrosted)
confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
420g Mehl (Type 550)
150g Zucker (oder Xylit)
190g Butter, kalt
Für die Füllung/Belag:
7 Eier (M)
100g Zucker (oder Xylit)
1 Prise Salz
1 EL Vanille Extrakt
800g Hüttenkäse (körniger Frischkäse)
500g Kirschen (gefroren und aufgetaut)
Puderzucker zum Bestäuben (optional)
DIRECTIONS / ZUBEREITUNG
2. For the base mix the flour and sugar (or xylitol) in a large bowl until well combined. Add the cold butter in small pieces and cut it into even smaller pieces with a knife or a pastry blender*. When done, continue with your hands and rub everything between your fingers to create streusels that start holding together when you press them together in the palm of your hands. Transfer to the prepared baking pan and press to the bottom and sides – you want a small rim, maybe an inch up the sides. Everything might seem a bit crumbly and dry but that is OK. Set aside.
3. Add the eggs for the filling to a large bowl and mix with the sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the cottage cheese and mix in. To get a smooth mixture you can use an immersion blender to mix everything well.
4. Distribute about half of the cherries evenly on the cake base and carefully pour the cottage cheese filling over the cherries – if they try to rise to the top you can press them down. Sprinkle the remaining cherries on top of the filling and bake the cake for about 50 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside with the door closed for another 10 minutes, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack. When cooled down place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Dust with some confectioners’ sugar before serving (optional).
2. Für den Boden das Mehl mit dem Zucker (oder Xylit) in einer großen Schüssel vermischen. Die kalte Butter in kleinen Stücken dazugeben und mit einem Messer oder einem Teigmischer* in noch kleinere Stücke zerteilen. Anschließend mit den Händen weiterverarbeiten und alles zwischen den Fingern verreiben – dabei entstehen Streusel, die zusammenhalten sollten, wenn man sie in der Handfläche zusammenpresst. In die vorbereitete Backform schütten und am Boden und an den Seiten andrücken. Es soll dabei ein kleiner Rand entstehen, etwa einen 2,5cm hoch. Das Ganze ist eine etwas “bröselige” Angelegenheit, aber das passt so. Zur Seite stellen.
3. Die Eier für die Füllung in eine große Schüssel geben und mit Zucker, Salz und Vanille Extrakt verrühren. Den Hüttenkäse hinzugeben und unterrühren. Um eine homogene Masse zu erhalten, kann man mit einem Stabmixer einmal alles durchmixen.
4. Etwa die Hälfte der aufgetauten Kirschen gleichmäßig auf dem Kuchenboden verteilen, dann die Käsekuchenfüllung vorsichtig über die Kirschen gießen. Sollten die Kirschen nach oben kommen wollen, einfach wieder runterdrücken. Die restlichen Kirschen auf dem Kuchen verteilen dann für etwa 50 Minuten backen. Den Ofen ausschalten und den Kuchen bei geschlossener Tür noch einmal 10 Minuten stehen lassen, dann herausnehmen und auf einem Kuchengitter vollständig abkühlen lassen. Nach dem Auskühlen mindestens 4 Stunden oder über Nacht in den Kühlschrank stellen. Vor dem Servieren mit etwas Puderzucker bestreuen (optional).
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Here is a version of the recipe you can print easily.
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Cottage Cheese Cherry Cake
- Prep Time: 00:10
- Cook Time: 00:40
- Total Time: 05:00
- Yield: 1 1x
- Category: Cheesecakes
- Cuisine: Ukraine
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
If you like cheesecakes you might want to try this one here too – not made mit cream cheese but with cottage cheese. Works really well :)
Ingredients
For the base:
3 1/4 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150g) sugar (or xylitol)
6.7 oz. (190g) cold butter
For the filling/topping:
7 medium eggs
1/2 cup (100g) sugar (or xylitol)
1 pinch of salt
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
28 oz. (800g) Cottage Cheese
17.6 oz. (500g) cherries (frozen & defrosted)
confectioners’ sugar for dusting (optional)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 10×12 inches (25x30cm) baking pan* https://amzn.to/3MFnCXb with baking parchment and set aside. Defrost the cherries – it’s ok if some are still slightly frozen.
2. For the base mix the flour and sugar (or xylitol) in a large bowl until well combined. Add the cold butter in small pieces and cut it into even smaller pieces with a knife or a pastry blender* https://amzn.to/3pVSXes. When done, continue with your hands and rub everything between your fingers to create streusels that start holding together when you press them together in the palm of your hands. Transfer to the prepared baking pan and press to the bottom and sides – you want a small rim, maybe an inch up the sides. Everything might seem a bit crumbly and dry but that is OK. Set aside.
3. Add the eggs for the filling to a large bowl and mix with the sugar, salt, and vanilla extract until well combined. Add the cottage cheese and mix in. To get a smooth mixture you can use an immersion blender to mix everything well.
4. Distribute about half of the cherries evenly on the cake base and carefully pour the cottage cheese filling over the cherries – if they try to rise to the top you can press them down. Sprinkle the remaining cherries on top of the filling and bake the cake for about 50 minutes. Turn off the oven and leave the cake inside with the door closed for another 10 minutes, then remove and let cool down completely on a wire rack. When cooled down place in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight. Dust with some confectioners’ sugar before serving (optional).
Notes
Enjoy baking!
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I love my job, but in between I love to bake and try new things in the kitchen. A lot of my friends and colleagues encourage me to bake - for a very simple reason: they get the leftovers - and it seems they like it most of the time ;) 
