Cottage Cheese Protein Cheesecake
⏱ 1 hr 20 min + chill💪 13g protein per slice🔥 ~240 cal🍽 10 slices
Cottage cheese swaps in for most of the cream cheese here, which cuts the fat and pushes each slice to 13g of protein. It bakes low and slow in a water bath because protein powder makes a custard set faster and tighter than usual, and dry oven heat will split the top every time. Cornstarch is the other insurance policy against weeping.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (100g) graham cracker crumbs
- 3 tablespoons melted butter
- 2 cups (450g) 2% cottage cheese
- 8 oz (226g) light cream cheese, softened
- 1/2 cup (120g) plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup (40g) vanilla whey or casein protein powder
- 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 325F, wrap the outside of an 8 inch springform in two layers of foil, press the graham crumbs and melted butter into the bottom, and bake 8 minutes. Cool while you make the filling.
- Blend the cottage cheese alone for 90 seconds, scraping twice, until it is silky with no curd remaining. Anything you can still feel now will be grit in the finished slice.
- Add the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, sugar, protein powder, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and salt and blend 30 seconds. Add the eggs last and pulse just until combined, since blending them beats in air that becomes cracks.
- Pour the filling over the crust, set the springform in a roasting pan, and pour boiling water halfway up the outside of the springform.
- Bake 55 to 65 minutes, until the outer 2 inches are set and the center 3 inches still wobbles as a single unit when you nudge the pan.
- Turn the oven off, crack the door, and leave the cheesecake inside for 1 hour, then refrigerate at least 6 hours or overnight before slicing.
- Keep covered in the fridge up to 5 days, or wrap individual slices and freeze up to 2 months.
Tips
- The water bath is not optional once protein powder is in the batter. Protein sets faster and tighter than a plain custard, and dry heat pulls the surface apart down the middle almost every time.
- Cornstarch is doing real work here. It sits between the protein strands and stops the whey from squeezing out water as it bakes, which is exactly what makes a protein cheesecake weep a puddle in the pan.
- Do not exceed 1/3 cup of powder in an 8 inch pan. Casein gives a denser, creamier slice and whey a springier one, but past that amount either version turns rubbery no matter how gently you bake it.
FAQ
- How do I know when it is done?
- The center 3 inches should jiggle as one piece, not ripple like liquid, and an instant-read thermometer in the middle should hit about 150F. It firms up completely during the chill.
- Why is my cheesecake grainy?
- The cottage cheese was under-blended. Ninety seconds in a good blender with two scrape-downs is the minimum, and a fine mesh sieve afterward guarantees it.
- Can I skip the water bath?
- You can bake it at 300F on a lower rack with a pan of water beside it, but expect cracks. They are cosmetic, and a thin layer of Greek yogurt on top hides them.
- Can I use nonfat cottage cheese?
- Yes, though the slice comes out drier and is more likely to weep. Add an extra 2 tablespoons of Greek yogurt and keep the full 2 tablespoons of cornstarch.
