This baked cheesecake is lighter than your traditional cheesecake because instead of needing, like, four tubs of rich cream cheese, you’ll need one tub of cream cheese, one tub of lighter smooth cottage cheese, and some yoghurt.
It’s also less sweet than your traditional cheesecake because it only has a third cup of sugar.
Looking at the list of ingredients, you may be thinking something along the lines of, “Jeepers Creepers, why is this list so long!?!” Woah there pal. I can explain. The yoghurt, cream cheese, cottage cheese, and cream are the essential dairy ingredients for the cheesecake. The eggs are split into two ingredients (yolks and whites), the lemon zest is optional, and so is the crust.
With this in mind, I’m sure you’ll notice the list of ingredients isn’t super long after all, it’s actually pretty straightforward.
Are you ready to make this fluffy (I mean, seriously, check out that airiness!), decadent, yet not so decadent you can’t have another slice, baked cheesecake?
How to Make the Baked Cheesecake
The first step to making the baked cheesecake is to make the crust. But with minimal effort. And two ingredients.
In a food processor, combine biscuits (any type really, I used leftover macadamia biscotti, but plain biscuits work best) and melted butter and pulse until fine and crumbly. Press the greasy decimated biscuits into an even layer at the bottom of a smallish springform cake pan, then set it aside.
If you’re not much of a fan of the whole crust idea, just leave it out.
Now, on to the filling. The truly yummy part.
You want to make sure that your cottage and cream cheeses are at room temperature, otherwise you won’t be able to mix them properly. If you’re too late on that count, just microwave the cheeses in a microwave-proof bowl for a couple of seconds.
Place the cream cheese and cottage cheese into a large bowl, then add the yoghurt, vanilla essence, brown sugar, salt, optional lemon zest and egg yolks. Beat this mixture with a hand mixer for a couple of minutes, until smooth. Add the cream and beat for two more minutes. Lastly, add the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder and quickly stir them in until just incorporated.
Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, then beat in the castor sugar, little by little, until silky and stiff. Add a big spoon of the whipped egg whites to the other bowl and stir it in. Now, add the rest of the egg white and carefully fold it in. You want your mixture noice and floooffy! Finally, scoop everything on top of the biscuit layer that’s already in the cake pan.
Now comes the slightly scary part. Or at least, creating a water bath was scary to me. Until I did it and discovered how easy and worthwhile it is (it lets the cheesecake bake evenly without cracking).
Create the water bath by wrapping the springform cake pan in tinfoil. This part is very, very important. As much as your springform pan may keep in the cake batter, it will probably not keep out water. Trust me, no one likes a soggy cheesecake and a wet crust.
So here’s how to do it. Place the tinfoil-wrapped springform cake pan inside a larger oven-proof dish that you fill with water until about halfway up the cake pan. Yep, it’s that easy.
Bake this entire contraption for about 65 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake are firm, and the middle is still a bit jiggly. Remove the cake pan from the water bath and allow the cheesecake to cool in the pan for 1 hour, then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before enjoying.
And enjoy you will!
A super-duper airy cheesecake that, despite its longish list of ingredients, is pretty easy to make. Thanks to the yoghurt and cottage cheese, this cheesecake is lighter and healthier than your traditional cream-cheese-heavy cheesecake, but no less delicious! Grease a springform 23cm cake pan, or line it with baking paper. In a food processor, combine the plain biscuits and melted butter and pulse until fine and crumbly. Press the decimated biscuits into an even layer at the bottom of the cake pan, then set it aside. Preheat the oven to 165°C. Empty the cream cheese and cottage cheese tubs into a large bowl, then add the yoghurt, vanilla essence, brown sugar, salt, optional lemon zest and egg yolks. Beat this mixture with a hand mixer for a couple of minutes, until smooth. Add the cream and beat for 2 more minutes. Lastly, add the flour, cornstarch and baking powder and quickly stir them in until just incorporated. Beat the egg whites in a separate bowl until stiff, then beat in the castor sugar, little by little, until silky and stiff. Add a big spoon of the whipped egg whites to the other bowl and stir it in. Add the rest of the egg white and carefully fold it in. Scoop everything on top of the biscuit layer already in the cake pan. Create a water bath by wrapping the springform cake pan in tinfoil (to protect it from potential leakages) and placing it inside a larger oven proof dish that you fill with water. Bake the entire contraption for about 65 minutes, or until the edges of the cheesecake are firm, and the middle is still a bit jiggly. Remove the cake pan from the water bath and allow the cheesecake to cool in the pan for 1 hour, then refrigerate it for at least 2 hours before enjoying. *Feel free to omit the crust, the creamy cheesecake part speaks for itself anyway! Simply leave out the biscuits and butter.
Cheesecake keeps wonderfully long. It will taste great for about 5 days if you just leave it in the fridge, but you can also freeze it and enjoy it (thawed, please) a couple of months later.
Light Baked Cheesecake
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