Cheesecake (literally "cheese pie"), a delicate soufflé made from soft cream cheeses, is a refined and elegant dessert. It will easily and elegantly stand up to any competition in the battle for a place on the holiday table. Cottage cheese cheesecake (photo) – one of the varieties of the famous cake, in the production of which soft cheeses are replaced with high-fat cottage cheese.

A thousand-year history

Contrary to popular belief that cheesecake is a relatively recent American invention, history tells a different story. The first documented evidence suggests that a recipe for this delicacy existed on the Greek island of Samos eight centuries before the advent of Christianity.

Curd cheesecake with cherries

Cooled cakes made of honey, wheat flour, and whipped cheese were served to athletes during the Olympic Games to boost their energy and strength. Greek cheesecake subsequently became a staple at weddings, with only the bride being required to prepare it.

The recipe for this delicacy arrived in the Roman Empire later, as a prized trophy taken by soldiers after the conquest of Greece. There, it acquired a new name: placenta. Symbolically, this was also the name of the sacrificial cake offered to the gods on major holidays. The restless Romans, obsessed with world domination, quickly spread their beloved recipe to the conquered countries. Cheesecake quickly caught on, and it began to be prepared everywhere.

Dessert composition

Blueberry cottage cheese cheesecake

As mentioned earlier, cottage cheese cheesecake (photo) is one of the many variations of this popular dessert. Its base, of course, is cottage cheese. It's combined with sour cream, eggs, and sugar, then carefully whipped until it reaches a delicate, airy consistency. Sometimes the cottage cheese mixture is enriched with additional flavor accents: berries, fruit pieces, or chocolate.

The prepared filling is poured onto a crust, typically made from cookies and butter, and baked in the oven. The recipe states that the finished cake must be refrigerated for several hours before being served. The result is an incredibly delicate, airy dessert that will outshine any other.

Main component

Curd cheesecake with strawberries

Cottage cheese needs no introduction. This exceptionally healthy fermented milk product has been loved and revered since ancient times: the recipe for making cottage cheese was known as far back as a thousand years BC. Even then, ancient philosophers (who also doubled as doctors) recommended its consumption to everyone.

Cottage cheese is extremely rich in protein—it rivals fish and meat in this regard. It contains a full range of essential amino acids, microelements, and vitamins. Its easy digestibility makes it an indispensable dietary supplement for people of all ages.

Curd tenderness

Curd cheesecake recipe

To experience the indescribable delicacy of this delicacy, we suggest you first try a recipe for a pure curd cheesecake—without any additives. To make it, you'll need:

  • fatty cottage cheese – 600 g;
  • cookies (Yubileinoe cookies are a good choice) – 250 g;
  • butter – 100 g;
  • eggs – 3 pcs.;
  • sour cream (minimum 20% fat) – 100 g;
  • sugar – 160 g;
  • vanilla (to taste);
  • zest of 1 lemon.

To prepare this curd delight (photo), follow these steps:

  1. The first rule of successful baking, according to the recipe, is that all ingredients should be at room temperature. This means they should be removed from the refrigerator well in advance.
  2. To create this dessert, start with the crust. Grind the cookies into fine crumbs (using a grater, a mixer, or a blender). Combine these crumbs with softened butter and place them in a springform cake pan, leveling the bottom and forming high sides (approximately 3 cm). Then, to ensure proper adhesion, refrigerate the pan.
  3. Meanwhile, the recipe recommends preparing the airy filling. To do this, take the time to strain the cottage cheese through a sieve: this will remove any lumps, and the mixture will acquire a perfectly fluffier texture.
  4. Separately beat the sugar and eggs. Finally, add the vanilla. Then, mix the beaten eggs with the cottage cheese, then add the sour cream and zest.
  5. The oven should now be preheated to the optimal baking temperature of 170 degrees Celsius (350 degrees Fahrenheit). Now it's time to remove the pan from the refrigerator, fill it with the filling, and bake for 50 minutes.
  6. The cheesecake should cool in the same oven, with the door slightly ajar. After cooling, it's a good idea to refrigerate it for a couple of hours—only then will this snow-white beauty (photo) be finally ripe for eating.

Cherry-curd-chocolate delight

Cottage cheese cheesecake with chocolate and mint

This intricate combination of cottage cheese, cherries, and chocolate is a surefire winner. And you don't even need to bake this dessert in the oven. You'll need quite a few ingredients, so it's best to stock up on the following:

  • chocolate cookies – 250 g;
  • butter – 120 g;
  • fatty cottage cheese – 350 g;
  • fat sour cream – 300 g;
  • cherries (preferably fresh) – 450 g;
  • sugar – 300 g;
  • gelatin – 45 g;
  • cherry juice – 1.5 cups.

The recipe for this masterpiece doesn't require baking. You only need:

  1. Crush the cookies into crumbs, combine them with melted butter, and place them in a springform pan lined with plastic wrap. You can form the crust in two ways: either by simply spreading the cookies as a base, or by adding a border.
  2. Soak 2/3 of the gelatin in 100 ml of water. Traditionally, strain the cottage cheese through a sieve—this is essential if you want the dessert to have a delicate, airy consistency.
  3. Set aside half the prettiest cherries for garnish, and puree the rest in a blender (along with 200 g of sugar). Mix the berry mixture with the cottage cheese. Add the sour cream and beat the mixture with a mixer.
  4. Next, the recipe calls for gelatin: dissolve it, pour it into the curd-cherry filling, and lightly beat with a mixer. Remove the crust from the refrigerator, fill it with the curd mixture, and refrigerate for at least 5 hours until the filling is completely set.
  5. The top layer of the treat is prepared as follows: cherry juice is mixed with the remaining sugar and gelatin and left to set for a while. It is then heated in a double boiler until the ingredients dissolve. Afterwards, it is poured onto the hardened curd filling in a layer no thicker than 0.5 cm. Then, whole cherries are placed on top, and covered with the remaining jelly.
  6. The dessert goes back into the refrigerator – this time for just a couple of hours. And finally, the cherry-curd delight is ready.

All that's left to do is carefully release it from the pan (the cling film makes this easy) and serve! Just be sure to take a moment to admire the cheesecake's stunning beauty (photo), as this exceptionally delicious and wonderfully refreshing delicacy won't last long on the table.

You can make a cottage cheese cheesecake with any berries: raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, currants. Lemon and coffee cheesecakes are wonderful, as is the rather unusual but very interesting gingerbread version. Basically, the horizons are endless—be creative and enjoy!

Video recipe for making cottage cheese cheesecake